Title: Building a Cohesive Leadership System for Massachusetts School and District Leaders
1Building a Cohesive Leadership System for
Massachusetts School and District Leaders
-
- Caryl Brayton Toole
- Kristin Burke
- Joan Connolly
MASC/MASS Joint Conference Four Points
Sheraton Hyannis, MA November 16, 2007
2The Massachusetts Story
3First the Good News
- Massachusetts has long been considered a leader
in Education Reform - 4th and 8th grade scores in both reading and math
on the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) are the highest in the nation - 87 of students in the class of 2009nearly nine
out of tenpassed BOTH the English and Math MCAS
exams on their first try (Up from 68 in 2001) - MA SAT scores exceed the regional and national
averages
4And Now the Challenges
- Achievement Gap
- MCAS scores have improved in almost every grade,
but the achievement gap is wide. - High School Graduation Rate
- Graduation rates are unacceptably low for all
student groups, especially Black and Hispanic
students. - College/Career Readiness
- Too few high school graduates are prepared for
college/ careers - Too many students are not completing college
- Global Competition
- While at the top nationally, MA students are not
at the top on international measures of
performance
5What Research and Practice Tells Us
- We need skilled leaders who
- Understand and implement standards-based
education - Provide strong leadership for instructional
changes leading to improved student performance - Understand the challenges and provide leadership
for change
6The Bottom Line
- 19 of districts and 39 of schools in
Massachusetts have Accountability Status, meaning
they have failed to meet annual performance
targets as required under the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) Law - Too many Massachusetts students drop out of high
school before graduation too few graduate from
high school college ready too few ever graduate
from college
7What Can We Do
- After ten years of Educational Reform initiatives
and working with underperforming schools to
address the needs of their students, we have
strong evidence that a new kind of leadership for
learning is the key to successful school reform. - The Department of Education has developed an
ambitious and comprehensive vision for
educational leadership in Massachusetts, with the
goal of creating a standards-based and fully
aligned accountability system for school leaders.
8Cohesive Leadership System
- Funded in part through the Wallace Foundation
- Partnership with the Boston Public Schools and
the Springfield Public Schools - Alignment of Professional Standards for
administrators based on the latest research and
best practices with input from all stakeholders - Gap analysis of nine state university principal
preparation programs - Creation of performance assessment and rubric to
be used state-wide
9Cohesive Leadership System (continued)
- Will articulate the developmental stages of
individual leaders through mastery - Identify the guidance, support, and professional
development that must be met to effectively
provide for the success of leaders - Will radically change the way that leaders work
together and the way that leaders conceive of
their purpose as change agents - Create a larger and deeper pool of highly
qualified leadership candidates in the state
10 Executive Leadership Program for Educators
(ExEL)
- To strengthen leadership in urban and high-need
districts along with the DOE in order to improve
the ways the department and districts work
together - Multi-year collaborative effort of the Harvard
Business School, the Harvard Graduate School of
Education, the John F. Kennedy School of
Government, with Wallace Foundation support - To work with districts and their teams to bring
high quality teaching and learning to scale
11 National Institute for School Leadership (NISL)
- A two-year executive development program,
designed to prepare school leaders to meet the
challenges of increased accountability - Based on research and best practices from the
fields of education, business and military - Focused on school principals and other school
administrators - Ensure that effective standards-based
instructional leadership becomes the core of the
school principals role
12National Institute for School Leadership
- Building a deeper understanding of what
constitutes primary evidence for student learning - Changing how principals allocate their time
during the day - Developing a principals ability to strengthen
the decision-making and critical thinking
capacities for their faculty - Funded by the DOE customized to meet the needs
of Massachusetts school leaders
13National Institute for School Leadership
- NISL advances these changes by promoting
- knowledge gains in four areas
- Nature and structure of standards-based
instructional systems in schools - Application of learning theory to teaching
practices - High-quality English language arts and
mathematics instructional programs that address
essential academic goals - Strategies, approaches, and tools for developing
the professional capacity of a schools staff
14National Institute for School Leadership
- NISL focuses on skill-building to strengthen the
capacity of principals in the following areas - Formulating a clear vision that will inspire
others in the community - Thinking strategically
- Leading the creation and implementation of
fully-aligned, standards-based instructional
systems - Building effective math, reading and writing
programs - Designing and implementing effective professional
development programs - Managing for results to produce steady
improvements in student achievement
15National Institute for School Leadership
Principal changes behavior
NISL Training Program
Improved academic instruction
Improved student achievement
Principal shares NISL concepts with staff
16Summary of NISL Growth
- In FY05, there were two cohorts, with 69
participants in NISL - FY06ten cohorts, 279 participants
- FY07576 school leaders enrolled
- FY08800 will have completed or are currently
participating in NISL training
17NISL Districts
18Massachusetts Educational Leadership Alliance
- The Educational Alliance is a collaboration of
professional organizations, service providers,
and the Department of Education that provides
state-wide policy direction and designs and
delivers leadership services and support to
current and aspiring school and district leaders
to enhance student development and achievement.
19Massachusetts Education Leadership Alliance
(continued)
- A partnership of MASC, MASS, MSSAA, MESPA, Future
Management Systems, Atlas Communities, and the
DOE - The goal is to improve student achievement
through leadership training and support - Building vertical leadership systems, improving
skills and knowledge of standards-based teaching
and learning - All Principals and Superintendents in five pilot
districts are receiving coaching around
developing leadership teams - Information and training for 60 aspiring leaders
- Support for small and rural districts
- Transitions for six districts (Superintendent and
School Committee)
20Womens Educational Leadership Network
- History
- In January, 2006, educational leaders from MA DOE
and the MA Association of School Superintendents
(MASS) met to discuss the increasing numbers of
women superintendents actively seeking support
from their respective agencies. - Out of this meeting grew a partnership between
the two agencies - With funding from the Wallace Foundation, the
Womens Educational Leadership Network was formed.
21Womens Educational Leadership Network
- Purpose of the WELN?
- The Womens Educational Leadership Network (WELN)
aims to support current and aspiring female
leaders by - Creating networking opportunities for women
leaders - Developing trainings specific to participants
needs
22Womens Educational Leadership Network
- Why Support Women?
- In 2000, the American Association of School
Administrators (AASA) released the results of a
ten-year study of the American School
Superintendent. This study revealed interesting
facts related to women in the Superintendency - Of the 13,728 school districts in the US, only
18 are led by females. - 79 of all teachers in the US are women and 90
of all superintendents are former classroom
teachers. - 75 of elementary teachers are women about 75
of the superintendents in the survey did not
teach at the elementary level. -
- Glass, Thomas E., Bjork, Lars, Brunner, C. Cryss
The Study of the American School Superintendency,
2000 A Look at the Superintendent of Education
in the New Millennium
23Womens Educational Leadership Network
- Why Support Women? (continued)
- In 2007, the Womens Educational Leadership
Network created a survey and collected data
based on the AASA survey that revealed
interesting information about the female
superintendents in Massachusetts - Of the roughly 386 school districts in
Massachusetts, 30 are led by females. - Of the 18 women superintendents surveyed, only 2
were elementary school teachers and 50 were
special education teachers.
24Womens Educational Leadership Network
- Accomplishments to Date
- The WELN Steering Committee has planned an
average of two events a year, which have included
influential female educational leaders - Based on the needs identified by the
participants, the following topics have been
covered at these events - Gender and Race in the Superintendency
- Budget and Finance
- Wellness
- Politics and Leadership in Education
25Womens Educational Leadership Network
- Who Participates in the training?
- MASS and MA DOE invite Superintendents within the
public K-12 education system - Superintendents are encouraged to bring current
and aspiring women leaders within their districts - Attendees have ranged from Superintendents, to
Principals, to SPED Directors, and teacher
leaders - To date, participants have come from 85 different
districts and 4 education collaboratives
26Womens Educational Leadership Network
- As we go forward
- We will continue to strive to meet the identified
needs of the Womens Educational Leadership
Network through our twice yearly trainings - We are in the process of developing regional
learning communities for women educational
leaders across the Commonwealth - We will continue to study and learn from our
women leaders and try to identify what makes
Massachusetts ahead of the nation in promoting
women in the Superintendency
27Adaptive Leadership Training for Superintendents
-
- This training was developed in 2005 as a result
of a new partnership between the Massachusetts
Department of Education, The Wallace Foundation,
and the Massachusetts Association of School
Superintendents. - A significant number of superintendents have
taken advantage of this training opportunity. - 80 have participated in large group formal
trainings - Berkshire County Roundtable has held trainings
for all of their superintendents - Cape Cod Roundtable has held trainings for their
superintendents and North Shore and South Shore
Roundtables held trainings and have on-going
groups that meet and use adaptive protocols for
consultation and problem-solving - There will be training for all new
superintendents (32)
28Adaptive Leadership Training for Superintendents
- The training was offered in both large group
format - (presentations at winter and spring MASS
meetings) and in small groups of thirty or less. - Adaptive training has been an integral piece of
the Massachusetts Cohesive Leadership System. The
training has provided superintendents with
additional tools and skills to lead large scale
reforms in districts across the Commonwealth. - The training focuses on Ron Heifitzs theory of
leadership. His theory centers around a leader
claiming a higher set of aspirations and
mobilizing her people to be more creative and
collaborative in working together to realize
those aspirations.
29Adaptive Leadership for Superintendents
- According to Heifitz, superintendents learn to be
better at thinking politically engaging
partners connecting with the opposition
acknowledging their part of the mess dealing
with casualties nurturing trouble makers and
observing signals. - Many superintendents have taken this training
back to their own leadership teams, thus
embedding the work in their school districts. - Several small groups of superintendents continue
to meet, using the protocols to problem solve and
share strategies, thereby increasing capacity for
change and reform.
30Adaptive Leadership Training for Superintendents
- Protocols of Adaptive Leadership are also
- used in leadership networks in Massachusetts,
- including
- The Urban Superintendents Network
- The Womens Educational Leadership Network
- The MASS Superintendents Roundtables
31For more information, please contactCaryl
Brayton Toolectoole_at_doe.mass.edu781-338-3536or
Kristin A. Burke (for WELN)kburke_at_doe.mass.edu78
1-338-3568