Turnaround Leadership

Domain 1

Leadership Matters!

The significance of leadership in educational settings cannot be overstated. As research has shown:

"In developing a starting point for this six-year study, we claimed…that leadership is second only to classroom instruction as an influence on student learning. After six additional years of research…we have not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the absence of talented leadership." (Leithwood et al., Learning from district efforts to improve student achievement. 2009, p. 9. New York: Wallace Foundation.)

This quote underscores the critical role of school leaders. Effective leadership is not just a supportive element but a fundamental driver of student success. Schools that excel in student achievement invariably benefit from the guidance and vision of strong leaders.

Turnaround Leadership - One Pager

Turnaround Leadership - Continuum

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Establish a Clear Direction

Clarity precedes competence. To create sustainable change, the school's leadership must clearly define the direction the school needs to go. This is accomplished by engaging the whole staff in developing a shared mission, vision, collective commitments, and goals for the upcoming school year.

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Create a Sense of Urgency

It has been said that who supports an idea is often more important than the idea itself. Therefore, one of the first actions of the principal is to create a team of influential staff members. This team will work with the principal to honestly assess the school's current reality based on data, examine its practices, identify possible obstacles, and plan the best way to create staff commitment from the staff.

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Communicate the Plan

Once a plan has been developed, it is important to widely communicate the priorities of the plan, the processes and practices that will be put in place, and how it will be measured. The purpose of this communication plan should be to build a collective effort of all stakeholders who share an interest in the school's success.

Additional Supports for Practice 1A

Questions to consider...

What are your school turnaround goals?
How do you define success regarding meeting school turnaround goals?
How will the results of our interim assessments be reported to everyone involved?
What is your plan for engaging parents and other community stakeholders in your turnaround process?

Goal/Action Plan initiative ideas:

Professional development on creating a shared mission, vision, collective commitments, and goals.
Stipend for the members of the School Leadership Team (SLT)
Stipend for summer and after-school training/meetings
Summer retreat for the staff or SLT to develop plans for upcoming year based on current data
Provide parent academies and/or opportunities for engagement to discuss the needs of the school and how they can partner to ensure success

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Establish Goals

Goals help answer the question, "How will we know if our efforts are making a difference." Goals should be written ambitiously enough to close the gap between the school's current reality and where it wants to be if achieved. The School Leadership Team establishes school-wide SMART goals based on student data. Each grade level or content area team will create goals to support the school-wide goals.

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Inspect What You Expect

The School Leadership Team will meet at least quarterly to review the implementation of the school's action plan and the progress made toward meeting the stated goals. The plan can be adjusted at this time if sufficient progress is not being made.

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How are we doing?

Based on the quarterly review, the School Leadership Team will develop a plan to share and celebrate successes while being transparent regarding areas that still need improvement.

Additional Supports for Practice 1B

Questions to consider...

What are your school goals?
How do you define success regarding meeting these goals?
What structure(s) or processes are in place to assess whether your efforts are successful? Who will be held accountable for creating timelines and updating the team regarding continuous progress?
How will your progress on data-referenced goals be monitored, tracked, and communicated?
What measures will be monitored to identify successes and challenges in student outcomes for school turnaround?
Who will be held accountable at each level to monitor and report changes in student outcomes?
Who will determine what interim assessments will be administered and analyzed?
Who will be held accountable for analyzing and reporting the results of the interim assessments?
How will the results of the interim assessments be reported to everyone involved?

Goal/Action Plan initiative ideas:

Professional development on creating SMART goals based on current student data
Funds for school-wide celebrations (early and often) for accomplishments both big and small
Funds for providing visuals throughout the building of the goals for the current year
Update data room to include all things that teachers need to analyze results

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Establish Priorities for Improvement

When establishing priorities, it is important to focus on 3-5 areas for improvement. These priorities should be directly linked to the student achievement goals established by the School Leadership Team.

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Focus On What Is Most Important

We cannot do the same things we have always done and expect to get different results. It is critical that turnaround schools have their district's support in understanding their unique needs and assisting them in making the cultural and structural changes required. This includes identifying personnel needed to help facilitate change and changing processes and practices that are not effective.

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Identify Targeted Supports

School Leadership should plan appropriate professional learning opportunities based on the needs of their staff. Data should be used to determine the needs of the entire staff and individual teachers. Teachers should have access to job-embedded coaching to support their implementation of the professional learning they are provided with.

Additional Supports for Practice 1C

Questions to consider...

What measures will be monitored to identify successes and challenges in student outcomes for school turnaround?
What tools, systems, and structures must be established to give turnaround school leaders adequate decision-making authority and autonomy?
How will data be used to customize support for turnaround and improvement efforts?

Goal/Action Plan initiative ideas:

Targeted professional development based on student data (ex. LETRS, OGAP, Numbers, NBCT, E3, etc.)
Provide staff that is necessary to support turnaround leadership.