The central offices matters substantially to district-wide teaching and learning improvement

Structural reforms alone generally have not been sufficient for district-wide teaching and learning improvements Deep changes in teaching and learning district wide did not materialize, in part, because the reform effort did not adequately support fundamental shifts in what people in central offices knew and could do (Hubbard, Mehan, & Stein 2006) Deep changes in teaching and learning district wide did not materialize, in part, because the reform effort did not adequately support fundamental shifts in what people in central offices knew and could do (Hubbard, Mehan, & Stein 2006) High-performance depends not only on formal structures but also fundamentally on the practice of peoplehow central office administrators understand and go about their work day-to-day in leading for teaching and learning improvement High-performance depends not only on formal structures but also fundamentally on the practice of peoplehow central office administrators understand and go about their work day-to-day in leading for teaching and learning improvement

Teaching and learning improvements in schools depend not only on what happens in schools but how school district central offices create and implement supports for change Central office administrators knowledge of high-quality instruction has been emerging as fundamental to implementing ambitious standards-based curricular reforms Central office administrators knowledge of high-quality instruction has been emerging as fundamental to implementing ambitious standards-based curricular reforms Improvements depend heavily on the ready capacity of central office administrators to engage in new work practices supportive of district-wide teaching and learning improvements Improvements depend heavily on the ready capacity of central office administrators to engage in new work practices supportive of district-wide teaching and learning improvements

Implementation of reforms hinges on central office administrators engaging in new partnership relationships with schools and community agencies to build the central offices and schools collective capacity for implementation Central office leadership for teaching and learning demands ongoing learning on the part of central office administrators - ongoing learning about the kinds of capacity, work practices, and relationships that might enable demonstrable improvements in teaching and learning. Central office leadership for teaching and learning demands ongoing learning on the part of central office administrators - ongoing learning about the kinds of capacity, work practices, and relationships that might enable demonstrable improvements in teaching and learning.

The reform effort must focus centrally and meaningfully on teaching and learning improvement Central offices should be able to demonstrate how their work matters in concrete terms to teaching and learning improvement Central offices should be able to demonstrate how their work matters in concrete terms to teaching and learning improvement Central office transformation involves remaking how ALL central office administrators work with schools Central office transformation involves remaking how ALL central office administrators work with schools Central office administrators fundamentally remake their work practices and their relationships with schools in support of teaching and learning improvements for all students. Central office administrators fundamentally remake their work practices and their relationships with schools in support of teaching and learning improvements for all students.

The Five Dimensions of Central Office Transformation Dimension 1: Learning-focused partnerships with school principals to deepen principals instructional leadership practice. Dimension 1: Learning-focused partnerships with school principals to deepen principals instructional leadership practice. Create direct, personal relationships between individual central office administrators and school principals focused on helping every school principal become a stronger instructional leader. Provide Instructional Leadership Directors (ILDs) who focused most of their time on helping school principals improve their practice. ILDs differentiated supports for principals instructional leadership consistently over the entire academic year. ILDs model for principals how to think and act like an instructional leader; develop and use tools that supported principals engagement in instructional leadership, and broker external resources to help principals become more powerful instructional leaders.

The Five Dimensions of Central Office Transformation Dimension 2: Assistance to the central office–principal partnerships. Dimension 2: Assistance to the central office–principal partnerships. Provide professional development to the ILDs that engaged them in ongoing challenging conversations about their work with principals and how to strengthen it. Provide professional development to the ILDs that engaged them in ongoing challenging conversations about their work with principals and how to strengthen it. Others in the central office reinforce the importance of ILD leadership to the overall teaching and learning improvement effort. Others in the central office reinforce the importance of ILD leadership to the overall teaching and learning improvement effort. The entire system holding principals accountable for improving The entire system holding principals accountable for improving

The Five Dimensions of Central Office Transformation Dimension 3: Reorganize and reculture each central office unit to support the central office– principal partnerships and teaching and learning improvement. Dimension 3: Reorganize and reculture each central office unit to support the central office– principal partnerships and teaching and learning improvement. Everyone shifted the focus from primarily delivering the services that they controlled to taking responsibility for solving problems that promised to help schools improve teaching and learning Everyone shifted the focus from primarily delivering the services that they controlled to taking responsibility for solving problems that promised to help schools improve teaching and learning intentional efforts to develop the capacity of people throughout the central office to support teaching and learning improvement. intentional efforts to develop the capacity of people throughout the central office to support teaching and learning improvement. created and used new ways to hold central office administrators accountable for high-quality performance. created and used new ways to hold central office administrators accountable for high-quality performance.

The Five Dimensions of Central Office Transformation Dimension 4: Stewardship of the overall central office transformation process. Dimension 4: Stewardship of the overall central office transformation process. central office administrators engaged in continuously developing the theory of action underlying central office transformation, while communicating it and engaging others in understanding it. central office administrators engaged in continuously developing the theory of action underlying central office transformation, while communicating it and engaging others in understanding it. strategically brokered external resources and relationships to support the overall central office transformation efforts. strategically brokered external resources and relationships to support the overall central office transformation efforts.

The Five Dimensions of Central Office Transformation Dimension 5: Use of evidence throughout the central office to support continual improvement of work practices and relationships with schools. Dimension 5: Use of evidence throughout the central office to support continual improvement of work practices and relationships with schools. engaged in the ongoing collection of evidence from their own experience with the transformation process and attempted to use lessons from experience to inform how they engaged in the other four dimensions of central office transformation. engaged in the ongoing collection of evidence from their own experience with the transformation process and attempted to use lessons from experience to inform how they engaged in the other four dimensions of central office transformation.

Central Office Transformation Focuses centrally and meaningfully on teaching and learning improvement. Focuses centrally and meaningfully on teaching and learning improvement. Central office staff are able to demonstrate how their work matters in concrete terms to teaching and learning improvement. They actually change their work to leverage specific supports for teaching and learning improvement. Central office staff are able to demonstrate how their work matters in concrete terms to teaching and learning improvement. They actually change their work to leverage specific supports for teaching and learning improvement.

Central Office Transformation Engages the entire central office in reform. Engages the entire central office in reform. involves remaking how all central office administrators work with schools and with each othereveryone from the entire central office, no matter what department, unit, or function. involves remaking how all central office administrators work with schools and with each othereveryone from the entire central office, no matter what department, unit, or function.

Central Office Transformation Calls on central office administrators to fundamentally remake their work practices and their relationships with schools to support teaching and learning improvements for all schools. Calls on central office administrators to fundamentally remake their work practices and their relationships with schools to support teaching and learning improvements for all schools. a transformation strategy is fundamentally about remaking what the people in central offices dotheir daily work and relationships with schools. a transformation strategy is fundamentally about remaking what the people in central offices dotheir daily work and relationships with schools.

Central Office Transformation Constitutes an important focus for reform in its own right Constitutes an important focus for reform in its own right transformation involves ongoing work on central office practice that supports teaching and learning improvement that transcends particular programs or initiatives. transformation involves ongoing work on central office practice that supports teaching and learning improvement that transcends particular programs or initiatives.