Leadership for Powerful Instruction Central Office Transformation June 2, 2011 Sandy Austin Consultant, Center for Educational Leadership Mark Johnson Superintendent, Nooksack Valley School District (WA)

Leadership for Powerful Instruction 5 Dimensions of Central Office Transformation 1. Learning-focused partnerships with school principals 2. Assistance to the central office-principal partnerships 3. Reorganizing and reculturing each central office unit to support the partnerships and teaching & learning improvement 4. Stewardship of the overall central office transformation process 5. Evidence use throughout the central office to support continual improvement of work practices

Leadership for Powerful Instruction 4. Stewardship of the overall central office transformation process Stewardship: “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care” Merriam-Webster Online, downloaded

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Definition: “ Theory of Action: An articulated rationale for WHY a particular set of actions or strategies are likely to lead to the outcomes you seek” Can be rooted in: Research Examples of good practice Evidence you collect about your own practice Intuition (but be careful about this….) Work from a Theory of Action

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Theory of Action: a rationale “A theory of action describes the beliefs that undergirds an organization’s strategy and links the strategy to the organization’s vision; a theory of action can be thought of as the storyline that makes a vision and strategy concrete. It is a hypothesis using an if-then statement to articulate what will be achieved and how, in the broadest sense, it will be achieved. The power of a theory of action is that the theory helps an organization be explicit about why it is doing something and how it expects that those actions will lead to improved student achievement.” Strategy In Action, Rachel Curtis and Elizabeth City

Leadership for Powerful Instruction One System’s Example We believe that … If we work as a cohesive system, and if we focus our work on the Instructional Core (teacher’s knowledge and skills, student engagement in their own learning and aligned challenging content), and if we design professional development that is collaborative and job embedded, and if we continuously improve our practice through cycles of inquiry and data analysis and if we, develop leadership at all levels, and if we effectively communicate to all stake holders across the system, then we will reach our mission of ensuring success for all students (defined as being college, career and citizenship ready)

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Given the definition and your current initiatives, what would you say is your district’s theory of action? If we ______________, and ____________, and______________, then we will ______.

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Story of Nooksack Valley School District (WA) 2009 District Demographics Native American7.6% Asian1.6% Black1.1% Hispanic25.2% White63.4% Free/Reduced Lunch55.2% Special Education19.0%

Leadership for Powerful Instruction An Example of Stewarding a Theory of Action Having a Teachable Point of View

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Mission as Moral Imperative Ensuring the success of all students Graduating all students college, career, and citizenship ready

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Nooksack Valley’s Theory of Action If we focus on Improvement of the instructional core as the key variable in improving student achievement Continuously improve adult practice through collaborative adult learning (the vehicle) Making this the systems number one responsibility and leadership imperative Then we will achieve our mission of Ensuring the success of all students (Graduating all students college, career, and citizenship ready)

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Development of the Theory of Action Experience o After aligning the curriculum and assessing performance, students were still not succeeding o Asked, “What else to we need to consider?” Studied the research, read as a central office team with our principals Asked, “What are districts doing where students are succeeding?” “What are the best practices”? Visited other sites Brought in outside consultants

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Ways to Gain Understanding of and Commitment to a District’s Theory of Action 1.Common readings that promote theory of action 2.Teacher leadership summits 3.Theory into guiding questions that forced action 4.Teachers leadership teams 5.Board learning

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Beginning the Work … Gaining Commitment by Doing the Work Answering the essential questions All agendas (lesson plans) focused on the theory of action All openings focused on the theory of action Developing structures that reinforced theory

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Recognition that a theory of action is not merely an exercise, but a critical component of improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps. Aligning strategies to the theory of action and monitoring student achievement.

Leadership for Powerful Instruction 1.Improving the Instructional Core Develop common vision of literacy and math instruction (teacher leaders, external expertise) Alignment of “work” to essential questions Literacy and Math Guides Units of Study District writing assessment, others Theory of Action In Action; one example

Leadership for Powerful Instruction 2.Collaborative Adult Learning Leadership teams (teacher leaders) External coaching/expertise (early on) PLC “training” Lesson Study Studio Classrooms Learning Walks (aka “rounds”) Theory of Action In Action; one example

Leadership for Powerful Instruction 3.System Responsibility/Leadership Imperative Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent directly involved in learning with staff Principal instructional learning and development Administrative team collaborative learning Time and resource allocation Supervision and coaching system shift Board understanding and commitment Theory of Action In Action; one example

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Instructional leadership standards - naming best practice Principal “expectations” - defined, co-shaped, and practiced Administrative team meetings – focus on learning and accountability Consultancies - learning from each other School “rounds”/1-1 visits (6 per school per year) Sharing “lesson plans” and observing each other Instructional rounds-learning walks to supervisory walks Principal Development: A Key Strategy

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Is the theory of action and theory in action working? What is the evidence?

Leadership for Powerful Instruction 4 of 5 schools received Washington State Achievement Award for “Overall Excellence” (top 5% of schools in state) – Student achievement – Comparison to peers – Graduation rate (The next most recognized school system in the state had 9 of 40 schools receive this award) A Bit of “Evidence”

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Above state averages (significantly in most cases) in every content area and every grade level on state assessments Numerous leadership and system recognitions 100% of teachers indicated their desire to stay in district (#1 reason—”collaborative adult learning culture) A Bit of “Evidence”

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Other Evidence

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Other Evidence

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Using the Data to Leverage the Theory of Action Where the data does not indicate improvement, then where do we need to adjust? Instruction ? Assessment ? Leadership ? Adult Learning ?

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Using a Theory of Action to Make Decisions Budgeting Grant applications

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Broken record - This is our theory of action! Run cover for principals (to a point) Be there-sponsor, participate, contribute, model learning/thinking, etc. Name what you believe in and value, then act like it (distributive leadership, with and through people, reciprocal relationships, etc.) Ensure the necessary conditions are in place (this is intense work-time, focus, energy) Sponsorship/Stewardship

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Expect push back (not necessarily negative) - ignore? - address head on? - address indirectly? - retreat? Look for break throughs/teachable moments Culture and beliefs will change only through action (not by talking about it). Sponsorship/Stewardship

Leadership for Powerful Instruction Considerations for Next Steps 1. Do you have a clearly articulated theory of action? 2. Is it understood by key stakeholders? 3. To what degree to these stakeholders have a commitment to this theory of action? 4. To what degree do your system’s initiatives match your theory of action?