For many years, school administrators have served as instructional leaders and have set the tone for the culture of a school. The COVID-19 pandemic further expanded the role of the school administrator – with major emphasis on student health and wellness, school safety, and equitable practice. Indeed, the school leader’s influence is pivotal, and every Read more about October Issue Brief: School Leader Effectiveness[…]
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has released a new report, NCTQ State of the States 2019: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policy, which documents policy reversals related to evaluation systems for both teachers and principals. Since the 2015 passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a large number of states have backed away Read more about States Retreat from their Own Attempts to Overhaul Educator Evaluation[…]
Effective principal leadership practices improve school organization, teaching, and student achievement outcomes. These practices include framing and communicating a school’s goals and mission, creating shared expectations of high performance, clarifying roles and objectives, and promoting professional development. However, research demonstrates that teachers tend to rate principals lower on important leadership practices than principals rate themselves, Read more about Perceptions of School Leadership[…]
Principals and districts benefit when principal supervisors move beyond the role of administrator to coach and mentor, according to a new Vanderbilt University report. The report, “A New Role Emerges for Principal Supervisors: Evidence from Six Districts in the Principal Supervisor Initiative,” details the implementation of five key components to reshape the supervisor position in Read more about Revisioning the Principal Supervisor Role[…]
In her newest policy paper and accompanying data visualization, Roxanne Garza explores how support systems for principals vary across the country. Over the last decade, the term instructional leader has worked its way into the vernacular of the education community to describe the role of school principals. What people actually mean when using this term, Read more about Guiding Principals: State Efforts to Bolster Instructional Leadership[…]
A study conducted by American Institutes for Research (AIR) for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) shows that even small amounts of the right kind of feedback to teachers and principals can have a positive effect on student achievement in math. These findings are important for states and districts looking for ways to boost educator Read more about Study Finds Feedback to Teachers and Principals Can Improve Student Achievement in Math[…]
The Institute of Education Sciences has released the fourth and final evaluation report on the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grants, which were awarded in 2010 to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The report, conducted by IES’ National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), provides basic implementation information Read more about Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance Across Four Years[…]
Recognizing that effective leadership is essential to most school improvement efforts, the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) enables states and districts to use certain major funding sources to help achieve their school improvement goals by supporting principals and other school leaders. Because those funding streams urge consideration of evidence of effectiveness, Wallace commissioned Read more about Evidence Review of School Leadership Interventions Under ESSA[…]
According to a report from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), three performance measures used for evaluating teachers and principals provided some information to distinguish educator performance and led to increased feedback. The study examined the first year implementation of a set of three performance measures: observations of teachers’ classroom practices; Read more about Evaluation of Performance Measures for Teachers and Principals[…]
A new study finds both strengths and limitations in the measures used for New Jersey’s new principal evaluation system. The study, released by the Institute of Education Sciences, was conducted by Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic and focused on the statewide principal evaluation system that was fully implemented by the state of New Jersey during the Read more about New Report Examines Measures Used in New Jersey’s Principal Evaluation System[…]
The Center on Great Teachers & Leaders at AIR has released a new toolkit and crosswalk, Aligning Leadership Standards to the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. Many states are transitioning or considering a transition to the new Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Developed in Read more about New Toolkit and Crosswalk for Leadership Standards Alignment[…]
Matthew Clifford and Eva Chiang in Real Clear Education write about the constant churn of principals in our nation’s schools, which they claim has reached epidemic proportions. To stop the churn, they recommend five things that districts can do this school year to hire, retain, and develop their principals: Hire for Now and the Future. Read more about Stopping the Churn in the Principal’s Office[…]
The goal of every teacher evaluation system should be strengthening teacher practice to improve student learning. As states assume more autonomy under the Every Student Succeeds Act, they have a significant opportunity to make progress toward this essential goal by taking stock of their evaluation and support systems and refining them for the better. Teacher Read more about Teacher Evaluation and Support Systems: A Roadmap for Improvement[…]
University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) and New Leaders have released a toolkit, called SEP3, to help states evaluate principal preparation programs. This toolkit provides essential guidance, tools, and resources for implementing a more in-depth and rigorous principal preparation evaluation process, thereby enabling states to accurately assess quality, promote improvement, and intervene in the case Read more about State Evaluation of Principal Preparation Programs Toolkit[…]
School administrators serve as instructional leaders and set the tone for the culture of a school. The principal’s influence is pivotal. In this month’s issue brief, we explore effective school leadership and recommendations for improving the training, support and evaluation of educational leaders. You can read the issue brief here: http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a4ae2b1b129b9f8a29d50b80f&id=ade984414e&e=60969abf82 To ensure you do Read more about February Issue Brief: Effective School Leadership[…]
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has released new standards that provide a clear, practical definition of what the supervisors of school principals should know and be able to do to improve the effectiveness of principals. With support from The Wallace Foundation, a team of educators from across the nation has spent more Read more about Principal Supervisor Professional Standards[…]