WHAT SHOULD WE CONSIDER?
_ Demonstrates success in raising achievement
for all students
_ Shows leadership in coaching other teachers
to raise student achievement
_ Recommended by high-performing
principals
_ Implemented innovative learning strategies
in their classrooms
_ Challenges all students through rigorous,
standards-based teaching
_ Integrates technology into daily
teaching
_ Good communications, human relations and
organizational skills
_ Ability to motivate
_ National Board certified
_ won awards and recognition
_ earned a master’s degree in a content
area
_ Active in professional organizations
_ Provide professional development for other
teachers
_ Worked collaboratively on teaching/learning
issues
_ Written successful grant proposals focused
on student achievement
_ Works successfully on teaching teams
_ Can analyze research and apply it to
practice
_ Uses student data and work samples to make
instructional decisions
_ Shows leadership in the larger
community
_ Articulates and implement a vision
_ Committed to continuous improvement
HOW SHOULD WE SCREEN POTENTIAL
CANDIDATES?
_ Joint screening by university and school
system leaders
_ Nomination by principals, peers and
parents
_ Assessment tools like Myers-Briggs,
leadership style inventories, 360-degree competency-basedinstruments
_ Self-assessment
_ Portfolios documenting teaching and
leadership skills
_ Screening protocols based on the SREB
leadership success factors
_ Direct interviews and conversations with
peers
_ Observations and videos of classroom and
peer teaching
_ Simulations and role plays
_ Biographical sketches
_ Demonstration of effective oral and written
communications skills
_ Candidate analysis of case studies
_ Willingness to work in high-need
schools
_ Mini-courses that expose potential
candidates to the challenges of leadership
_“Gateway”internships to gauge leadership
potential
_ List other ideas
Block 1- organizational management
- Bring the school vision to life by using it to guide
shared-decision making about students and the instructionalprograms enhancing staff/ school and community relations.
- Monitor and evaluate school operations and use feedback
appropriately to enhance effectiveness/manage fiscal resources/timemanagement.
- Apply laws, policies, regulations and procedures fairly,
consistently, wisely and compassionately that promotes positiveschool environment.
Additional Activities: must have the ability
to organize, oversee, and promote special education.
Block 2 - building management
- Maintain open communication with the school community, and
effectively convey high expectations for student learning to thecommunity.
- Work collaboratively with the school community to develop and
maintain a shared school vision.
- Use research and data from multiple sources to design and
implement professional dev. act.
- Provide incentives for learning and growth and encourage
participation in professional dev. activities at national/ stateand parish levels.
- To effectively use teacher evaluation.
Additional Activities:
-
- Scenarios to role play.
- Attend two similar parental involvement activities and
compare.
- Add: Conflict Resolution .
Concerns:
- $$ - new limitations on funds.
- Assessments: individual or group?
- Write a mission statement.
- Communicate mission statement to school community.
- Understand techniques/strategies for shared decision making
and team building.
- Identify organizational structure and team members and the
role of each.
- Develop an instrument to survey the school community foster
and strengthen the vision.
Block 4 - school leader as instructional facilitator
- Analyze test scores–individual, grade level, school wide,
district wide.
- Observe, assess and evaluate instruction.
- Analysis of lesson plans.
- Knowledge in curriculum development by grade level and
subject area.
- Implement and follow through with the evaluative
process.
Concerns:
Time/ support from the university
Block 5 - school leader as change agent
- Strategies for monitoring progress.
- Methods of data collection.
- Research, measurement, and assessment strategies.
- Technological use.
- Security and allocating resources.
- Interview process for new teachers (design the school
process0. Include interpretation of SAM.
- Question: Timeline for cohorts.
Block 6 - internship
- Each system will be responsible for their own interns.
- Concern over the number of contact hours: 2/6 hours.
- Different setting important.
- Involved in the opening and closing of schools.
- Financing the interns?
- How much involved in personal? Legal Question.
Appendix D
FOCUS QUESTIONS AND SUMMARY OF ANSWERS
COHORTS 1 and 2
This is the protocol for your focus group
discussion. None of your professors will be present. This ensuresthat your discussion and responses will be private. You will need
to select a facilitator and a recorder. Discuss each question andprovide your input. Thank you for your participation.
Did the first seminar meet your
expectations?
- need more practical, real-life field experience
- need less lecture-type presentation of information–more
hands-on
- we liked our mentors and appreciated field experiences,
especially shadowing
- can SLU do more to encourage district participation?
- more feedback from instructors throughout the semester
What does a Teacher Leader need?
- district recognition, support and approval
- district communication with principals
- principal support and encouragement (afraid to talk to their
site principal)
- greater communication
- time off from teaching position (release time)
What would you like to learn in Seminar
2?
- focus on legal issues
- what is coaching?
What would you like to learn in remaining
seminars?
- what I need to know to be an effective, licensed
administrator
- we are concerned about being prepared for the position of
administrator–our degree will imply knowledge that we must
have
What other comments do you have?
- additional assessment during the semester
- extra field time with their mentors
- lack of district and school recognition, support, and
approval
- other teachers who had completed another graduate program
complained about the attention and release time
