Effective School Leadership for Reading First Sharon Walpole University of Delaware

Successful School Reform is …  Specific The program is sufficiently detailed.  Powerful The program produces results.  Authoritative Leadership is involved and informed.  Consistent The program is uniformly implemented.  Stable The program is not changed without reason. Desimone, L. (2002). How can comprehensive school reform models be successfully implemented? Review of Educational Research, 72,433–479.

Joseph Murphy, in Leadership for Literacy: Research-Based Practice, PreK-3 (2003, Corwin Press), summarizes key qualities possessed by principals of schools where achievement is strong. The Effective RF Principal

Setting Goals The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Has a more child-centered visionHas a more adult-centered vision Sets manageable, realistic goalsFavors broad goals Sees student performance as centralLikes to see things run smoothly Expresses goals in measurable termsExpresses goals vaguely Uses goals for planningRefers rarely to goals Asks parents & staff to help set goalsLimits goal setting input

Communicating Goals The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Periodically reviews & discussesInfrequently discusses goals Actively clarifies goalsRarely clarifies goals Has teachers who know goalsHas teachers unfamiliar with goalsHas teachers who see themselves as good instructorsas good managers & colleagues

Promoting Quality Instruction The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Insists on certain teaching strategiesHas less focus on methods Favors interactive teachingIs content with less interaction Assigns teachers on the basis ofAssigns teachers bureaucratically improving achievement

Supervising Instruction The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Relies little on formal observationsValues formal observations Values informal visits and meetingsRarely makes informal visits Often reads about instructionSeldom reads about instruction Often provides specific feedbackSeldom provides specific feedback Counsels and assists poor teachersLess likely to confront poor teachers

Allocating Instructional Time The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Carefully sets time allocationsLess likely to set time allocations Coordinates time allocationsLess likely to have uniform schedule across teachers Schedules more instructional andLess likely to favor instructional over fewer non-instructional activitiesnon-instructional activities Insists on time for basicsLess likely to ensure their coverage Protects uninterrupted blockLess likely to preserve block

Coordinating the Curriculum The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Is highly involved in curriculumIs less involved in curriculumalignment Is concerned with the continuityTends not to focus on continuityof curriculum from grade to grade

Monitoring Student Progress The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Supports testing programsViews testing as a necessary evil Provides test results to teachersIs less timely in reporting results In a timely mannerto teachers Discusses results with groups andIs less likely to discuss results individual teachers Encourages teachers to use testDoes not emphasize the connection results to plan instructionbetween testing and teaching

Setting Expectations The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Holds adults accountable for studentDoes not hold others accountable learning outcomes Requires mastery of grade-levelIs more likely to socially promote skills for promotion to next gradestudents

Being Visible The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Is often out of the officeSpends large amounts of time in the office Makes an effort to move aboutIs less mobile the campus and in and out of classrooms

Providing Incentives The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Recognizes teachers with rewardsSeldom acknowledges teachers such as  distributing leadership  showing personal interest  making public acknowledgements  giving private praise Ensures that student rewards areIs less concerned about student frequent and they they go to a large rewards percentage of students Focuses rewards on achievement Is less likely to reward achievement

Promoting PD The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Is more likely to be directly involvedOften avoids PD sessions in PD activities Follows up by ensuring that PD Is unlikely to follow up PD methods are implemented Cobbles temporary coalitionsIs not adept at working with of teachers to help implementteacher groups to implement Encourages professional dialogueIs indifferent to dialogue Helps teachers attend conferencesResists conference attendance

Creating a Safe & Orderly Learning Environment The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Works with teachers to developIs less focused on management skills classroom management skills Establishes a clear and consistentFails to set up a clear policy disciplinary policy Enforces discipline fairly andMay be inconsistent in enforcing consistentlydiscipline Involves teachers and studentsSets rules independently In setting rules

Creating a Safe & Orderly Learning Environment The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Confronts problems quickly andIs tentative and indecisive forcefully Supports teachers with disciplineIs unsympathetic to teachers with problemsdiscipline problems

Promoting Collaboration The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Encourages teamwork and Allows teachers to function collaborative effortsindependently Gives faculty a formal role in Excludes teachers from decision decision makingmaking Informally seeks teachers’ ideasIs indifferent to the ideas and and opinionsopinions of teachers

Securing Outside Resources The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Is skilled at influencing districtReacts to district decisions decision making about resources Actively seeks resourcesIs passive about finding resources Assertively recruits the bestFollows standard hiring teachers (even from other schools)procedures Allocates money based on goalsMakes allocations based on other factors

Linking Home and School The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal Communicates with parents on aInfrequently communicates with regular basisparents Involves parents in school activitiesIs more likely to ignore parent participation Establishes programs that promoteFails to facilitate parent-teacher parent-teacher interactioninteraction Promotes the school toDoes not participate in community community groupsgroups Provides ways parents can learnDoesn’t about school and help their children

Which qualities of the principal relate to reading achievement?  Principal’s race  Principal’s sex  Number of years as a principal  Number of years as a classroom teacher  Knowledge about reading – Kean et al. (1979), What Works in Reading? (Federal Reserve Bank Study)

What can a Literacy Coach do to compensate for a principal’s shortcomings? 

You don’t have to change everything to change anything.