The primary aim of The primary aim of education is not to education is not to

enable students to do enable students to do well in school, but well in school, but toto help them do well help them do well in the lives they in the lives they lead outside of lead outside of

school.school.

Learning-Centered Learning-Centered Leadership for Leadership for

Learning Centered Learning Centered SchoolsSchools

WCPSS Principals’ MeetingWCPSS Principals’ Meeting

March 25, 2009March 25, 2009

AgendaAgenda What is learning-centered What is learning-centered leadership? leadership?

What behaviors and actions What behaviors and actions can we take? can we take?

Starting the process: The Starting the process: The LEAD Action Planning CycleLEAD Action Planning Cycle

FishFish is is FishFish

Fish is FishFish is Fish Video Not Video Not AvailableAvailable

I am not an expertI am not an expert I’m a learner and I I’m a learner and I change my opinion change my opinion based on what I based on what I learn.learn.

Messages we must send….

How do you spend your How do you spend your time?time?•Political Leadership

(community)

•Managerial Leadership (building, finances, paperwork)

•Instructional Leadership

•Planning/setting goals

•Own professional development •Other

Goldring and Murphy, 2008

How principals report spending their time: Spring 2005. Based on 5 log reports

School type: Middle School Political leadership

Managerialleadership InstructionalLeadership Planning and SettingGoals Professional grow th

Other

School type: Elementary Political leadership

Managerialleadership InstructionalLeadership Planning and SettingGoals Professional grow th

Other

School type: High School Political leadership

Managerialleadership

InstructionalLeadership

Planning and SettingGoals

Professional growth

Other

Are you making the Are you making the main thing, the main thing, the

main thing?main thing?

or or

Are you caught up Are you caught up in the thin of very in the thin of very

thick things?thick things?

““It is not enough to be It is not enough to be busy. busy.

The question is: The question is: What are we busy about?”What are we busy about?”

Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau

How we spend our How we spend our time defines time defines

what we value..what we value..

LeadershipLeadership1.1. Leadership matters. Leadership matters.

2.2. In difficult times, leadership In difficult times, leadership matters even more. matters even more.

3.3. In periods of significant In periods of significant organizational transition, organizational transition, leadership is the major controllable leadership is the major controllable factor in explaining organizational factor in explaining organizational performance. performance.

Dr. Joseph MurphyDr. Joseph Murphy

LeadershipLeadership4.4. Instructionally-focused and change- Instructionally-focused and change- oriented leadership are especially oriented leadership are especially effective frames for education. effective frames for education.

5.5. Team leadership seems to offer promise Team leadership seems to offer promise for enhancing organizational performance. for enhancing organizational performance.

6.6. Assessment provides a strategic leverage Assessment provides a strategic leverage point for strengthening leadership. point for strengthening leadership.

Dr. Joseph MurphyDr. Joseph Murphy

Learning Centered Learning Centered LeadershipLeadership

• Vision for LearningVision for Learning• Instructional ProgramInstructional Program• Curricular ProgramCurricular Program• Assessment ProgramAssessment Program• Communities of LearningCommunities of Learning• Resource Acquisition and UseResource Acquisition and Use• Organizational CultureOrganizational Culture• Social AdvocacySocial Advocacy

Dr. Dr. Joseph MurphyJoseph Murphy

Vision for Vision for LearningLearning

•Developing visionDeveloping vision

•Articulating visionArticulating vision

•Implementing visionImplementing vision

•Stewarding visionStewarding vision

President President Obama’s Obama’s

Inaugural SpeechInaugural Speech www.youtube.com

Obama’s Inaugural SpeechObama’s Inaugural Speech

Part VPart V

Leadership is about Leadership is about vision. vision.

But leadership is But leadership is equally about creating equally about creating a climate where the a climate where the

truth is heard and the truth is heard and the brutal facts brutal facts confronted.confronted.

Jim Jim CollinsCollins

Is your vision known and owned

by all?

Does it inspire and motivate?

Is it propelling your school

forward?

Student Student performance will performance will not improve over not improve over time without a time without a vision/mission vision/mission

that means that means something to the something to the

adults and adults and students in that students in that

setting!setting!

The secret of success The secret of success is constancy of is constancy of

purpose.purpose.

If you don’t know If you don’t know where you are going, where you are going, any path will get you any path will get you

there.there.

II. Instructional II. Instructional ProgramProgram

A.A.Knowledge and involvementKnowledge and involvement– Understand learning needs of Understand learning needs of individuals (teachers, students, individuals (teachers, students, parents)parents)

– Hiring and allocating staffHiring and allocating staffB.B.Supporting staffSupporting staff

– Arranging, providing professional Arranging, providing professional development to support and development to support and develop expertise; provide develop expertise; provide resources; offer incentives resources; offer incentives

C.C.Instructional timeInstructional time

How much time is How much time is spent on spent on learning?learning? Does your Does your

schedule drive schedule drive instruction or instruction or

does instruction does instruction drive your drive your schedule?schedule?

?? ??

??????

??

What’s in your school What’s in your school house?house?

RIGOR

RELEVANCE

AA BB

DDCC

Rigor/Relevance FrameworkRigor/Relevance Framework

TeacherTeacherWorkWork

Teacher/Student RolesTeacher/Student Roles

StudentStudentThinkThink

StudentStudentThink & WorkThink & Work

StudentStudentWorkWork

High

HighLow

Low

IIIIII. Curricular . Curricular ProgramProgram

• Knowledge and involvementKnowledge and involvement

• Expectations, standardsExpectations, standards

• Opportunity to learnOpportunity to learn

• Curriculum alignmentCurriculum alignment

Cooperative, Cooperative, Collaborative, Collaborative, Competitive, Competitive,

CreativeCreativeYoutube21st century learning-3Steps

At a time when At a time when Americans seek Americans seek

strength in their strength in their leaders, (we) leaders, (we)

should find the should find the strength to speak strength to speak hard truths about hard truths about our schools and our schools and

support essential support essential changes.changes.

Robert GordonRobert Gordon

What got us to What got us to where we are where we are

today in today in education,education,

will not get us will not get us to where we need to where we need

to be!to be!

““In times of change, In times of change,

learners inherit the Earth learners inherit the Earth while the learned find while the learned find themselves beautifully themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a equipped to deal with a world that no longer world that no longer

exists.”exists.”

Eric HofferEric Hoffer American Social Writer American Social Writer

We’ve created false We’ve created false proxies for proxies for learning…learning…

Finishing a course or Finishing a course or textbook has come to mean textbook has come to mean achievementachievement

Listening to lecture has come Listening to lecture has come to mean understandingto mean understanding

Getting a high score on a Getting a high score on a standardized test has come to standardized test has come to mean proficiencymean proficiency

When Leading Change, When Leading Change, Consider the Consider the EnvironmentEnvironment

What do we want students to learn?What do we want students to learn?CurriculumCurriculum

How will we know they have learned How will we know they have learned it?it?

AssessmentAssessment How will we respond when they don’t?How will we respond when they don’t?

RemediationRemediation What will we do when they already What will we do when they already know the material?know the material?

EnrichmentEnrichment Rick DuFourRick DuFour

Learning should Learning should be deeply rooted be deeply rooted

in..in..•Meaning, not just memoryMeaning, not just memory•Engagement, not simply Engagement, not simply transmissiontransmission•Inquiry, not only complianceInquiry, not only compliance•Exploration, not just Exploration, not just acquisitionacquisition•Personalization, not simply Personalization, not simply uniformityuniformity•Collaboration, not only Collaboration, not only competition competition •Trust, not fearTrust, not fear

CommunicateCommunicate daily daily expectationsexpectations

Operational definitions Operational definitions of expectationsof expectations

AccountabilityAccountability

ConsistencyConsistency

Focus on strengths not Focus on strengths not weaknessesweaknesses

Alignment

Disconnected ImprovementsVision: Every Student Achieving

No Excuses

GOALS

Process =

AlignmentAlignment

Connected ImprovementsConnected ImprovementsVision: Every Student Achieving

No Excuses

GOALS

Process =

If we want to change If we want to change what teachers do in the what teachers do in the

classrooms, then we classrooms, then we need to focus on those need to focus on those

actions directly.actions directly.

Dylan WilliamDylan William

IV. Assessment IV. Assessment ProgramProgram

• Knowledge and involvementKnowledge and involvement

• Assessment proceduresAssessment procedures

• Monitoring instruction and Monitoring instruction and curriculumcurriculum

• Communication and use of dataCommunication and use of data

What do you see, What do you see, feel, hear and feel, hear and get excited get excited

about when you about when you are in a are in a classroom?classroom?

How do we know How do we know our students our students

know?know?

V. Communities of V. Communities of LearningLearning

• Professional developmentProfessional development

• Communities of Communities of professional professional

practicepractice

• Community-anchored schoolsCommunity-anchored schools

VI. Resource VI. Resource Acquisition and UseAcquisition and Use

•Acquiring resourcesAcquiring resources•Allocating resourcesAllocating resources•Using resourcesUsing resources

VIII. Social AdvocacyVIII. Social Advocacy

• Stakeholder engagementStakeholder engagement

• DiversityDiversity

• Environmental contextEnvironmental context

• EthicsEthics

Leadership Behavior Leadership Behavior FrameworkFrameworkCore Core

ComponentsComponentsKey Processes Key Processes

PlanningPlanning ImplementingImplementing SupportingSupporting AdvocatingAdvocating CommunicatingCommunicating MonitoringMonitoring

High Standards High Standards for Studentfor StudentPerformancePerformance

RigorousRigorousCurriculumCurriculum(content)(content)

QualityQualityInstructionInstruction(pedagogy)(pedagogy)

Culture ofCulture ofLearning &Learning &ProfessionalProfessionalBehaviorBehavior

ConnectionsConnectionsto Externalto ExternalCommunitiesCommunities

PerformancePerformanceAccountabilityAccountability

Definitions of Core Definitions of Core ComponentsComponents

High Standards for Student LearningHigh Standards for Student Learning —There are individual, team, —There are individual, team, and school goals for rigorous student academic and social and school goals for rigorous student academic and social learning.learning.

Rigorous Curriculum (content)Rigorous Curriculum (content) —There is ambitious academic content —There is ambitious academic content provided to all students in core academic subjects.provided to all students in core academic subjects.

Quality Instruction (pedagogy)Quality Instruction (pedagogy) —There are effective instructional —There are effective instructional practices that maximize student academic and social learning.practices that maximize student academic and social learning.

Culture of Learning & Professional BehaviorCulture of Learning & Professional Behavior —There are integrated —There are integrated communities of professional practice in the service of student communities of professional practice in the service of student academic and social learning. There is a healthy school academic and social learning. There is a healthy school environment in which student learning is the central focus.environment in which student learning is the central focus.

Connections to External CommunitiesConnections to External Communities —There are linkages to family —There are linkages to family and/or other people and institutions in the community that advance and/or other people and institutions in the community that advance academic and social learning.academic and social learning.

Performance AccountabilityPerformance Accountability — Leadership holds itself and others — Leadership holds itself and others responsible for realizing high standards of performance for responsible for realizing high standards of performance for student academic and social learning. There is individual and student academic and social learning. There is individual and collective responsibility among the professional staff and collective responsibility among the professional staff and students.students.

Definitions of Key Definitions of Key ProcessesProcesses PlanningPlanning—Articulate shared direction and coherent —Articulate shared direction and coherent

policies, practices, and procedures for realizing high policies, practices, and procedures for realizing high standards of student performance.standards of student performance.

ImplementingImplementing—Engage people, ideas, and resources to put —Engage people, ideas, and resources to put into practice the activities necessary to realize high into practice the activities necessary to realize high standards for student performance.standards for student performance.

SupportingSupporting—Create enabling conditions; secure and use —Create enabling conditions; secure and use the financial, political, technological, and human the financial, political, technological, and human resources necessary to promote academic and social resources necessary to promote academic and social learning.learning.

AdvocatingAdvocating—Promotes the diverse needs of students —Promotes the diverse needs of students within and beyond the school.within and beyond the school.

CommunicatingCommunicating—Develop, utilize, and maintain systems of —Develop, utilize, and maintain systems of exchange among members of the school and with its exchange among members of the school and with its external communities.external communities.

MonitoringMonitoring—Systematically collect and analyze data to —Systematically collect and analyze data to make judgments that guide decisions and actions for make judgments that guide decisions and actions for continuous improvement.continuous improvement.

Building CommunityBuilding Community Taking collaborative action as a school Taking collaborative action as a school and community and community • Need to discuss shared values and Need to discuss shared values and aspirationsaspirations

Choosing where to begin is important Choosing where to begin is important • Establish priority and focus direction Establish priority and focus direction • Ask questions—inquiry mindedAsk questions—inquiry minded

Recognize important dataRecognize important data• Which data are relevant Which data are relevant • How can we use it to keep focused and How can we use it to keep focused and learn learn

Next Steps…..Next Steps…..Mind set…Mind set…Skill set..Skill set..Tool set…Tool set…