School Leader

Drawing on research for a doctoral dissertation, this report examines the design of the Center for Educational Leadership’s professional development coaching program. The multiple layers of a coaching cycle are outlined, and the conditions that result in instructional improvement are described.

This resource defines what it means to have a vision and presents different points of view related to goals, action options, and implementation pitfalls that may be encountered when building a collective vision. It can be a useful tool for school leaders interested in defining school culture. 

This initiative highlights the potential of using technology and redesigning teachers’ jobs to ensure excellent teachers. By focusing on redesigning teacher leadership opportunities, teacher pay, and collaborative working environments, the goal of district initiatives is to attract and retain effective teachers in high-need schools. 

This study of Florida districts found that collective bargaining agreements are often more lenient than people think when it comes to administrators’ discretion in teacher assignments—even in large, at-risk districts. Yet administrators often do not take advantage of the flexibilities in their union contracts because of ingrained practices and pressures by teachers and parents for the most effective teachers to teach students with the fewest high needs.

As part of Pittsburgh’s larger Empowering Effective Teachers plan initiative, which includes increasing the exposure of students with high needs to highly effective teachers as a strategic goal, the Promise-Ready Corps (PRC) is a group of ninth- and 10th-grade teachers who have been identified as effective and who will loop with cohorts of students for two years, providing high-quality core instruction and additional advising (an extra 44-minute period).

Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Schools  established the Strategic Staffing Initiative, which moves teams of administrators and teachers to high-need schools. Under this initiative, effective principals are identified and allowed to select effective members of their current staffs to take with them to a high-need school. 

The Houston (Texas) Independent School District (HISD) established the Effective Teacher Pipeline project to address concerns voiced by many teachers about working conditions in high-need schools. HISD is concentrating on a small number of high-need schools to increase the number of effective teachers on those campuses. The intent is to create supportive school cultures by placing several effective teachers at each school. Relocating teachers are given a financial incentive, professional development, and leadership opportunities.

The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School in New York City reallocates the regular public school budget to enable the school to pay teachers $125,000 as a recruitment and retention strategy. A recent study by Mathematica Policy Research found a promising impact on student achievement. TEP has adopted its own three Rs for teachers:

This 2008 publication from The Aspen Institute discusses the clinical residency model of teacher preparation as both an effective preparation strategy and a direct response to the problems of teacher recruitment and retention in high-need schools. Urban teacher residency programs generally have high percentages of minority graduates who are specifically trained, through strong partnerships with urban schools, to be successful teachers in those schools after graduation. The programs continue to mentor and support new teachers for several years after they take full-time positions.

As of January 2007, California Senate Bill 1655 allows principals in low-performing schools more decision-making authority with respect to voluntary transfers based on seniority. The goals of this law were to promote hiring practices based more on the unique skills and knowledge that a teacher brings to the classroom and create appropriate matches between teachers and schools.