Instructional Leadership


Book Description

Bridge the gap between good intentions and real results Instructional Leadership is one of the most researched and discussed leadership practices, but most school leaders don’t know where to begin or how to balance this role with all of their other responsibilities. Peter DeWitt’s Instructional Leadership provides practical tools for delivering lasting improvement through small, manageable changes over time. This step-by-step, how-to guide presents the six driving forces of instructional leadership—implementation, focus on learning, student engagement, instructional strategies, efficacy, and evaluation of impact—within an easy-to-follow, multi-stage implementation model. It also includes: · Practical strategies grounded in research · "Entry point" sections highlighting the best places to start · Help working with PLCs, faculty meetings, teacher observations, and walkthroughs · Study questions As a leader, you are the guide for your teachers, staff, and students. Let this book guide you to a vision of instructional leadership that really works.




Instructional Coaches and the Instructional Leadership Team


Book Description

Supercharge school improvement with instructional coaches! For instructional coaches, no two days are ever the same. This unique companion melds theory and practice to show how coaches can seamlessly integrate themselves into the fabric of the school and help teachers improve their practice from day one. Dean Spaulding and Gail Smith address common challenges of coaches and instructional leadership teams, including: Observing classrooms and providing formative feedback Reaching out to the hesitant or resistant teacher Adapting data and analysis into usable information for the team Recruiting, training, and supporting new instructional coaches Journal entries based on the real-life experiences give an inside look at the day-to-day work of an instructional coach and the power of coaching to improve teacher effectiveness. The book also includes field-tested activities, materials, and forms for collecting data, navigating busy days, and organizing information. Instructional Coaches and the Instructional Leadership Team is ideal for those wanting to learn best practices to engage educators and support teacher evaluation reform. "This book would have made my life SO much easier. I highly recommend it to new and experienced instructional coaches alike!" —Kathy Ferrell, Instructional Coach Excelsior Springs Middle School, MO "This is a wonderful resource. Even schools without instructional coaches will benefit from the strategies and suggestions included. It′s an excellent book even for those who shy away from data analysis!" —Ann Dargon, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Westport Community Schools, MA




How Leadership Works


Book Description

Sharpen your instructional leadership skills and guide your school toward equity and excellence for all. Just think about how great schools could be if every instructional leader exercised their influence to create change—maximizing the efforts of others and mobilizing those efforts to work toward a shared goal. How Leadership Works: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders walks educators through the processes of clarifying, articulating, and actualizing instructional leadership goals with the aim of delivering on the promise of equity and excellence for all. Grounded in Visible Learning® research, the exercises in this easy-to-use playbook illuminate the essential mindframes necessary for effective instructional leadership and prompt veteran, new, and aspiring educators to identify challenges and determine next steps. It includes: Ten essential mindframes for leaders, together with the leadership practices that illustrate each mindframe in action Teaching practices, such as teacher clarity or student engagement in learning, that support teachers in delivering quality instruction, along with tools to document the impact of those practices on learning Strategies for leading learning, including establishing school culture, utilizing feedback, and supporting professional learning communities as a pathway to building collective teacher efficacy. Tools for applying the principles of change, conducting an initiative inventory, and implementing and de-implementing initiatives Exercise-by-exercise, educators and front office staff will deepen their knowledge, frame their priorities and practices, and gain new tools for supporting the instructional focus and initiatives designed to support learning at your school.




Trust as the Core of Instructional Leadership


Book Description

Be visible and approachable. Unpack necessary conversations with care. Build capacity based on strengths. Author Delia E. Racines offers these powerful protocols and more to support instructional leaders in building a community of trust in which positive change can occur. All current and aspiring instructional leaders ready to work collaboratively to improve teaching and learning will value this book. Instructional leaders will use this essential guide to: Understand the importance of fostering trust and competence across all relationships within their school Utilize a wide variety of reproducibles for both team building and personal reflection Dive into Educator Spotlights that provide unique perspectives on chapter tools Strategize for effective goal setting and achievement Become more intentionally present as leaders Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Be Visible and Approachable Chapter 2: Listen Closely to the Complaint for a Request Chapter 3: Invite All Voices Chapter 4: Use a Strengths-Based Approach Toward Building Instructional Leadership Capacity Chapter 5: Unpack Necessary Conversations With Care Conclusion References and Resources Index




The Principal's Guide to Time Management


Book Description

Make the most of your time—and your leadership Is your school’s vision getting buried under paperwork? If you spend more time picking up pieces than putting them together, this is your book. Written by seasoned school principals, this plan of action will get you back to the essence of your job: instructional leadership. By using educational technology to maximize efficiency, you’ll improve teaching, student achievement, resource management, and school culture. This comprehensive guide features: Easy-to-follow, single-topic chapters Standards–based scenarios and questions Time-management self-assessments Easily adaptable experiential exercises Strategies for battling the “silent time thief”




Seven Steps to Effective Instructional Leadership


Book Description

Updated Edition of Best Seller! "You won′t find a more practical, detailed guide to improving school effectiveness than is contained between the covers of this book!" Leonard O. Pellicer, Dean School of Education University of La Verne La Verne, CA "Few books on school leadership have effectively brought together the best of educational theory and practice for school administrators as Elaine McEwan′s Seven Steps to Instructional Leadership." Michael Pladus 1999 MetLife/NASSP National Principal of the Year Have the courage and the vision to lead your staff to achieve their highest instructional goals! Make a substantive impact on the lives of your students and your staff. This practical, hands-on guide can help you become a more effective instructional leader. Here are research-based activities to help you lead your staff though McEwans′s seven steps: Establish, implement, and achieve academic standards Be an instructional resource for your staff Create a learning-oriented school culture and climate Communicate your school′s vision and mission to staff and students Set high expectations for your staff and yourself Develop teacher leaders Develop and maintain positive relationships with students, staff, and parents Integrate these seven steps into your daily behavior. Chapters on each step include research data, discussion and advice from instructional leaders, and practical suggestions from dozens of leading principals that you can use right now in your own school. Use the Instructional Leadership Checklist to: Assess your current level of instructional leadership Find out how your staff thinks you′re doing Set goals for improving your instructional leadership practice Evaluate your progress toward your goals Attaining a new and higher level of instructional leadership will make a difference for each person in your school. Staff, students, and parents will get the message that all students matter. Everyone will start expecting that all students can learn, and your school will achieve its mission—improving education.




Collective Leader Efficacy


Book Description

Not just another book on leadership teams For school teams to succeed, they need leadership, independence, meaningful collaboration, and a shared conviction that they have real power to enact actual change. Educators know this, but they often lack an inquiry process that creates a community of learning leaders that is capable of deep collective impact on student learning and wellbeing. In this research-based, hands-on guidebook, school leadership coach Peter DeWitt introduces eight key drivers to integrating teacher and leader efficacy (mindset, well-being, context beliefs, working conditions, professional learning, organizational commitment, skills, and confidence) and harnesses it with a process to help you focus on the nuances of instruction and teaming to develop powerful collective leader efficacy. Readers will find: Activities and strategies designed to build collective efficacy in instructional teams and foster leadership and interdependence among teachers Theories of action to focus team efforts and how to create your own Tools, reflection prompts, and guiding questions to help you define your desired outcomes and the steps necessary to get there With this book and the research within it, your instructional leadership team will develop a learner’s mindset, a collective commitment to improvement, and a shared process for inquiry and continual growth so you can nurture greater impact together.




The Principal as Instructional Leader


Book Description

First published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.




Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership


Book Description

This timely and essential book provides a comprehensive guide for school leaders who desire to engage their school communities in transformative systemic change. Sharon I. Radd, Gretchen Givens Generett, Mark Anthony Gooden, and George Theoharis offer five practices to increase educational equity and eliminate marginalization based on race, disability, socioeconomics, language, gender and sexual identity, and religion. For each dimension of diversity, the authors provide background information for understanding the current realities in schools and beyond, and they suggest "disruptive practices" to replace the status quo in order to achieve full inclusion and educational excellence for every child. Assuming that leadership to create equity is a unique practice, the book offers * Clear explanations of foundational terms and concepts, such as equity, systemic inequity, paradigms and cognitive dissonance, and privilege; * Specific recommendations for how to build support and sustainability by engaging colleagues and other stakeholders in constructive dialogues with multiple perspectives; * Detailed descriptions of routines and roles for building effective equity-leadership teams; * Guidelines and tools for performing an equity audit, including environmental scans; * A change framework to skillfully transform your system; and * Reflection activities for self-discovery, understanding, and personal and professional growth. A call to action that is both passionate and practical, Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership is an indispensable roadmap for educators undertaking the journey toward an education system that acknowledges and advances the worth and potential of all students.