What if principals acted like doctors diagnosing learning challenges in the same way a doctor diagnoses a disease? Imagine one principal presenting the learning problem and proposed treatments for his or her particular school to his or her network. Imagine then all fifteen members of the network visiting the presenting principal's school observing classrooms and discussing issues of instructional practice. A debrief would follow where the network shares their findings supporting the presenting principal as he or she crafts his or her treatment to solve this problem of instructional practice.

This is the basic vision of Dr. Richard Elmore's medical rounds model which will be featured in his new book by the Harvard Press, Instructional Rounds in Education:  A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning. The drive of the book is to improve instructional practices in schools by helping education leaders develop a shared understanding of what high-quality instruction looks like and what schools and districts need to do to support it.  The research highlighted in this book comes largely from the Connecticut Superintendents Network, a high functioning network that works to improve the instructional leadership of superintendents through the use of this model.

Elmore's research with "instructional rounds" is the foundational component for his vision for networks.  Yet, he sees a professional network as a way to model instructional leadership.  As he asserts "What we have tried to do with professional networks is to focus on their development of a body of professional practice - tangible behaviors, protocols, structures and processes - that model what instructional leadership might look like. 

To learn more about Elmore's Instructional Rounds Google the "School Administrator:  Professional Networks and School Improvement."

 

The Albany-Capital Network includes principals from urban, suburban and rural K-12 schools that serve students from both under- and well-resourced communities. This community of leaders includes Blue Ribbon School principals, an author, Principals of the Year and other award winning principals. One of the featured principals commented on the benefit of this diversity in the SAANYS article.  "There are many times I get to observe and hear thoughts that are unique and a perspective I may not have thought of.  I appreciate the new eyes of others."

The Albany-Capital Facilitator who leads this group is a retired principal of excellence, who herself created a Blue Ribbon School, Rachelle Salerno.  Speaking of her network she says, "We have impacted our entire region. We have a waiting list of principals who want to participate. As a facilitator,  I feel privileged to work with such a fine group of principals."