The issue…
School districts are the front lines of teaching and learning. Yet these complex systems are finding it increasingly difficult to hire and retain qualified superintendents and principals capable of lifting the academic performance of all children. Promoting and sustaining improvements, and building internal capacity and external support, require skilled leaders committed long-term to the students and the communities they serve.
The response…
Since its start in 2002, Leadership for Educational Achievement in Districts (LEAD) has provided nearly $27 million to 12 high-need districts that have demonstrated willingness and capacity to reform its leadership practices to improve student learning. The districts are: Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools; Fort Wayne (IN) Community Schools; Providence (RI) School District; Springfield (MA) Public Schools; St. Louis (MO) Public Schools; Eugene (OR) School District; Hartford (CT) Board of Education; Atlanta (GA) Public Schools; Springfield (IL) School District; Trenton (NJ) Public Schools; New York City Region One; and Jefferson County (KY) Public Schools.
Funding for each district is renewable for up to five years provided it demonstrates significant progress toward achieving its goals. Over time, LEAD districts will identify and implement ways to attract and place a broader, more able pool of candidates into the principalship and superintendency; strengthen the ability of leaders to improve learning; and create more supportive conditions for leaders to succeed.
The LEAD districts are located within states participating in Wallace's State Action for Education Leadership Project (SAELP). These states are also committed to reforming their state policies so that they are more supportive of leadership and learning. The long-term goal of this coordinated state-district strategy is to develop and share policies and practices that influence many other states and districts beyond those getting direct support from Wallace.
The strategies…
LEAD districts form a learning network to examine the effects of leadership on learning, analyze existing obstacles and explore strategic interventions that can, over time, produce new policies and practices that support better student achievement. Specifically, LEAD districts are:
- working with states to implement policies affecting leadership, from selection and certification to professional learning and governance.
- working with school boards to define policies in such areas as recruitment, retention, evaluation, incentives and contracts.
- working with universities to influence the training and selection of aspiring leaders, as well as with local business leaders, community-based organizations, and parents.
- analyzing performance data and assess academic programs and the quality of classroom/school practice.
- allocating human, financial and intellectual resources in line with leadership and learning goals.
- defining student learning as the district's primary priority.
- creating systems so leaders can review student performance against standards.
Wallace has awarded grants to the Southern Regional Education Board and the Education Development Center (EDC) to help LEAD districts build greater capacity to define and realize specific leadership goals, evaluate progress, create new resources and tools to improve professional practice of principals, superintendents and others in leadership positions. EDC will also help us form a national network enabling LEAD districts to share knowledge more effectively with each other and with many other districts.
LEAD superintendents are attending a new management program, founded with Wallace support, at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. This investment will strengthen the LEAD network and support work to expand the impact of this method of leadership training on a larger scale.
Work-in-progress…
In their start-up work, many participating districts have chosen to focus on strategies aimed at attracting a stronger, more diverse pool of candidates for the principalship; improving professional preparation with an emphasis on mentoring, coaching and internships; and strengthening the ability of school leaders to improve student learning. For example:
- Springfield, MA, became the first district in that state to get permission to create and manage its own principal certification program independent of a university.
- The Eugene (OR) School District 4J started a principal preparation program at the University of Oregon, with faculty drawn from both the district and the university. The district recruited 28 teachers – 14 of whom are women, and four are minorities – to participate.
- The Fort Wayne (IN) Community Schools is seeking to increase the quality and diversity of its school leadership by operating five leadership academies. An Exploratory Leader Academy was established in 2002 for teachers considering a career in leadership but not yet ready to leave the classroom. Participants will divide their time between teaching and participation in an administrative internship.