School Leadership!
Dear Partners and Friends of School Leaders Network:
Everyone agrees that American schools should develop the skills and abilities that children urgently need in order to achieve their dreams. School principals are second only to teachers in their ability to provide children with rich environments for personal and academic growth.
While it is firmly understood that ongoing teacher development is an essential ingredient to achieving best in class schooling, the equally important investment in quality learning for practicing principals has not reached national awareness. Just like teachers, principals need ongoing high quality learning throughout their careers to continue to acquire and strengthen instructional leadership practice. Just like teachers, principals develop these skills best within collaborative environments that
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Dr. Elizabeth Neale
Founder and CEO |
are of high frequency and highly focused on strengthening instructional leadership practice.
We must radically change the conversation to drive development for leaders on the job. The US Department of Education recently released a report: "Principal Attrition and Mobility: First Look," to address awareness of school leadership mobility. This report clearly shows the need to keep our most successful school leaders in their schools, ensuring their track record of creating success for children on their campus continues to grow.
Research already tells us that strategic support and targeted development are direct routes to retaining effective principals in their roles while they provide continuity for students and teachers. In 2013-14, 97% of the leaders who participated in School Leaders Network in 2012-13 returned to their school leadership roles or were promoted, compared to the average of 78% principals nationally, as found by the National Center on Education Statistics.
This fall, School Leaders Network will publish a report entitled "Churn: The High Cost of Principal Turnover," which examines the causes and potential solutions to a problem that plagues school systems and stymies school improvement and student achievement growth. We will also be convening leading educators to discuss this important topic in November (Washington, DC) and in May (Los Angeles). I hope you will join us.
School Leaders Network is exceptionally proud of the work our leaders are accomplishing, and the ways in which our program and staff supports their persistent efforts to transform schools to ever-exciting and high-impact places of learning. In 2013-14, 91% percent of SLN Leaders achieved significant progress towards individualized student achievement goals (set annually).
For example, by the end of the school year, a SLN elementary principal in Prince George's County, MD saw her 2nd grade students' DRA scores increase from 31% scoring on/above grade level in September to 79% scoring on/above grade level in April. She accomplished this by utilizing observation and supervision, focused teacher collaboration, learning walks, and teacher-to-teacher professional development.
Across the country in Los Angeles, a SLN Principal of an elementary school focused her leadership work so that 90% students would move at least one grade level in reading comprehension by the end of the year. By June, common grade-level performance tasks showed that each grade level increased the percentage of proficient students by 30% or more. This growth was accomplished by creating a vehicle through which teachers collaborated in inquiry cycles throughout the year.
If you have thoughts you would like to share with me about changing the conversation, I would love to hear from you. Contact me at eneale@connectleadsucceed.org.
Best,
Elizabeth
