Leadership Matters: Building Principals’ Capacity in Title I Schools and Districts Ann Cunningham-Morris ASCD Author & Faculty Member

Today’s Agenda  Welcome, Introductions, Outcomes  Big Picture –Leadership Matters –ASCD’s Leadership Development Framework –Reflective Cycle  Leadership Learning Activities  Title I Leadership Development: What Should Be Included?  Thinking About Your Next Steps

Outcomes  To examine ASCD’s Principal Leadership Development Framework focus areas for Title I school administrators  To explore several strength-based leadership development practices aligned to the framework  To embrace the importance of Title I school principals/AP’s becoming more reflective (and more effective) leaders.

Meet & Greet  Share your name, role, and school/district or organization with the person next to you or behind you  Share your biggest leadership development challenge or “wish”

The Big Picture

Leadership Matters: Principal’s Role Requires New Leadership Essentials

Why Support Leadership Essentials?

Some Findings  Keeping the same school leaders in place with ongoing leadership development has positive effects on student achievement.  The negative effect of high principal turnover on student performance reveals itself the year after the vacancy, and it can take the next principal up to three years to regain positive momentum in math and English language arts performance.

Some Findings  Positive results occur when dedicated leaders invest in schools over multiple years, and that continuity produces better learning opportunities for students and best supports teachers  There has been significant attention given to developing new leaders, but once they are in place, support for continuous improvement and development wanes

Principal Leadership Development Framework Four key roles of the building administrator with which ASCD offers significant expertise:  Visionary  Instructional Leader  Engager  Learner and Collaborator Offers 17 Critical Descriptors of Effective Practice

Principal Leadership Development Framework  Aligned to the ISLLC standards and other organizational, state and district standards  Can be used as the development and learning tool to complement any administrator evaluation system  Provides clear targets for educational leadership excellence along with the pathways & tools to get there.  Integrates and supports reflective practice and growth through the Principal’s Continuum of Self- Reflection

Two Pathways Sustainable District Systems District Personnel District Leadership Development Program District Supervisors, Mentors, and Coaches for Principals District Succession Planning Individual Professional Growth Growth and Development of Principals Growth and Development of Assistant Principals Growth and Development of Others Apriring to the Principalship Teacher Professional Growth Student Learning

Leadership Learning Activity Unpacking the Framework

Unpacking Framework and Making Connections to Effective Practices  Divide into 4 groups based upon the four roles  Once in the role group, work in trios.  Use Index card or notepad to discuss and list the 3 most important things you would look for in schools where the principal is acting on the criteria in the category your group is assigned.  List how the “look for’s” connect to effective teacher practice.

Important Strength-Based Practice: Reflection Helps Leaders Consider, Plan for and Take Action on: 1.Where Am I Now? 2.Where Am I Going? 3. How Am I Going to Get There?

Making Connections to Principal Continuum of Self Reflection Unaware StageConscious StageAction StageRefinement Stage Leader’s Reflective Tendencies  Demonstrates little or no awareness of current reality in the school building and nuanced cultural context  Oriented to routine  Reacts emotionally or impulsively to the immediate needs of the school  Focuses on the job itself – the tasks of the principalship  Demonstrates a consistent “knowing- doing” gap  Offers explanations for problems and circumstances  Misconstrues the factors requiring action  Focuses first on self and own role in principalship  Accepts responsibility for the success of students, staff, and self  Evaluates situations objectively  Seeks solutions to problems  Focuses on the science of leadership, managing resources and implementing research-based practices  Recognizes there are multiple options to address every problem  Maintains and seeks out a vast repertoire of leadership strategies  Adjusts course when necessary to maintain heading towards common goal  Focuses on the fluid art of leadership, seeking ongoing feedback and maintaining a relentless focus on continuous improvement Figure 2.1 Principal’s Continuum of Self-Reflection At-A-Glance Copyright © 2015 ASCD: The Principal Influence: A framework for building principals’ leadership capacity (Hall, Childs-Bowen, Cunningham-Morris, Pajardo, & Simeral, 2015).

Making Connections to the Reflective Cycle Figure 2.3 The Reflective Cycle for Principals Copyright © 2015 ASCD: The Principal Influence: A framework for building principals’ leadership capacity (Hall, Childs-Bowen, Cunningham-Morris, Pajardo, & Simeral, 2015). How intentionally do I align decisions, actions, policies and resources to meet our needs? How do I know whether my leadership actions are positively impacting the staff and school community? How aware am I of the status of learning and teaching in my school, our current reality and needs, and my leadership role? How responsive am I to the results of my assessment and the changing needs of the school community? Capability to Adjust Actions Awareness of Leadership Context Intentionality of Actions Ability to Accurately Assess

How intentionally do I align decisions, actions, policies and resources to meet our needs? How do I know whether my leadership actions are positively impacting the staff and school community? How aware am I of the status of learning and teaching in my school, our current reality and needs, and my leadership role? How responsive am I to the results of my assessment and the changing needs of the school community? Capability to Adjust Actions Awareness of Leadership Context Intentionality of Actions Ability to Accurately Assess

How intentionally do I align decisions, actions, policies and resources to meet our needs? How do I know whether my leadership actions are positively impacting the staff and school community? How aware am I of the status of learning and teaching in my school, our current reality and needs, and my leadership role? How responsive am I to the results of my assessment and the changing needs of the school community? Capability to Adjust Actions Awareness of Leadership Context Intentionality of Actions Ability to Accurately Assess

How intentionally do I align decisions, actions, policies and resources to meet our needs? How do I know whether my leadership actions are positively impacting the staff and school community? How aware am I of the status of learning and teaching in my school, our current reality and needs, and my leadership role? How responsive am I to the results of my assessment and the changing needs of the school community? Capability to Adjust Actions Awareness of Leadership Context Intentionality of Actions Ability to Accurately Assess

How intentionally do I align decisions, actions, policies and resources to meet our needs? How do I know whether my leadership actions are positively impacting the staff and school community? How aware am I of the status of learning and teaching in my school, our current reality and needs, and my leadership role? How responsive am I to the results of my assessment and the changing needs of the school community? Capability to Adjust Actions Awareness of Leadership Context Intentionality of Actions Ability to Accurately Assess

More Connections to Principal Continuum of Self Reflection Fig. 2.2: P-CSR Describing Instructional Leadership Copyright © 2015 ASCD: The Principal Influence: A framework for building principals’ leadership capacity (Hall, Childs-Bowen, Cunningham-Morris, Pajardo, & Simeral, 2015). Unaware Stage Conscious Stage Action Stage Refinement Stage Principal as Instructional Leader  Has not enacted steps towards developing a PLC  Adheres to the formal observation process and does not go beyond that  Maintains status quo regarding curriculum, instruction, and assessment  Does not understand, access, or use available data Focus on Building Awareness  Organizes school staff with some elements of PLC present  Completes the formal evaluation process and may or may not pursue further monitoring of instruction  Takes steps to update curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices  Collects data, and may or may not use it to update action plans Focus on Planning and Being More Intentional  Facilitates the implementation of the structural elements of a PLC  Supervises and monitors instruction, providing feedback to teachers  Coordinates curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices  Analyzes data to create and refine action plans Focus on Accurately Assessing the Impact of Your Actions  Builds collective capacity of entire staff through the cultivation of a robust and equitable student focused PLC  Builds individual and collective capacity of entire staff through differentiated supervision, coaching, and evaluation practices  Assures the alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment that meet all students’ needs  Promotes monitoring systems that utilize real-time data to inform teams’ and teachers’ instruction and intervention decisions Focus on Becoming More Responsive

Focused Reflective Questions  If operating in the Unaware stage in a particular criterion, then in order to grow as a reflective leader, focus on building awareness of the leader's role within that criterion.  If operating in the Conscious stage in a particular criterion, then in order to grow as a reflective leader, focus on planning and being more intentional with leadership actions within that criterion. Copyright © 2015 ASCD: The Principal Influence: A framework for building principals’ leadership capacity (Hall, Childs-Bowen, Cunningham-Morris, Pajardo, & Simeral, 2015).

Focused Reflective Questions  If operating in the Action stage in a particular criterion, then in order to grow as a reflective leader, focus on accurately assessing the impact of actions within that criterion.  If operating in the Refinement stage in a particular criterion, then in order to grow as a reflective leader, focus on becoming more responsive to the changing dynamics of the school environment within that criterion. Copyright © 2015 ASCD: The Principal Influence: A framework for building principals’ leadership capacity (Hall, Childs-Bowen, Cunningham-Morris, Pajardo, & Simeral, 2015).

What Should Leadership Development Include for Title I Principals & AP’s

 Strategies for providing focus in order to address initiative fatigue  Strategies for monitoring/measuring the use of resources against the vision for school-wide improvement and success Visionary: What Should Leadership Development Include?

 Strategies for supporting PLC’s that are more than “data meetings”  Agreed upon consistency in implementation of focus area instructional & assessment practices  Practice on how to coach as a principal  Strategies for differentiating supervision and feedback Instructional Leader: What Should Leadership Development Include?

 Cultural competence, equity/access practices and strategies that integrate student voice  Strategies for creating reflective practitioners schoolwide  Implementing Whole Child practices in the school community Engager: What Should Leadership Development Include?

 Strategies for how to make sure professional learning is differentiated  Strategies for how to provide support for job- embedded practices  Strategies for how to gather the right evidence to show impact on teacher practice & student outcomes Learner/Collaborator: What Should Leadership Development Include?

 Strategies for how to build capacity of teacher leaders with specific roles, responsibilities, & decision making  Strategies for how to build capacity of assistant principals as instructional leaders Learner/Collaborator: What Should Leadership Development Include?

Leadership Learning Activity Next Steps

Capitalizing on Strengths for Title I Principals  Start with self-assessment to determine strengths and needs  Change traditional principal/AP meetings into Community of Practice meetings allowing principals to work together to solve similar problems of practice in their schools  Develop virtual collaboration cohorts for principals/AP’s based on their leadership development strengths and needs  Differentiate leadership development experiences based on strengths and needs  Make sure that reflection is a major component of ongoing leadership development

Your Next Step Ideas List at least one next step you can take within your “sphere of influence” to impact the following:  Your own leadership development  The leadership development for aspiring principals in your school(s)  The leadership development for teacher leaders in your school(s)  The leadership development experiences offered to Title I principals and aspiring principals in the district

Closing

Meet the authors

A guided one-year program designed to incorporate a range of ASCD learning resources delivered in a blended online environment Learner Engagement: ASCD Leadership Faculty guide learners through program, monitor progress, and provide ongoing support LEARN 2-day Workshop with Book Online Seminar SeriesOnline ResourcesVirtual Coaching VALIDATE Assessments to measure learning along the way Projects that allow leaders to synthesize learning into a job relevant situation PRACTICE & APPLY Virtual simulations and job embedded activities Continued access to professional learning community

ASCD Support for Principal & Teacher Leadership Development Telephone: or , ext