1. www.engageNY.org The Principal As Instructional Leader Under the Regents Reform Agenda 25 September 2012 NYSCOSS Fall Conference

2. www.engageNY.org Our Challenge Graduating All Students College & Career Ready New York's 4-year high school graduation rate is 74% for All Students However, the gaps are disturbing. June 2011 Graduation Rate Graduation under Current Requirements Calculated College and Career Ready* % Graduating All Students74.0All Students34.7 American Indian59.6American Indian16.8 Asian/Pacific Islander82.4Asian/Pacific Islander55.9 Black58.4Black11.5 Hispanic58.0Hispanic14.5 White85.1White48.1 English Language Learners38.2English Language Learners6.5 Students with Disabilities44.6Students with Disabilities4.4 *Students graduating with at least a score of 75 on Regents English and 80 on a Math Regents, which correlates with success in first-year college courses. Source: NYSED Office of Information and Reporting Services 2

3. www.engageNY.org A New Place In History… “Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science and technological innovation is being taken over by competitors throughout the world. The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people”

4. www.engageNY.org Which Requires a New Set of Remedies… Increase aid to low wealth school districts Setting of standards and increasing math and science requirements Lengthening the school day and year Increase in compensation for teachers Salary, tenure, retention and promotion should be tied to an effective evaluation system that rewards superior teachers, encourages average teachers and improves or terminates poor performing teachers

5. www.engageNY.org A Nation at Risk….. From…. April 26, 1983

6. www.engageNY.org Regents Reform Agenda A Strategic Response to the Program Challenges College and Career Ready Students Highly Effective School Leaders Highly Effective Teachers Implementing Common Core standards and developing curriculum and assessments aligned to these standards to prepare students for success in college and the workplace Building instructional data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practice in real time Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals Turning around the lowest-achieving schools 6

7. Building Student Readiness… More than an academic pursuit Moving away from Persistently Dangerous and towards Safe Climates Focus on Educating the Whole Child Finding new and better ways to engage parents Access to and equity in opportunities for all students Raising our Expectations Building Engaging Pathways Allowing demonstration of Competency Realigning Fiscal Priorities EngagingPathwaysParentEngagement Safe School Climate MeaningfulContent Access and Equity SocialEmotionalDevelopment HigherExpectations ConsistentSupports CCRStudents < < < < < < < <

8. www.engageNY.org Questions Why focus on instructional leadership? How can we support the shift from management to instructional leadership? What are the common elements of a principal who has a relentless focus on teaching and learning? How do we build an effective distributed instructional leadership model?

9. www.engageNY.org Key Lessons School leadership is the second greatest influence on student learning, second only to teacher effectiveness. (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003)

10. www.engageNY.org Key Lessons Principal and teacher quality account for nearly 60% of a school’s total impact on student achievement, and principals alone for a full 25% (Marzano et al., 2005). Marzano, R. J.; Waters, T.; & B. McNulty (2005). School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 10

11. www.engageNY.org Leadership for Reform

12. www.engageNY.org Leadership in the Common Core ELA Shift One: Balancing Literary & Informational Text ELA Shift Two: Building Knowledge in the Disciplines Principals should: Purchase and provide equal amounts of informational and literacy texts for each classroom Hold teachers accountable for building content knowledge through text Provide PD and co-planning opportunities for teachers to become more intimate with nonfiction texts and the way they spiral together Support and demand the role of all teachers in advancing students’ literacy Support and demand ELA teachers’ transition to a balance of informational text Give teachers permission to slow down and deeply study texts with students 12

13. www.engageNY.org Leadership in the Common Core ELA Shift Three: Staircase of Complexity ELA Shift Four: Text Based Questions ELA Shift Five: Writing from Sources Principals should: Ensure that texts are appropriately complex at every grade and that complexity of text builds from grade to grade. Support and demand that teachers build a unit in a way that has students scaffold to more complex texts over time Support and demand that teachers work through and tolerate student frustration with complex texts and learn to chunk and scaffold that text Provide planning time for teachers to engage with the text to prepare and identify appropriate text-dependent questions. Hold teachers accountable for fostering evidence based conversations about texts with and amongst students. Protect time for knowledge-building through Science, Social Studies, and Arts Instruction. Support, enable, and demand that teachers spend more time with students writing about the texts they read – building strong arguments using evidence from the text. 13

14. www.engageNY.org Leadership in the Common Core ELA Shift Six: Academic Vocabulary Principals should: Shift attention on how to plan vocabulary meaningfully using tiers and transferability strategies Provide training to teachers on the shift for teaching vocabulary in a more meaningful, effective manner. 14

15. www.engageNY.org Leadership in the Common Core Math Shift One: Focus Math Shift Two: Coherence Principals should: Work with groups of math teachers to determine what content to prioritize most deeply and what content can be removed (or decrease attention). Determine the areas of intensive focus (fluency), determine where to re-think and link (apply to core understandings), sampling (expose students, but not at the same depth). Give teachers permission and hold teachers accountable for focusing on the priority standards immediately. Ensure that teachers have enough time, with a focused body of material, to build their own depth of knowledge. Ensure that teachers of the same content across grade levels allow for discussion and planning to ensure for coherence/threads of main ideas Grade Priorities in Support of Rich Instruction and Expectations of Fluency and Conceptual Understanding K–2Addition and subtraction, measurement using whole number quantities 3–5Multiplication and division of whole numbers and fractions 6Ratios and proportional reasoning; early expressions and equations 7Ratios and proportional reasoning; arithmetic of rational numbers 8Linear algebra 15

16. www.engageNY.org Leadership in the Common Core Math Shift Three: Fluency Math Shift Four: Deep Understanding Math Shift Five: Application Math Shift Six: Dual Intensity Principals should: Take on fluencies as a stand alone CCSS aligned activity and build school culture around them. Allow teachers to spend time developing their own content knowledge Provide meaningful professional development on what student mastery and proficiency really should look like at every grade level by analyzing exemplary student work Ensure that math has a place in science instruction Create a culture of math application across the school Reduce the number of concepts taught and manipulate the schedule so that there is enough math class time for teachers to focus and spend time on both fluency and application of concepts/ideas 16

17. www.engageNY.org Engaging Families in the Common Core Encourage reading aloud and shared reading early and often (fiction and non- fiction) Launch family-nights with academically enriching themes for families and students (e.g., Math Games Night, Literacy Night) Schedule family/school field trips to museums and cultural events (take the opportunity to stress the power of knowledge building) Emphasize the development of routines for academic success (e.g., nightly reading, homework) Leverage family and community assets (e.g. texts in home language, community- based organizations as partners) 17

18. www.engageNY.org Leadership in Data Driven Instruction Culture Assessments AnalysisAction Leadership Team Introductory & Ongoing PD Calendar Build by Borrowing Leadership Team Introductory & Ongoing PD Calendar Build by Borrowing Common Periodic Transparent Starting Point Aligned to State Tests Aligned to Instruction Cyclical Common Periodic Transparent Starting Point Aligned to State Tests Aligned to Instruction Cyclical Immediate User Friendly Teacher Owned Test-in-Hand Deep Immediate User Friendly Teacher Owned Test-in-Hand Deep Plan new Lessons Teacher Action Plans Ongoing Assessment Accountability Engaged Students Plan new Lessons Teacher Action Plans Ongoing Assessment Accountability Engaged Students 18

19. www.engageNY.org The Principal’s Role: Implementing Data Driven Instruction If you are not yet using common interim or periodic assessments aligned to state tests establish a plan to do so by school year 11/12 Use individual conference time to examine student performance data – whatever data you currently have Use common planning time for analysis meetings through which teachers with common data sets or student work make meaning out of their results Foster an environment where teachers feel safe to take risks and examine their practice publicly Institute a cycle through which teachers are drafting periodic action plans based on data analysis and effectively re-teaching content students haven’t yet mastered. Focus on your own skill development regarding the management of the data driven instruction cycle Create risk-taking opportunities for teacher reflection on which students are not yet proficient and what they can do differently to ensure achievement. 19

20. www.engageNY.org What is the Work? Leadership in Driving Teacher Effectiveness The Principal The Teacher The Student 20

21. www.engageNY.org The Principal’s Role: Leadership in Driving Teacher Effectiveness Be in classrooms, as often as possible, collecting valid evidence about teacher practice and student learning Provide high quality, evidence based feedback Drive and protect a culture where risk-taking discourse about classroom practice, amongst teachers, is happening every day. Meet (and/or ensure that your APs meet) with teachers individually on a regular basis, look at current student results & evidence from observations, and agree on actionable change. Hold teachers accountable for this change. 21

22. www.engageNY.org Preparing and Evaluating Future Principals

23. www.engageNY.org Changing Roles for Principals Leadership of Instructional change: Common Core Data-driven instruction Evidence-based observation and feedback to teachers Shift time away from other administrative duties Delegation Time management Leverage district and shared service resources

24. www.engageNY.org Standards for School Leaders Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) An Education Leader Promotes the Success of Every Student by: facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by all stakeholders; advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth; ensuring management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment; collaborating with faculty and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources; acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner; understanding, responding to, and influencing the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context. 24

25. SBL Exam “Before”SBL Exam “After” (2014) Competencies Tested: Revisions aligned to 2008 ISLLC Standards, CCLS Revisions emphasize instructional leadership tasks Developing, Communicating, and Sustaining an Educational Vision Managing Change, Making Decisions, and Ensuring Accountability Leading the School wide Educational Program Managing School Resources, Finances, and Compliance Instructional Leadership for Student Success School Culture and Learning Environment to Promote Excellence and Equity Developing Human Capital to Improve Teacher and Staff Effectiveness and Student Achievement Family and Community Engagement Operational Systems, Data Systems, and Legal Guidelines to Support Achievement of School Goals Test Format: Revisions increase focus on performance tasks 120 multiple choice questions across 2 part exam (50% of exam score) 4 performance tasks across 2 part exam (50 % of exam score) 80 multiple choice questions across 2 part exam (40% of exam score) 6 performance tasks across 2 part exam (60% of exam score) Changes to the exam:  Increased emphasis on instructional leadership  Increased emphasis on data-driven instruction  Increased emphasis on teacher evaluation, including a video observation and analysis task  More emphasis on performance related tasks  More rigorous

26. www.engageNY.org Discussion  Currently when you recruit/hire principals do they have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to enable them to “hit the ground” running?  What are the preparation programs doing well?  What would you like them to improve in order to better prepare school leader candidates for these changing roles?

27. www.engageNY.org Thank You.