Session #4 March 2014 preparation policy practice Key Leaders Network

Alphabet Soup! ABPC Alabama Best Practices Center KLNKey Leaders Network PCNPowerful Conversations Network SLNSuperintendent Leaders Network IPPInstructional Partners Pilot ACCRSAL’s College-and Career-Ready Standards FAFormative Assessment

Partners with the Alabama State Department of Education Initiatives

+ Guiding Questions 1. How can we “lead the way” in helping identify and address our district’s priorities for leadership development? 2. What current and possible structures and practices are nurturing collective leadership across our district? 3. How can we use Leithwood and Seashore Louis’ findings to enhance instructional leadership in schools across our districts? 4. In what ways can we act to nurture both individual and collective efficacy among principals in our district? 5. How can we harness family and community energy to ensure successful implementation of CCRS?

+ Organize Your Teams Facilitator Recorder/Reporter Time Monitor/Materials Manager Directions Clarifier

+ Norms for Dialogue Listen actively Employ questioning to seek deeper understanding Respect other viewpoints Suspend judgment Voice what needs to be said to advance the dialogue

+ Activity 1: Priming the Pump What? Ink Think Why? To activate prior learning about Linking Leadership to Student Learning How? Individual reflection and collaborative thinking to surface insights and understandings (p. 3, Activity Packet)

+ Key Point “To learn how leadership contributes to student learning, we must ask how leadership affects instruction.” (p. 27)

+ Moving This Learning into Action Back Home End in Mind: Planning to Take Action Back Home Process: Going Deeper into Key Concepts and Identifying Priorities for Action 3 Key Areas: Collective Leadership, Instructional Leadership, and District Development of Principal Efficacy

+ Revisiting Collective, Shared, and Distributed Leadership Chapters 2, 3, and 4, Linking Leadership to Student Learning

+ Definitions: Leadership Terms Used in Text “Collective leadership…refers to the extent of influence organizational members and stakeholders exert on decisions in their schools.” (p. 3, Leithwood & Seashore Louis) “Shared leadership…denote[s] teachers’ influence over, and their participation in, school-wide decisions with principals.” (p. 31, Leithwood & Seashore Louis)

+ Definitions, cont’d. Distributed leadership refers to “the allocation of leadership responsibilities and influences, usually based on [principals’] understanding of school goals and the expertise that is available within the staff. Leadership arrangements can shift depending on the focus of the improvement activity.”

+ Relationships Collective Leadership Shared Leadership Distributed Leadership

+ Clarifying Terms: District- and School-Based Leaders School-based leaders = principals, assistants, and teacher leaders District-based leaders = superintendent, assistants, and central office staff District leaders = Both district-based and school-based leaders

+ Activity 2:Revisiting Collective, Shared, & Distributed Leadership What? Walk-about Interviews Why? To determine “where we are” and “where we might go” in our exercise of leadership across our districts How? District team collaborative responses to identified questions; cross-district interviews; and district team synthesis (pp. 4-6, Activity Packet)

+ Revisiting Instructional Leadership Chapters 5 and 6, Linking Leadership to Student Learning

+ 4 Core Leadership Practices Setting direction Developing people Redesigning the organization Improving the instructional program

+ Redefining Instructional Leadership “Teachers and principals agree that the most instructionally helpful specific leadership practices are: a. Focusing the school on goals and expectations for student achievement b. Keeping track of teachers’ professional development needs c. Creating structures and opportunities for teachers to collaborate” (p. 57)

+ 2 Key Factors Associated with Instructional Leadership Instructional Ethos—influencing the context in which instruction takes place Instructional Actions—actively providing direct instructional support to teachers

+ Activity 3: Comparing Our Expectations for Instructional Leadership to Research- Based Findings and Conclusions What? Force-Field Analysis Why? To assess current strengths and areas for growth in instructional leadership across our district How? Using the list of leader behaviors in charts on pages 71-74, engage in team dialogue about strengths, growth potential, and district strategies to support instructional leaders (page 7, Activity Packet)

+ Revisiting Principal Efficacy Chapters 8 and 9, Linking Leadership to Student Learning

+ Importance of District Development of Principal Efficacy “One of the most powerful ways in which districts influence teaching and learning is through the contribution they make to principals’ feelings of professional efficacy, in particular their efficacy for school improvement.” (p. 108)

+ Efficacy Defined “ Efficacy is a belief about one’s own ability (self- efficacy) or the ability of one’s colleagues collectively (collective efficacy) to perform a task or achieve a goal. It is a belief about ability, not actual ability.” (p. 108) “The Little Engine Who Could”

+ How Does Efficacy Affect Our Leadership? Strongly influences what we choose to do or not (risk-taking) Affects the amount of effort we will expend on a given activity (determination) Determines how long we will sustain our efforts in dealing with stressful situations (persistence/ perseverance and resilience in the face of failure)

+ Self-Efficacy Beliefs Influence Motivation By Determining: 1. The goals that people set for themselves 2. How much effort they expend and how long they persevere in the face of obstacles 3. Their resilience in the face of failure (p. 109)

+ Implications for Policy and Practice (pages ) District leaders should consider school leaders’ collective efficacy for school improvement to be among the most important resources available to them for increasing student achievement. District improvement efforts should include, as foci for immediate attention, those eight sets of conditions that the best available evidence now suggests have a significant influence on principals’ sense of efficacy for school improvement. Principals who believe themselves to be working collaboratively toward clear, common goals with district personnel, other principals, and teachers in their schools are more confident in their leadership.

+ Activity 4: Assessing Our District’s Practice Related to Principal Efficacy What? Here’s What, So What?, Now What? Why? To analyze district conditions that support principal efficacy and relate them to your district How? Review district conditions associated with principal efficacy; engage in team dialogue to identify district priorities and potential actions (p. 8, Activity Packet)

+ Identifying District Priorities Purpose: To review leverage points for improving leadership for student learning and select priorities for focus in our district Approach: Use planning template on page 9 to guide district team discussion and planning

+ Harnessing Family and Community Energy Chapter 7, Linking Leadership To Student Achievement

+ Examining Claims Turn to page 89 in Linking Leadership to Student Learning. Closely read the four claims presented in the grey box. Select the claim that you believe might be most important for dialogue back within your district. Be ready to share your selection along with your responses to the following questions with your district team : Why did you select this claim? What would be the purpose and expected outcomes of this dialogue? Who should be engaged in the dialogue?

+ Activity 5: Family and Community Engagement What? Reading, reflection, and dialogue Why? To assess the extent to which your personal beliefs and experience align with findings and conclusions presented by authors How? Individually read and respond to 4 excerpts; engage in dialogue with district team (pp , Activity Packet)

+ Activity 6: District and School Characteristics Related to Family/Community Participation What? ACE text-based protocol Why? To review authors’ findings and think about how these apply to your district’s policies and practices How? Individually read to identify ideas that affirm, challenge, and extend your thinking. Dialogue as a team to identify implications for your district. (pp , Activity Packet)

+ Activity 7: Using Implications to Address a Current Challenge What? Using research implications to think about how more effectively to involve family/community in supporting implementation of CCRS Why? To collaboratively apply learnings to a real-life challenge How? Review implications; identify a focus for planning; examine resources; and begin planning a family/community engagement activity. (pp , Activity Packet)

Final Reflection and Feedback Complete individually and silently. Please respond to open-ended items. ABPC will use this as formative assessment to improve future sessions.