Stages of Instructional Leadership

What level is your instructional leadership?

I. All staff understands what students must know and be able to do in order to meet the grade-level standard of their students (score proficient on the state test).

II. Staff assesses weekly to understand student progress toward meeting the grade-level standard.

III. Staff analyzes the results of the weekly assessments in order to pinpoint student needs and gather feedback on best practices.

IV. Staff collaboratively problem solves to meet the student needs and shares best practices.

1. Ask your teachers what students need to know and be able to do in reading and in math to meet the grade-level standard.

The teachers should be very specific. For example in reading, all teachers should identify that students must be able to predict, summarize, use context clues to understand new words, identify the main idea, and identify the author’s purpose and point of view, as well as be able to answer literal, inferential, and evaluative questions about what they read. In math, teachers should be able to identify at least five specific concepts and skills within specific sub-strand areas like number sense.

2. Ask your teachers to provide you with all assessments that will be used to measure progress toward mastering the concepts and skills for at least the next month.

The teachers should provide assessments that match the grade-level benchmarks of their students for at least the next month. They should also provide a pacing guide to be certain that all benchmarks and progress toward them will be measured before April. The assessments will help the administrator monitor the extent to which the grade-level benchmarks are taught. With the assessment for the week in hand and an understanding of what it is measuring, the administrator can visit the classroom early in the week and later in the week to see how students are doing. The teachers can analyze the assessments when planning instruction for the week in order to make certain that students are successful.

3. Ask your teachers for an analysis of the results of the weekly assessments.

The teachers should provide an analysis of their specific student needs as well as of their best practices based on the results of the weekly assessment. They should be able to explain which student is having difficulty with which specific concept and skill and why, as well as what practices they are finding work working to meet student needs.

4. Ask yourself whether your teachers have weekly meeting time to share the specific student needs and collaboratively problem solve to meet them as well as share the best practices that they are finding are working to meet student needs.

The teachers and all staff that support the students must have time to work together as a team, collaboratively problem solving to meet the unique needs of the students in your school.  The solutions may involve using the instructional support staff more effectively to help differentiate instruction, abandoning practices that are not working to meet student needs, and building on those that are working.