(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://lexialearning.

com/)
Search Lexia Learning PRODUCTLOGIN DOWNLOADS
(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/LEXIASUPPORT/DOWNL

HOME PRODUCTS RESEARCH SUCCESS SUPPORT CONTACT RESOURCES

(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/)
(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/PRODUCT)
(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/LEXIARESEARCH)
(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/SUCCESS)
(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/SUPPORT)
(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/CONTACT)
(HTTP://WWW.LEXIALEARNING.COMHTTP://LEXIALEARNING.COM/RESOURCES)

FOURKYFACTORSOFFFCTIVSCHOOLLADRSHIP
ElizabethBrooke,Ph.D.,CCCSLPChiefEducationOfficerLexiaLearningandRosettaStone

Inatimewhenschoolsarebeingheldaccountabletothehighestlevelofstandards,strongleadershipiscriticalfortheschools
success.ThesestandardsarereminiscentoftheReadingFirstdays,whenschoolswerebeingaskedtoprogressmonitortheir
studentsandsethighgoalsforeveryindividual.TherewereseveralkeyfactorsnotedinReadingFirstschoolswhodemonstrated
success,despitehavingchallengingstudentpopulations(Crawford&Torgesen,2006).Thesefactorscanbeappliedtothesesimilar
timesinordertocreateaschoolenvironmentthatisopenandsupportive,andwherestrongleadershipisdemonstratednotsolelyby
theprincipal,butratheritisestablishedbasedonasharedvisionwithcoachesandteachers.

Numerousstudiesonthetopicofeffectiveschoolleadershipfocusourattentiononfourkeyfactors:OrganizationalKnowledgeUse
ofDataSchedulingandPositiveBeliefsandHighExpectations.

OrganizationalKnowledge
Effectiveleadershipbeginswithextensiveknowledgeoftheinstructionalenvironment:individualstudentneeds,strengthsand
weaknessesofstaffmembers,aspectsoftheinstructionalprograms,studentdata,andschedules.Itisthemannerinwhichschool
leadersweavethesedatasourcestogetherthattheylaythefoundationforeffectiveschoolleadership.

Researchersexploringthequalitiesofeffectiveschoolleadershipoftenbeginwiththeleadersknowledgeofthestudentsinhisor
herschool.Bydevelopingadatadrivenunderstandingandknowledgeofthestudents,theprincipalandotherschoolleaderscan
informtheirdecisionspertainingto:

ResourceallocationDoIhaveenoughteachersandenoughtimetomeettheneedsofmyatriskstudents?

SchedulingHaveIscheduledthereadingblocksinsuchawaythatmyteachersandparaprofessionalshavesufficienttime
toprovideinstruction,andprovideinterventionforstudentsinneed?

ProfessionaldevelopmentHavepatternsinstudentskillgapsrevealedagapinteachersinstructionalabilitiesrequiring
additionalprofessionaldevelopment?

FundingandprocurementHowdothecharacteristicsofmystudentpopulationaffecttheavailablesourcesoffundingorthe
waysinwhichIcanallocatemybudget?

Effectiveleadershaveastrongknowledgeoftherangeofinstructionaltoolsavailabletoaddresstheirstudentsneeds.Thisentails
inmanycasesateambasedapproachtoresearchingandvettingresearchprovenprogramsthataddressspecificneeds.Because
ofthesheervolumeofprogramsavailable,manyschoolleadersrelypartlyontheirleadershipteamstocontinuouslyresearchand
shareinformationaboutnewtoolsandmethodologies.InformationsourcessuchastheWhatWorksClearinghouseandtheNational
CenteronResponsetoInterventionprovideashortlistofinstructionalprograms,someofwhichhaveextensiveefficacyresearch.

Onceaninstructionalprogramhasbeenselected,itisimperativethatschoolleadersdevelopanindepthunderstandingofthe
programinordertoensurefidelityofimplementation,drivebehavioraroundproperuselevelsandensurethatteachersavail
themselvesofthetrainingandprofessionaldevelopmentresourcesprovidedtothem.

UseofData
Effectiveschoolleadersdeveloptheirorganizationalknowledgebased,inlargepart,ontheirunderstandingofstudentdata.This
includestheuseofsummativedataanalyzingoutcomedatainthespringtoallocateresourcesandplanfortheupcomingschool
yearaswellasawealthofrealtimeformativedata.Thereareanumberofassessmentproductsandevensomeonline
instructionalprogramsthatgatherstudentdatawithoutadministeringatestthatcanproviderealtimeperformancedatatoinform
instructionaldecisions.

Effectiveschoolleaderstakeanactiveroleindatameetings,ensuringthatteachersunderstandhowthedataindicatethe
instructionalprioritiesforeachteachersclassroom.Fartoomanyschoolsfocustheirdatadrivencultureontheprocessofdata
collection.Whilefrequentmeasuresareimportantformeaningfulformativeassessment,themostimportantaspectofdatadriven
cultureisanongoingfocusondataanalysis.Frequent(e.g.,weekly,biweekly,etc.)datameetingshelpschoolstoeffectivelyinform
instruction,accuratelyidentifyandmonitorstudentsneedingintervention,andprovideschoolleaderstheopportunitytomodify
childrensinstructionalprogramsinrealtime.Thefrequencyofthemeetingscanmeettheneedsoftheindividualschool.Thecritical
pieceisthatthemeetingsarescheduledaheadoftime,sotheydonotgetpushedoutandmissedonaregularbasis.Itisimportantto
establishthesemeetingsassomethingthatisimportanttotheschoolleadership,becausewhenstudentdataiscloselyexaminedon
afrequentbasis,teachersunderstandtheimportanceofdrivingimprovementsontheseperformanceindicators.

Animportantfactorofeffectivedatameetingsishavingtherightpeopleinthemeetinginordertoactonthedecisionsmadeaboutthe
data.Timespenttrackingdowntheappropriateteammembertoinformoractuponaparticulardatapointresultsinmissed
opportunitiestoimprovestudentoutcomes.Datameetingsmustincludeallofthekeyplayers,orattheveryleast,incorporatespecific
nextstepstoensurethatinstructionaldecisionsaremadeandimplementedbasedonthefindingsatthedatameeting.

Scheduling
Highperformingschoolsconsistentlyidentifyschedulingasoneofthekeyfactorsoftheirsuccess.Forpurposesofthisdiscussion,
wewillfocusonschoolseffortstosupportanuninterruptedperiodofatleast90minutesforreadinginstruction.Schoolsplacea
priorityonsupportingdifferentiated,smallgroupinstructionforstrugglingstudents.Therefore,inresourceconstrainedscenarios
facingmanyschools,effectiveschedulinghelpsmaximizeavailablesupportstaff.Thiscanbeaccomplishedinseveralways:

Someschoolsschedulea90minutereadingblockacrossallgradesfirstthinginthemorning,regroupingstudentsinto
homogeneousskillgroupsineachclassroom.Sometimescalledthewalkandreadmodel,thisapproachhelpsschools
betterutilizealloftheirtrainedinterventionstaffbyplacingtheminclassroomswiththestudentsmostatriskofreadingfailure.

Otherhighperformingschoolsstaggertheirreadingblocks,whichallowsreadingspecialiststoservemultiplegradesand
classesthroughouttheday,andenablesthemtoobserveandmodellessonsinmorethanoneclassroomorgradelevel
duringthereadingblock.

Inadditiontoschedulingdedicatedinstructionalandinterventionblocks,highperformingschoolsplaceahighpriorityonscheduling
datameetings.Thisrequirestheallocationofsufficienttimeandresources,suchassubstituteteachers,whennecessary.Data
meetingsmustbeconsideredasequallyimportanttootheraspectsoftheschooldayparticularlysincetheeffectiveuseofdatawill
meetingsmustbeconsideredasequallyimportanttootheraspectsoftheschooldayparticularlysincetheeffectiveuseofdatawill
informnearlyeveryotheraspectofinstruction.

PositiveBeliefsandHighExpectations
Afactorthatisoftenoverlookedineffectiveschoolsisacultureofpositivebeliefsandhighexpectations.Highperformingschools
oftenhaveastated,schoolwidebeliefintheirstudentsabilitiestoachieve,despitesignificantobstaclessuchaslimitedresources,
highELLpopulationorlowparentalinvolvement.Leadersintheseschoolsfocusonraisingexpectationsforstudents,notlowering
them.Inordertoaddresshighabsenteeismorhighnumbersofbehaviorreferrals,manyoftheseschoolshavestartedexpressing
theirbeliefinthestudentstothestudentsthemselves,totheparents,andtothecommunity.Byestablishingaschoolcultureinwhich
allmembersoftheschoolcommunitybelievethatthestudentswillbehighachievers,thebeliefinreachingthesehighexpectations
becomesaselffulfillingprophecy.

Positivebeliefsandhighexpectationsmaybethemostimportantfactorinhighachievingschools.Notonlydoesitestablishaculture
ofsuccess,butitisalsoanapproachthatdrawsuponalimitlessresource.Duringthesedifficulteconomictimes,whenschool
budgetscontinuetotighten,yourschoolsbeliefsystemistheonecriticalresourcethatcannotbeaffectedbyfundingsourcesor
staffinglevels.

Conclusion
Successfulschoolshighlightedinresearchconsistentlydemonstratestrongaspectsineachofthefourkeyfactorsofeffectiveschool
leadership.Intheseschools,theirsuccessesbeganwiththeprincipalestablishingacollaborativeapproachtoleadership.Asa
principal,youdontneedtohavealloftheanswers.Youneedtoknowtherightquestionstoask,andyouneedtofosterthe
environmenttoempowerasharedsenseofownershipintheproblem,andasharedsenseofownershipinthesolution.

About(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://lexialearning.com/about) Sitemap
(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://lexialearning.com/sitemap) Privacy/EULA
(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://lexialearning.com/privacy) Copyright
2014LexiaLearningARosetta
(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://lexialearning.com/copyright)
+18004353942tollfree StoneCompany
(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://www.facebook.com/lexialearning)
(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://www.twitter.com/lexialearning)
(http://www.lexialearning.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/lexia (http://www.lexialearning.c
(http://www.lexialearning.comhttp://www.rosettastone.com)
learning+19782870062fax
systems)