Leadership in Reading First: A principled team

110
Leadership in Reading First: A principled team Sharon Walpole University of Delaware

description

Leadership in Reading First: A principled team. Sharon Walpole University of Delaware. Introductions and Some History. 1997-98: Data for Beat the Odds study collected 1998-99: Beat the Odds study data analyzed; dissertation data collected; REA authorized - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Leadership in Reading First: A principled team

Page 1: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Leadership in Reading First: A principled team

Sharon Walpole

University of Delaware

Page 2: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Introductions and Some History

1997-98: Data for Beat the Odds study collected1998-99: Beat the Odds study data analyzed;

dissertation data collected; REA authorized1999-00: Instructional coordinator with experienced

principal; REA federal reviewer; REA staff visits; REA work in Iowa and Georgia

2000-01: Instructional coordinator with inexperienced principal; Reading Rockets documentary filmed

2001-02: REA coordinator at neighboring school2002-03: Move to Delaware2003-04: LC Handbook; Reading First in Delaware2004-05: Reading First in Georgia; ERRFTAC consultant

Page 3: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What’s Happening with Coaching?• Several different models that vary as to their focus

(school or classroom) and their content (reform or improvement)

• IRA is teaming with researchers interested in coaching (e.g., Rita Bean, Cathy Toll, Camille Blachowitz, Sharon Walpole) to survey coaches and produce a descriptive document– General stance: Coaches need ongoing support in a

variety of areas• IRA and NCTE are teaming to draft standards for

coaching (Bean, Walpole, Farstrup)• One sure thing – coordination is essential

Page 4: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What’s Happened in DE?

Year 1: Developed PD plan for coaches and beginning state-level monitoring

Year 2: PD for coaches separated from monitoring

Reapplication: Individualized plans for each district

Year 3: PD for coaches and principals together plus additional PD for coaches

Page 5: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Literacy Coach’s FocusIn Data Analysis

ProgramEvaluation

Regrouping

Form needs-basedgroups for classroom

instruction

Assign children to interventions

To what extent is my program keepingBenchmark children at benchmark?

Choose instructional emphasis

To what extent is small-group workmoving strategic children to benchmark?

To what extent is my program movingIntensive children to benchmark?

To what extent are classroom effectsapparent?

Page 6: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Literacy Coach’s FocusIn Data Analysis

Regrouping

Form needs-basedgroups for classroom

instruction

Assign children to interventions

Choose instructional emphasis

Which DIBELS reportsshould I use?

Do you have curriculum materials to accomplish this?

Page 7: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Literacy Coach’s FocusIn Data Analysis

ProgramEvaluation

To what extent is my program keepingBenchmark children at benchmark?

To what extent is small-group workmoving strategic children to benchmark?

To what extent is my program movingIntensive children to benchmark?

To what extent are classroom effectsapparent?

Page 8: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

K 1 2 3

At Risk

Some Risk

Benchmark

State-Level Year-End Data, 2004-05

Page 9: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

General Impressions

1. We are increasingly successful in prevention-based instruction in Kindergarten

2. We need to continue to experiment in intervention, particularly for second and third grade

Consider time, focus, and explicitness for needs-based work?Consider additional intervention programs?

Page 10: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Cross-Sectional Analysis

How well are the kindergarten children this year doing compared to last year?– Did they start out stronger or weaker?– Did they make more or less progress between

fall and winter?

And yes, these are different children, but the teachers are the same and the program is the same

Page 11: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

For Kindergarten

Beginning of kindergarten status includes weighted combinations of measures

Middle kindergarten directs attention to initial sound fluency

End of kindergarten directs attention to phoneme segmentation fluency

*You have to look at your own data, considering all measures, to really evaluate your program

Page 12: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

State K Cross-Section

Fall 2003 Winter 2004 Spring 2004

I

31%

S

43%

B

26%

I

30%

S

40%

B

30%

I

24%

S

34%

B

42%

Fall 2004 Winter 2005

(ISF)

Spring 2005

(PSF)

I

30%

S

42%

B

27%

I

15%

S

46%

B

38%

I

8%

S

18%

B

74%

Page 13: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

For first grade

Beginning of first grade status includes weighted combinations of measures

Middle first grade directs attention to nonsense word fluency

End of first grade directs attention to oral reading fluency

*You have to look at your own data, considering all measures, to really evaluate your program

Page 14: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

State 1 Cross-Section

Fall 2003 Winter 2004 Spring 2004

I

33%

S

32%

B

36%

I

32%

S

30%

B

39%

I

25%

S

30%

B

45%

Fall 2004 Winter 2005

(NWF)

Spring 2005

(ORF)

I

19%

S

29%

B

53%

I

13%

S

40%

B

48%

I

16%

S

26%

B

58%

Page 15: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

For Second Grade

Beginning of second grade status includes weighted combinations of measures

Middle second grade directs attention to oral reading fluency

End of second grade directs attention to oral reading fluency

*You have to use the cognitive model of assessment to interpret these data

Page 16: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

State 2 Cross-Section

Fall 2003 Winter 2004 Spring 2004

I

27%

S

32%

B

42%

I

32%

S

18%

B

50%

I

38%

S

22%

B

40%

Fall 2004 Winter 2005 Spring 2005

I

21%

S

32%

B

47%

I

22%

S

19%

B

59%

I

26%

S

20%

B

54%

Page 17: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

For Third Grade

Third grade data include only oral reading fluency

*You have to use the cognitive model of assessment to interpret these data

Page 18: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

State 3 Cross-Section

Fall 2003 Winter 2004 Spring 2004

I

25%

S

31%

B

44%

I

33%

S

34%

B

33%

I

28%

S

40%

B

33%

Fall 2004 Winter 2005 Spring 2005

I

26%

S

35%

B

40%

I

27%

S

31%

B

42%

I

20%

S

38%

B

41%

Page 19: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Cohort Analysis

Given children’s experience at your school over time, to what extent is your instructional program actually accelerating literacy growth over time?

(and you are right when you say it’s not EXACTLY the same children if your population is highly transient)

Page 20: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

State Cohort K-1

Fall 2003 Winter 2004 Spring 2004

I

31%

S

43%

B

26%

I

30%

S

40%

B

30%

I

24%

S

34%

B

42%

Fall 2004 Winter 2005

(NWF)

Spring 2005

I

19%

S

29%

B

53%

I

13%

S

40%

B

48%

I

16%

S

26%

B

58%

Page 21: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

F03 W04 S04 F04 W05 S05

K-1 Benchmark %

Page 22: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

State Cohort 1-2

Fall 2003 Winter 2004 Spring 2004

I

33%

S

32%

B

36%

I

32%

S

30%

B

39%

I

25%

S

30%

B

45%

Fall 2004 Winter 2005

(ORF)

Spring 2005

I

21%

S

32%

B

47%

I

22%

S

19%

B

59%

I

26%

S

20%

B

54%

Page 23: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

F03 W04 S04 F04 W05 S05

1-2 Benchmark

Page 24: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

State Cohort 2-3

Fall 2003 Winter 2004 Spring 2004

I

27%

S

32%

B

42%

I

32%

S

18%

B

50%

I

38%

S

22%

B

40%

Fall 2004 Winter 2005 Spring 2005

I

26%

S

35%

B

39%

I

27%

S

31%

B

42%

I

20%

S

38%

B

41%

Page 25: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

F03 W04 S04 F04 W05 S05

2-3 Benchmark

Page 26: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Questions for Leaders

• To what extent have you set and communicated the plan?

• To what extent are teachers understanding and implementing the curriculum?

• How are they using time?• How are they monitoring progress and adjusting

their instruction and groupings?• How well are they using intervention options?

Page 27: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

For Coaches

If you’re not getting the results you want, you have to do something different.

Start with yourself

Work more closely with administration.

Spend more time in classrooms.

Focus your pd time on differentiation.

Page 28: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What leadership lessons have been learned at ERRFTAC?

Page 29: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

PD on PD – a tall order

1. Respectful of participantsCombination of formal presentation and time for you

to talk and plan

2. Informed by the research on PDContent, process, context

Teacher change, student achievement

Evaluation

3. Concrete example

4. Time for reflection

Page 30: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What do you bring to your team?What do you need from your team?• SBRR knowledge of development?

• SBRR knowledge of instruction?

• Research on adult learning?

• Research on professional development?

• Research on school change? Teacher change?

• Research on leadership?

• Experience in these areas?

Page 31: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Guskey, T. R., & Sparks, D. (1996). Exploring the Relationship between Staff Development and Improvements in Student Learning. Journal of Staff Development, 17(4), 34-38.

Page 32: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Content

Process

Context

Quality of StaffDevelopment

Parent Knowledge/Practice

Connections withFamilies

TeacherKnowledge/Practice

School CultureSupervision/Evaluation

AdministratorKnowledge/Practice

Parent Education

School Policies

ImprovedAchievement

Page 33: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Planning for Quality

Content

Process

Context

Quality of StaffDevelopment

Page 34: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Impact of Quality

Quality of StaffDevelopment

Parent Knowledge/Practice

Connections with Families

Teacher Knowledge/Practice

School Culture Supervision/Evaluation

Administrator Knowledge/Practice

Parent Education

Page 35: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Road to Achievement

Parent Knowledge/Practice

TeacherKnowledge/Practice

AdministratorKnowledge/Practice

School Policies

ImprovedAchievement

Page 36: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

From Staff Development to Student Learning

(Guskey & Sparks, 1996)

Content

Process

Context

Quality of StaffDevelopment

Parent Knowledge/Practice

Connections withFamilies

TeacherKnowledge/Practice

School CultureSupervision/Evaluation

AdministratorKnowledge/Practice

Parent Education

School Policies

ImprovedAchievement

Page 37: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Successful School Reform is …

Specific The program is sufficiently detailed.

Powerful The program produces results.

Authoritative Leadership is involved and informed.

Consistent The program is uniformly implemented.

Stable The program is not changed without reason.

Desimone, L. (2002). How can comprehensive school reform models be successfully implemented? Review of Educational Research, 72,433–479.

Page 38: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

A teacher change process(Guskey, 1986)

Change teachers’ beliefs and attitudes

Study student outcomes

Change teachers’ practices

PD TargetAreas

Page 39: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Bottom Line: Student Achievement

+ Teacher Practice

Organizational Support

Participant Learning

Participant Reactions

Thomas Guskey, Educational Leadership, March 2002.

Ongoing Evaluation of PD efforts

Page 40: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Joseph Murphy, in Leadership for Literacy: Research-Based Practice, PreK-3 (2003, Corwin Press), summarizes key qualities possessed by principals of schools where achievement is strong.

The Effective RF Principal

Page 41: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

An effective principal

A Real School story . . .

(how I got into the schoolwide business)

Page 42: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

The More-Effective Principal And in real life . . .

Page 43: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal

Page 44: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

The More-Effective Principal The Less-Effective Principal

Page 45: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Setting Goals

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Has a more child-centered vision Knew every child and

every family

Sets manageable, realistic goals Targeted a specific

dimension

Sees student performance as central Collected, analyzed his own

data

Expresses goals in measurable terms Talked the numbers,

questioned

Uses goals for planning Not the feds, not the

district . . .

Asks parents & staff to help set goals Had a “kitchen cabinet”

Page 46: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Communicating Goals

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Periodically reviews & discusses Established the concept

of state of school

Actively clarifies goals Served as a sounding board

Has teachers who know goals Created excitement and shared

vocab

Has teachers who see themselves Believed in his staffas good instructors

Page 47: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Promoting Quality Instruction

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Insists on certain teaching strategies Established a schoolwide

reading

program

Favors interactive teaching Corrected my modeling

Assigns teachers on the basis of Regularly switched

grade levelsimproving achievement

Page 48: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Supervising Instruction

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Relies little on formal observations MBWA

Values informal visits and meetings Every classroom every

day

Often reads about instruction Sometimes crazy things!

Often provides specific feedback Reading specialist himself

Counsels and assists poor teachers Including out of teaching!

Page 49: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Allocating Instructional Time

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Carefully sets time allocations 90 minutes, cross grade

Coordinates time allocations Entire school schedule reframedacross teachers

Schedules more instructional and fewerReading instruction never

cancelled

non-instructional activities

Insists on time for basics DIET of words, fluency,

comp

Protects uninterrupted block Every day, every classroom

Page 50: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Coordinating the Curriculum

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Is highly involved in curriculum After reading, writing, then

science and

alignment social studies

Is concerned with the continuity Empowered gifted

education specialistof curriculum from grade to grade

Page 51: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Monitoring Student Progress

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Supports testing programs Taught me about progress

monitoring

Provides test results to teachers Regrouping from the office In a timely manner

Discusses results with groups and Constant evaluation of

groupingindividual teachers

Encourages teachers to use test Used student achievement

results toresults to plan instruction discuss instructional quality

Page 52: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Setting Expectations

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Holds adults accountable for student Never blamed families or childrenlearning outcomes

Requires mastery of grade-level Retention in first gradeskills for promotion to next grade

Page 53: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Being Visible

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Is often out of the office It can wait

Makes an effort to move about Eyes everywherethe campus and in and out ofclassrooms

Page 54: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Providing Incentives

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Recognizes teachers with rewards Had favoritessuch as distributing leadership showing personal interest making public acknowledgements giving private praise

Ensures that student rewards are Thought about other

important areasfrequent and they they go to a large percentage of students

Focuses rewards on achievement Grades tied to status on grade level

Page 55: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Promoting PD

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Is more likely to be directly involved Took 2 graduate classes

with me!in PD activities

Follows up by ensuring that PD Forced me to have outcomesmethods are implemented

Cobbles temporary coalitions Had realistic expectations; knewof teachers to help implement who would struggle

Encourages professional dialogue Set up grade-level PD

during the day

Helps teachers attend conferences Sent people as a reward

Page 56: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Creating a Safe & OrderlyLearning Environment

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Works with teachers to develop If they needed itclassroom management skills

Establishes a clear and consistent Not perfect at thatdisciplinary policy

Enforces discipline fairly and That eitherconsistently

Involves teachers and students Sets rules independentlyIn setting rules

Page 57: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Creating a Safe & OrderlyLearning Environment

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Confronts problems quickly and Very personalforcefully

Supports teachers with discipline Is unsympathetic to

teachers withproblems discipline problems

Page 58: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Promoting Collaboration

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Encourages teamwork and Reading program forced itcollaborative efforts

Gives faculty a formal role in For those who wanted itdecision making

Informally seeks teachers’ ideas Kitchen cabinetand opinions

Page 59: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Securing Outside Resources

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Is skilled at influencing district Renegadedecision making about resources

Actively seeks resources Magic of partnerships

Assertively recruits the best Renegadeteachers (even from other schools)

Allocates money based on goals Always saved some

money

Page 60: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Linking Home and School

The More-Effective Principal My principal

Communicates with parents on a Differentiated strategiesregular basis

Involves parents in school activities Differentiated strategies

Establishes programs that promote Calls home; home visits;

African-parent-teacher interaction American history night

Promotes the school to Churches, university, local

sportscommunity groups

Provides ways parents can learn Families Learning

Togetherabout school and help their children

Page 61: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

In RF there are at least three of you . . .

Principal

Literacy Coach

LEA Representative

Page 62: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What do you want to change in your school?

How can you do it together?

Page 63: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Reading First is aboutBuilding Capacity for Leadership

State Reading Team

County Coordinators

Coaches and Principals

Teachers

Page 64: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Taylor, Pearson, Clark, & Walpole, 2000

CIERA’s Beat the Odds Study

The most effective schools had– Strong links to parents– Systematic internal assessment systems– Systems for communication and collaboration– Small-group interventions across the grades– Ongoing professional development

None of these things is possible without strong leadership

Page 65: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

I review 3 sources of

guidance for leaders

You reflect with your team

You consider your own

strengths and weaknesses

Principals helpto plan for their

CoachSession

Plan

Page 66: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Sources of Guidance

Leadership in SchoolImprovement

Georgia REA Experience

Recent RFGuidance

Page 67: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What does the literature say about the role of the principal in school improvement?

Instructional

Leader

Collaborative

Leader

Transformational

Leader

Managing, guiding

curriculum and instruction

directly

Creating a system for

shared decision-making

Both leading directly and

sharing decision-making

Page 68: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Or Maybe a Systems Thinker?

Michael Fullan, 2005

A person capable of participating in the reform of a system (a school nested in a district nested in a state) by interacting with and supporting the development of other leaders

Page 69: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Or Maybe a Systems Thinker

A person capable of participating in the reform of a system (a school nested in a district nested in a state) by interacting with and supporting the development of other leaders

State

District

School

Page 70: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Principals: What is the leadership model that guides you?

Please take 10 minutes to discuss your leadership training or philosophy with your LC.

Page 71: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

The main mark of an effective principal

is not just his or her impact on

the bottom line of student achievement, but also on how many leaders he or she

leaves behind who can go even

further (Fullan, 2005, p. 31).

Page 72: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

In DERF

We need RF principals to be systems thinkers, training and empowering their literacy coaches to be leaders. Not generic leaders, but leaders in that particular RF principal’s school doing work that is consistent with the principal’s vision for RF in the building.

Page 73: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Fullan argues that effective leaders

create positive energy

Page 74: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Energy Creators

Act enthusiastic, positive

Think critically, creatively, and imaginatively

Help others to think and do

Are leaders at all levels

Are reflective and honest about their own work

Always strive to do better

Page 75: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Energy Neutrals Energy Consumers

Are competent

Are task-oriented

Are good at keeping things working

Don’t like others to reflect on their work

Can improve on their own

Are negative

Don’t like change, block change

Take up other people’s time

Don’t feel good about their work

Won’t, can’t reflect on their own practice

Don’t seem to want to improve

Page 76: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Think a minute

In your own RF leadership role, what’s one way you can move from either a neutral or a consumer to a producer of energy?

Page 77: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

When it comes to sustainability, each level above you helps or hinders (it is rarely neutral) (Fullan, 2005, p.65).

State

District

Principal

Literacy Coach

Teacher

Page 78: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Think a minute

Given your own place in our system, to what extent are you helping individuals in the level below you? What is one way that you can improve?

Page 79: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

I have learned as a principal the importance of backing my LC up. Last year as a first year principal I was just trying to keep my head above water. To be perfectly honest, at the very beginning of this project I just thought, “That’s your department. You handle that,” and then I discovered that I couldn’t do that.

Page 80: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Task #1

LEA Reps Principals Literacy Coaches

How can you increase your support to principals?

How can you increase your support to your Literacy Coach?

How can you increase your support to your teachers?

Page 81: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Sources of Guidance

Leadership in SchoolImprovement

Georgia REA Experience

Recent RFGuidance

Page 82: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Georgia REA Experience

Enter the Literacy Coach

Perhaps an inexperienced leader?

Perhaps leading a fairly complex set of

changes in curriculum and assessment?

Perhaps constantly negotiating his or her role at school?

Page 83: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

I know what she has contributed to our language arts program just through the assistance she has provided teachers. I know that my assistant principal and I could not do that. We have 55 teachers in our school and 35 classrooms, 750 students. There’s no way that the two of us could provide the instructional support that the teachers need.

Page 84: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Let’s learn from that first cohort

• How did principals define the role of the literacy coach in building-level change?

• How did partnership with an LC influence these principals’ own role?

Page 85: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What is a Literacy Coach?

Mentor (n=6) Director (n=8)

Classroom-level focus–Relationships–Modeling–Observing–Differentiated support

School-level focus–Vision–Scheduling–Managing–Differentiated support

•Modeling•Observing

Page 86: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What should your LC be?

In your building, are procedures for addressing these particular school-level RF issues already firmly in place?

Support your Empower your

LC as mentor LC as director

Yes? No?

Page 87: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

How does partnership with an LC change a principal’s role?

Changes school schedule, for instruction and for professional development

Provides a professional development “loop” from outside the classroom to inside

Sharpens the focus of administrative observation

Changes the school climate

Allows the principal to focus on instruction

Page 88: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Getting the information, having the coach, being in the classrooms, doing the observations, doing the modeling, and then coming back and watching teachers and letting them share ideas—that’s the only way to perpetuate change.

Page 89: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

I very much like the instructional part of my job and this has made me go back to what it was I wanted to do when I started being a principal. It has, really, it has. I mean it’s true. I’m in the classrooms every day.

Page 90: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Task #2

LEA Reps Principals Literacy Coaches

How can you provide additional support to your principals and coaches in defining their roles?

Do you want your LC to be mentor or director? How can you help?

To what extent have you been defining your role as mentor or director?

Page 91: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Sources of Guidance

Leadership in SchoolImprovement

Georgia REA Experience

Recent RFGuidance

Page 92: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

North Central

Regional Educational Laboratory

(NCREL)

http://www.ncrel.org/rf/leadership/leaderguide.htm

Page 93: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

What can Principals do in RF?

Build RF in your building!

• Provide a vision

• Set priorities

• Create ownership

• Remove barriers

• Foster peer support

• Model the behavior you want

Page 94: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Right now to me we have the best reading program that any school could have. And that comes from here, from my heart.

Page 95: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Set up the system for classroom instruction

• Continue to monitor and direct the use of commercial materials

• Set and protect your reading block

• Make sure that every teacher has what he/she needs to teach

• Make goals for the building

• Monitor through analyzing assessments and through observing instruction

Page 96: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Task #3

What are the strengths and weaknesses of your system for classroom instruction?

What is one thing that each of you can do to improve it?

Page 97: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

I’ve noticed that the dialogue, the interaction, the level of discussion is much more insightful and that’s very promising to me because we keep pulling ourselves back to the research—what’s worked? what’s going to work with our kids?

Page 98: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Set up the system for support

• Maintain an “every classroom” focus

• Walk through or observe every day

• Direct the coach to give extra support to teachers you notice are struggling

• Make time and provide resources for training in new programs

• Meet regularly with your Coach

Page 99: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Task #4

What are the strengths and weaknesses of your system for support?

What is one thing that each of you can do to improve it?

Page 100: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Education is based on what you expect anyway, and if you expect children to do well, they’re going to do well for you. If you just say, well these kids can’t do this, they’re never going to do it. So it’s all a matter of what you expect, and I expect my teachers to continue [teaching our reading program]. I will be in those rooms. Where’s your whole group? Where is your read-aloud? Where are these small groups?

Page 101: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Be active in the professional development process in your building

• Keep non-aligned pd out!

• Participate in as many pd sessions as possible

• Help teachers network with one another and with teachers from other schools

• Be specific about expectations for implementation

Page 102: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Task #5

What are the strengths and weaknesses of your system for professional development?

What is one thing that each of you can do to improve it?

Page 103: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Even this week it’s really impressed me that we really cannot observe that which we don’t understand. You really need to know what you’re looking for and you need to have a deeper appreciation of it. So my role has changed in that I feel I need to be better educated in the research. My key role is to verify. Check on fidelity. You got a plan. You got some people to help you to implement that plan. I see my chief job as ensuring fidelity to whomever is working in the plan. I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, coach is doing what she’s supposed to be doing, teachers are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I call that fidelity.

Page 104: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Be active in assessing progress

• Use school-level assessment data to identify problems in your curriculum

• Use classroom-level data to identify teachers who are struggling and to provide them extra support

• Use individual data to establish and reestablish your intervention groups

Page 105: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Task #6

What are the strengths and weaknesses of your system for assessing progress?

What is one thing that each of you can do to improve it?

Page 106: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

It’s basically an informed school now, where they know what they’re doing.

One of our parents said this school is a Reading School. I think that’s what we want, if a parent can say our school is a Reading School.

Page 107: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

Think a minute

You are the leader of this change effort. Do you want to survive it or sustain it?

Page 108: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

After the funding . . .

The way we teach reading will not change, and we’ll continue. We’ve learned that there is so much out there to learn, and so we’ll continue to learn. I think that we’ve become -- you’ve heard the phrase -- life-long learners. And so we’ll continue to search the research and not just go by what textbook companies tell us, which is what we’ve always done in the past. I think the reading program will continue to grow in the direction of SBRR.

Page 109: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

You are a district representative, a principal, and a coach working together. What are your goals for next year?

Page 110: Leadership in Reading First:  A principled team

And how can I help you?

Please write me a note about something specific that you’d like me to address in next year’s professional development.