Leadership

Instructional Leadership and School Improvement

Instructional leadership and school improvement start here. Principals and school leaders charged with developing a student-focused environment face more challenges than ever before. Our articles below contain insights, strategies, and tools designed to support principal and leader development in driving teacher effectiveness and student achievement.

 

 

 

The Principal’s Test: Overcoming the Top 7 Challenges of Educational Leadership

By Don Marlett

In corporate leadership, The CEO Test is a book that has become a cornerstone for executives navigating complex challenges. It offers practical insights into essential qualities and skills for leading organizations effectively. While the corporate sector and world of education differ significantly, school leaders face equally demanding challenges. As a school leader, you are tasked…

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Transforming Hallway Walks into Powerful Professional Development for Collective Efficacy

By Dr. Sherri Connell

Every school leader has walked their building’s hallways, glancing at student work displayed on walls and bulletin boards. But what if these casual walks could be transformed into powerful opportunities for building collective teacher efficacy? Research consistently shows that collective efficacy – the shared belief among teachers in their ability to accept feedback and impact…

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How to Improve the Effectiveness of High-Quality Instructional Materials

By Don Marlett

Walk into any classroom where teachers are implementing high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) with fidelity, and you’ll notice something interesting. While the materials provide an excellent academic foundation, there are still gaps in student engagement and understanding. Some students struggle to connect with the content, while others master surface-level knowledge but stumble when asked to think…

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The Hidden Architecture of School Success: Why Systems and Accountability in Education Matter

By Don Marlett

In my years of educational leadership, one truth has stood paramount: a school’s success is not built on aspirations. Instead, it is built on systems that are shaped by accountability and sustained through deliberate action. Think of a school as a living ecosystem. The school’s systems form the foundation, the school’s culture reflects daily behaviors,…

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Principals: School Improvement Starts with Better Teacher Feedback

By Don Marlett

Teacher feedback is essential for fostering growth, improvement, and positive change within a school. Feedback leads to better student engagement and learning outcomes by identifying and refining teaching methods, which improves teacher effectiveness. Constructive feedback fosters a positive school environment by boosting teacher morale and communication. Ultimately, investing in teacher feedback enhances student learning by…

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School Improvement Planning: A Strategic Guide to Using Learning-Focused Newsletter Articles 

By Don Marlett

The Learning-Focused Newsletter continues to be an invaluable resource for district personnel, school administrators, instructional coaches, and teachers throughout the academic year and into summer planning. The newsletter’s articles are versatile and useful for incorporating high yield strategies throughout all lessons. The articles can guide collaborative planning, serve as the agenda for team meetings or…

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Developing Teacher Expertise – The Obstacle and Opportunity

By Don Marlett

It is a common practice to think about your teaching journey and wonder how you got to where you are today. 

The skills you’ve developed and the strategies you use with your students determine your expertise. It is important then, to consider, at what point are you an expert of a particular skill or strategy?

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school improvement failure quote

Why Do School Improvement Plans, Initiatives, and Implementations Fail?

By Don Marlett

Educators believe in the importance of learning from our mistakes and failures, and it isn’t uncommon to hear conversations about how we should support and maybe even celebrate failures. Students should understand that mistakes and failures are an integral part of learning and growing. But as educators, do we really embrace the same mindset for…

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supporting new teachers

How to Support New Teachers (When You Have Limited Time)

By Dr. Sherri Connell

Updated: August 2024 This article was written in 2022, and unfortunately, the statistics regarding teacher retention have only become more concerning. According to statistica.com, in May 2024 alone, over 59,000 teachers and educational staff quit the profession. Additionally, teachercareercoach.com reports that 44% of teachers leave the profession within five years of entering. While teachers give many reasons…

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How does School Culture Extend to PLC and Faculty Meetings?

By Don Marlett

In the book, the culture code, by Daniel Coyle, he describes a contest that was created by Peter Skillman. Each team’s mission, if they chose to accept it, was to build the tallest structure possible with the following materials: Twenty pieces of uncooked spaghetti 1 yard of transparent tape 1 yard of string One standard…

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