Domain 2: Instructional Leadership
Standard 3: Instructional Plan Implementation - Effective school leaders work collaboratively to develop and implement an instructional framework that aligns curriculum with state standards, effective instructional practices, student learning needs and assessments.
How do I apply what I have learned from the data to improve student achievement? How can I to create committees that include various stakeholders to create goals, objectives and plans for student achievement. How do I get staff to engage in data analysis?
Domain two of the Florida Principal Leadership Standards addresses the principal’s role as the instructional leader of the school. Through collaboration with all stakeholders, the leader implements an effective framework for learning. These standards are Instructional Plan Implementation, Faculty Development, and Learning Environment, neither one of these standards can stand-alone. There is a connection between the three that makes one depend upon the other.
It is evident that effective leaders strive to achieve results in student learning by making it a priority. In order to do this successfully, leaders determine the types of data that need to be monitored and create an action plan to increase student achievement. Furthermore, an effective leader implements the plan.
To ensure that the student achievement plan yields positive results, the leader cannot work in isolation in developing and implementing it. The data that was obtained should be shared and reviewed by the school’s stakeholders. Therefore, the instructional leader should engage these groups in data analysis that leads them to share in the decisions concerning school improvement. In The Principal’s Role in the Instructional Process (1991), it states that leaders gather the data and visualize the plan to increase student achievement. Then, they engage teachers, students, parents and others to share in the creation of the vision. Subsequently, leaders encourage these stakeholders to work collaboratively with them to make the vision a reality. More importantly, effective leaders keep the vision in the forefront by supporting teachers’ instructional efforts and by guiding the use of data to evaluate the progress of the school.
A great example of a leader creating a plan for student achievement is assembling the school’s leadership team that includes the administrative team, school department chairpersons, academic coaches, ESE specialists, ESOL contact person, guidance director, and members of the School Advisory Council. These individuals should be responsible for the creation of the school improvement plan. Additionally, they should be involved in the monitoring of the plan by engaging in data analysis of previous and current student learning results. Committees can be formed to lead in the development and monitoring of parts of the plan. For instance, there can be a committee that is solely responsible for the creation and implementation of the Math student learning goals.
In short, effective leaders strive to create a culture of collaborative inquiry where everyone contributes to a cumulative, purposeful, and positive effect on student learning. Moreover, they have structures in place to support shared leadership in which the entire staff has collective responsibility for student learning (Coalition of Essential Schools 2010).
Effective leaders employ the distributed leadership style. Leaders with this style create a culture of inquiry. The teachers in this type of school culture feel empowered and become co-leaders and eventually become experts in data analysis. A practical example of engaging stakeholders in data analysis is the School Advisory Council (SAC). The School Advisory Council members contribute to the creation of the school improvement plan, but they must also participate in the data analysis and decision-making. At each SAC meeting, there should be a discussion on each part of the school improvement plan that includes an analysis of data. For example, the Science coach may report to SAC the most recent assessment scores for the students in fifth grade. SAC members and the leadership team should discuss the assessment data and consider other qualitative data that may have influenced the scores. Additionally, decisions are made concerning the plan and adjustments may be implemented to improve students’ learning results.
