Principals are key to improving teaching and learning in schools, but how can school district central offices give principals the support they need? Three tools designed by education researchers at the University of Washington are meant to help. Two focus on the redesign of central offices in ways that foster effective leadership in schools. The last is an aid for principal supervisors seeking to develop the instructional capabilities of the principals they oversee.
Commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, the Central Office Transformation Toolkit will help district leaders take necessary actions from assessing readiness to implementing real changes in their central offices.
“The school district profoundly shapes the success of its principals: how they are trained, hired, mentored, evaluated and developed on the job,” said Jody Spiro, director of education leadership at The Wallace Foundation. “Yet, many educators and policymakers have overlooked the unique role districts can play. These new CEL tools will go a long way toward helping districts give principals the support they need to lead instructional improvement in their schools.”
Max Silverman, CEL associate director, added that the tools will also help school districts “transform their central offices, turning them into true teaching and learning support systems. Our experience partnering with school districts tells us that districts need these tools to better develop leaders, particularly principal supervisors, an ever-evolving position. These tools will help district leaders take necessary actions from assessing readiness to implementing real changes in their central offices.”
For more information and to access the Central Office Transformation Toolkit, visit the University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership:
