LeadershipWashington State University

November 21, 2008

gsharratt@wsu.edu

COLLABORATION IS KEY!

“A community is known

by the schools it keeps”

Shaker Heights School District

“Higher”

Leadership

What is it?

“It’s just one darn thing after another!”

“The role of leader is to “mobilize people to

tackle tough problems.”

Heifetz (1994)

“Leadership Matters!”

It matters a great deal in leading a learning culture where staff and students improve in practice and

performance.

Every leader is telling a story about

what he or she values.

What do you value?

EDWARD R. MURROW -

This I Believe . . .

Leadership . . .

Good leaders change organizations.

Great leaders change people.

Leadership is . . .

Management view:

“Doing things right.”

Leadership View:

“Doing right things.”

Leadership is . . .

“Doing right things right.”

Kenneth Leithwood, 2004

As a leader, what are the

“right things?”

What evidence do you have that you are

“doing the right things right?”

Leadership

What is the purpose of leadership?

What is the purpose of leadership?

“The improvement of instructional practice and performance.”

(Elmore, 2006)

Leadership

How do leaders influence the improvement of instructional practice and performance?

Leadership Accountability

The necessary condition for success of school leaders in the future will be their capacity to improve the quality of instructional practice.

Richard Elmore, June 2006 Conference paper, OECD, (p. 6.)

What is improvement?

Improvement is increases in quality and performance

over time.

Richard Elmore, June 2006 Conference paper, OECD, (p. 6.)

Practice must be based on atheory of action.

A theory of action is a set of logically connected statements that connect the actions of leaders with their consequences for quality and performance in the organization.

They must be stated in order to be shared, and they have to be evaluated against evidence of their success in order to be judged.

(Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, 1978)

Leadership is . . .

The relentless pursuit

in the improvement

of practice.

June 26, 2002 Seattle P.I.

Germany ends South Korea’s dreamThree-time champs will face

Brazil or Turkey in final

BY JERE LONGMANThe New York Times

“South Korea was playing out a fantasy, while Germany is one of the world’s powers. Victory is a relentless expectation, not a delirious wish. While South Korea had a nation’s support, it could not match Germany’s skill and conviction.”

A recent report (2007) from McKinsey & Company titled, How the World’s Best-performing School Systems Come Out on Top, concludes that :

1) the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers, and

2) the only way to improve outcomes is to improve instruction.

Great Schools Consist of . . .

Great teachers doing

great teaching.

McKinsey & Company (2007)

Great teaching consists of . . .

Teachers’ knowledge and skill,

Students’ engagement in their own learning, and

Challenging and meaningful content (Rigor).

PELP Coherence Framework (2006)

What does rigor look like?

It has a clear purpose.It is important to know.It challenges students to think and learn.It can be applied.It articulates a plan for the teacher to measure what

has been learned.It includes a plan for students to evaluate and

improve their own work.It contains elements of personal and peer respect.

(Wagner, 2006)

Good instructionAll students tend to benefit from:

clear goals and learning objectives; meaningful and challenging contexts; a curriculum rich with content; well designed and appropriately paced-

curriculum; active engagement and participation; opportunities to practice, apply, and

transfer new learning;

Good instructionAll students tend to benefit from:

feedback on correct and incorrect responses;

periodic review and practice; frequent assessments to gauge progress,

with reteaching as needed, and opportunities to interact with other students

in motivating and appropriately structured contexts.

(Goldenberg, 2008)

Students achieve when:

there is a culture of high expectations,

teachers know how and when learning occurs, and

schools identify and support struggling students.

Urquhart, 2008McREL, Changing Schools

McKinsey & Company’s 2007 Report Findings . . .

Get the right people to teach,

Support their growth of their knowledge and skills, and

Ensure that every student performs to his or her potential.

The Role of Leadership in Highly Effective Schools

Hire well

Develop people

Intervene early and often

Create a “high reliability” system(failure is not an option for any student)

McKinsey & Company ( 2007)

One child who does not learn what is needed for future success is

one child too many.

Urquhart, 2008

McREL, Changing Schools

Leadership

Break

Leadership Priorities

Please select one or two leadership phrases or comments that most align with your view of leadership and reflect the culture of where you work, or would like to work.

Share with a colleague or at your table why you selected the phrase of comment.

Creating the Magic at Walt Disney World

“The highest customer satisfaction is recorded in those areas of the company where cast members rate their leaders as ‘outstanding’ at coaching, recognition and

listening, empowerment.”

Thoughts on Leadership• Listen to me• Put me in the game• Some assembly is required• Stay on main street• Inspire me• Share the big picture• I’ll perform when I’m “on stage”• Make me feel special• Bring out the best in me• Coach me

Leadership

With a partner, share evidence of how you have:

coached someone to improvement,

listened for understanding,

recognized the efforts of others, and

empowered staff.