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BONUS
RESOURCES – SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- What
We Know about Successful School Leadership (PDF File)
This brief, prepared by the Task Force on Developing Research in
Educational Leadership (American Educational Research Association) "presents
a summary of well-documented understandings about education leadership
at the school building level." The basics of school leadership,
the authors conclude, "focus on setting direction for the school,
developing people, and developing the organization." Many of the
findings in this research brief emphasize the need for leaders to develop
professional learning communities that support teacher and student growth
and achievement. (500k PDF file)
- No Excuses Website
Developed in conjunction with the No Excuses book used in book studies
across Alabama. You’ll find resources that connect to the “no
excuses” philosophy, including recent research, motivational materials,
and news stories highlighting schools that are beating the odds.
- Mentoring
New Leaders
How do new principals gain the skills and knowledge they need to survive
and thrive in their first years on the job? Researchers who have studied
administrator mentoring programs have drawn some conclusions about the
benefits of mentoring and the characteristics of effective programs.
See this research summary from Educational Leadership (April 2004).
- High-Poverty
Schools Benefit from Strong Leaders
A December 2003 study conducted by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit
and Review Commission identifies some best practices used in schools
with large numbers of students who come from poor homes or from homes
where adults have limited education. The study identifies "strong
leadership" -- where school principals have extensive teaching
experience and are the instructional leaders of their school -- as one
of nine key elements for success.
- Parable
of the Blind Squirrel
Principals and teachers are often like the blind squirrel looking for
an acorn, says this Illinois superintendent. They know the thing they
seek is close at hand, but they keep going over old ground. Thomas W.
Many describes how schools in his district used ingsights garnered from
the book Professional Learning Communities at Work to begin to systematically
solve their achievement problems. (School Administrator, May 2003)
- Leading
By Mistake
What's the secret to the success of a strong school administrator? For
many, the secret is learning from their mistakes. In this article from
the Education World Principals Files, principals describe some of their
biggest mistakes -- and their biggest opportunities to become better
school administrators.
- Leading
in Tough Times
Check out these web resources developed for “Leading in Tough
Times,” a special issue of Educational Leadership published in
April 2004.
- Differing Views
Of School Leaders' Main Tasks
Principals say their most important job is inspiring faculty members
and students, but teachers believe their school leaders spend more time
on test scores. But educators, parents and students do agree that the
principal's most important job is to motivate teachers and students
to achieve. Read the results of the 2003 MetLife Survey of the American
Teacher: An Examination of School Leadership which can be downloaded
at this page.
- Principal
Leadership and Teacher Retention
A fter determining that nearly 17 percent of the teacher workforce left
the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Schools in 2002 at an average replacement
cost of $11,500, the independent non-profit group Charlotte (NC) Advocates
for Education studied district principals in high-needs schools who
have been more successful in retaining teachers while increasing student
achievement.
- Leadership Academies in the Lead
This Fall 2003 newsletter describes how some states in the South are
redesigning their leadership academies to help teams from low-performing
schools develop improvement efforts in curriculum, instruction and school
achievement. Of particular interest is the article “Redesigning
Leadership Academies: Addressing Six Challenges.” (Southern Regional
Education Board)
- Lessons
in Leadership from Lorraine Moore
Lorraine Monroe helped transform an apathetic, low-performing school
in central Harlem into a place of high expectations and greatly improved
student achievement. In this interview with Educational Leadership (April
2004) the teacher and administrator turned consultant talks about the
kind of strong leadership required to achieve change. Somebody, she
says, has to be the Boss.
WTE JOURNAL RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP'
- Seven Principles
of Sustainable Leadership
A charismatic principal turns around an underperforming school and then
sees all her work unravel when she leaves. Teachers watch four principals
pass through in six years and conclude that they can easily wait out
change agendas. Based on a study eight high schools over three decades
of change, authors Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink offer seven principles
that together define sustainable leadership. (Educational Leadership,
April 2004)
- Principal
Leadership for School-Community Collaboration
This case study (2002) by researchers at Johns Hopkins University describes
how one urban elementary school in a high-reform district and state
has been able to build successful bridges to its community through a
commitment to learning and principal’s support and vision. Teachers
College Record. (May require free registration.)
- Virginia's
"Turn-Around" Principal Plan
Borrowing a strategy from the corporate world, Virginia plans to
form an elite cadre of principals armed with the skills needed to jump-start
improvement in low-performing schools.Some experts are skeptical of
the “superman” approach but organizers say that much of
what participants will be learning to do is to create structures that
last after they depart.
- Cutting-Edge
Principal Leadership Development
The Southern Regional Education Board’s Leadership Initiative
has produced a series of groundbreaking studies and reports on the steps
that states must take to redesign principal preparation and professional
development. The entire SREB leadership library is available for download
at this webpage.
- “Learning
to Lead, Leading to Learn”
In this seminal report on ways to improve school quality through
principal professional development, the National Staff Development Council
describes some of the new demands on school leaders and reviews current
research to identify what policymakers can do to strengthen the ability
of principals and other educators to become instructional leaders.
- The
Role of Teachers as Instructional Leaders
The important report Leadership for Student Learning: Redefining the
Teacher as Leader (April 2001) spotlights promising practices that are
serving to help redefine the teacher's role in public education and
promote teacher leadership that improves teaching and raises student
achievement. Prepared by the Institute for Educational Leadership. (PDF
File)
- Free
Leadership Newsletter
The biweekly e-newsletter Teacher Leaders eSource share links to new
research, important reports, significant news stories,and other resources
that all education leaders can put to use in their daily work, including
information on mentoring, cutting-edge staff development, best instructional
practices, and more.
- How
To Build a Learning Community
Here’s a great resource for exploring the concept of professional
learning communities. Developed by the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
and the National Staff Development Council, this webpage includes annotated
links to key articles about PLC’s, including several by leadership
experts Rick DuFour and Robert Eaker.
- “Balanced
Leadership”
Subtitled “What Thirty Years of Research Tells Us About the Effect
of Leadership on Student Achievement,” this report by Robert Marzano
and others (McREL, 2003) identifies 21 key leadership responsibilities
that are significantly correlated with higher student achievement. (Download
free PDF file at this page.)
- Leadership
Resources for Teacher Coaches
Many schools in Alabama and across the nation are adopting the teacher-coach
model to improve instruction and support teacher collaboration and the
development of professional learning communities. Too often, teachers
are thrust into coaching roles without adequate leadership preparation.
This resource page offers a wealth on online material that can help
principals and coaches make the transition to this new strategy for
school improvement.
- Is
Your School Practicing "Collaboration Lite"?
"Leaders determined to impact student achievement must not settle
for congeniality, coordination, delegating responsibilities, or any
form of 'collaboration lite'," writes learning community expert
Rick Dufour. Instead, leaders must expect collaboration and define it
in narrow terms. (Journal of Staff Development, Summer 2003)
- Identify
Your School’s Core Values
The first step toward shared leadership among principals and teachers
is to agree on the core values of your school. In "Taking the High
Road" (Principal Leadership, April 2004), Suzanne Bond offers an
"operating principles" strategy that can help schools develop
"a shared covenant that clearly articulates the school's core values
and provides a standard by which actions will be judged."
- Leadership
in Breakthrough High Schools
Breakthrough High Schools, a project of the National Association
of Secondary School Principals, reports on schools with high minority
and high poverty populations that demonstrate significant student achievement
and high graduation/college-admission rates. Find out how they did it
at this webpage. One important finding: "The effective principal
also shares his or her leadership and empowers others to seek solutions
to problems they have identified."
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