Leading Rti: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size Affirmation Recognizes and celebrates .19 RtI Implementation for behavior and reading: accomplishments and acknowledges Tier I: failures Systematically (i.e. four times per year) and fairly recognizing and celebrating the Systematically and fairly accomplishments of the leadership team recognizing and celebrating o Establishing meeting mechanics/roles and responsibilities: ways to be the accomplishments of efficient with their time. students, teachers . Facilitator: keeps the conversation flowing and keeps the team on Systematically and fairly task recognizing the failures of the . Time-Keeper: adheres to the pre-identified time for agenda items school as a whole and provides a five minute warning when time is about to expire . Recorder/Action Planner: responsible for taking minutes and recording things on action plan for follow-up; e-mails the minutes and accompanying action plan to the principal and fellow team members 24-48 hours after the meeting occurs. o Creating and adhering to norms (agreements) that allow the team to disagree while maintaining safety and preserving the relationships; (examples of norms: allow all voices to be heard; and to use data to guide selection of instructional programs, practices, and materials). o Establishing and adhering to a monthly leadership meeting schedule o Providing fair recognition to the accountability framework (i.e. minutes and action plans were in fact e-mailed 24-48 hours after the meeting; action items that had a pre-identified timeline were completed before or on the day in which they were identified. Systematically (i.e. staff meetings, informal conversations with staff, four times per year) and fairly recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of the staff o Recognizes the work of staff to collectively work towards the implementation of schoolwide PBIS by discussing and coming to consensus on 3-5 broad expectations (AKA Guidelines for Success); recognizes the collective work to identify 3-5 expectations (observable, stated positively) for each of the broad expectations in all identified non-classroom settings o Fairly recognizes the teachers/staff who were integral in the development and refinement of the teaching plans for the schoolwide behavioral expectations o Fairly recognizes the accomplishments of staff for working towards common understanding and consensus regarding the following misbehaviors that constitute major offenses and minor offenses; clearly defined definitions of the misbehaviors (major and minor); agreement about behaviors that are office managed vs. classroom managed o Fairly recognize the accomplishments of staff for working towards increasing their ratio of interactions with students to a 5:1 ratio. The establishment of a tangible acknowledgement system might need to be used until all staff are fluent in providing specific, positive feedback in relationship to students meeting the behavioral expectations as defined on the behavior matrix. o Fairly recognizes staff for increasing the behavior support techniques that Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size they have learned and are in the process of implementing in order to effectively manage classroom behavior (i.e. “Interventions”) A continuum of classroom and schoolwide based consequences is established and consistently utilized Fairly and systematically recognize the accomplishments of staff for establishing the data systems for both managing office discipline referral data and managing Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) data. o Consistency in how behavior referrals are completed (i.e. consistency in appropriately identifying if the offense was a major offense or minor offense; possible motivation; consistent application of appropriate consequences that align to the misbehavior o Training in the administration and scoring of DIBELS/AIMSweb o Adhering to the administration and scoring procedures to minimize examiner drift o Accepting ownership of administering the assessments to their own students (ownership of the data) Fairly and systematically recognizes the amount of work that the staff has done to learn the data, systems, practices associated with RtI o Thanking them for the amount of staff meeting time that has been devoted towards making schoolwide decisions that will impact all staff and will be best for students o Recognizing the amount of information that is “new learning” for all stakeholders in the school/district Fairly and systematically recognizes the accomplishments of staff for deepening their knowledge in the research findings related to the National Reading Panel and current reading research even though some of the information presented might be challenging to belief systems. Fairly and systematically recognizes the accomplishments of staff for learning and implementing explicit instructional teaching methods into their core instruction in order to maximize the learning of all students. Intentional student engagement strategies would be included as well. As staff begin to adjust instructional delivery systems and prioritize content around the essential elements of teaching reading systematic and fair recognition will need to be provided. The conversations should focus on specific actions that were observed and can be done as a whole staff, grade level, or individual teacher.
Year 2-3 Tier II/Tier III systems, practices, and data
Systematically and fairly recognizes the implementation of additional instructional time above and beyond the core reading block for students who are needing additional reading support. A part of this is the use of the specific programs, materials, strategies that are used during the tier II and tier III blocks. Systematically and fairly recognizes the implementation of early stage and highly structured behavioral interventions in the classroom setting to support the tier II behavioral intervention systems that are put in place (i.e. Check-In-Check-Out (CICIO) Behavior Education Plan (BEP) Systematically and fairly recognizes the systems work necessary for students needing tier II/III Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size behavioral support (i.e. Behavior Response Team) and teachers access to the appropriate systems Systematically and fairly recognizes the use of problem-solving at multiple levels (schoolwide with the leadership team; grade level with grade level teachers; individual student level with Tier III response team) Systematically and fairly recognize when data is used to make decisions rather than feelings, emotions, or philosophies. Even if reviewing the data was uncomfortable and emotionally challenging the fact that adult issues must be set aside from doing what is best for children is essential
Systematically and fairly recognizes the failures of the school as a whole o It is also important for the leader to be honest about the failures of the school. It is only until people admit there is a problem when something can be done to correct the problem. Modeling this type of conversation will assist staff in seeing that the same honest reflection and conversation can be done between grade level colleagues and on an individual basis. Change Agent Is willing to challenge and actively .25 Is willing to challenge and actively challenges the status quo challenges the status quo o Consciously challenging the status quo by looking at student screening, progress monitoring Consciously challenging the and outcome data to determine if the current state of affairs is working. If the data suggests status quo that the gains are small/incremental, flat, or trending downward then the principal must Being willing to lead change seek alternate ways to close the achievement gap. Adult issues are set aside and the interest initiatives with uncertain of the children are placed in the front of the principal’s mind. Methods of addressing outcomes teaching reading and proactively, positively managing student behavior are selected in Systematically considering objective ways based on converging evidence rather than philosophy or belief systems. new and better ways of doing things o Being willing to lead change initiatives with uncertain outcomes because maintaining Consistently attempting to current state of affairs will result in more of the same level of student performance. The operate at the edge versus the principal approaches this leadership responsibility carefully yet deliberately. Prior to center of the school’s beginning the process the principal ensures that he/she has the support of central office to competence move forward if and when resistance to changing practices occurs. The leader must pre-plan his/her steps in moving forward BEFORE beginning to change practices that are going to result in the innovation (literacy and behavior methods/practices/programs) being perceived as a second order change. The leader keeps the formula for success in the forefront (motivation X ability = success). These can be framed around three broad categories: personal, social, structural. Personal motivation: make the undesirable desirable. Personal ability: surpass your limits; social motivation: harness peer pressure; social ability: find strengths in numbers; structural motivation: design rewards & demand accountability; structural ability: change the environment The leader understands that in order to effectively lead second order change that challenges peoples’ belief systems, then the leader must focus on changing people’s behaviors. In order to change their behaviors the leader focuses first on changing how people think. Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size To change the way people think and then their behavior the leader must have vicarious experiences ready for staff to hear and see (virtual fieldtrips) what implementation looks like. o Identify vital behaviors that need to be emphasized and in particular high leverage behaviors that will yield the biggest change in influencing people. o Mistakes will be made but the effective leader pre-plans for mistakes and identifies recovery behaviors Contingent Rewards Recognizes and rewards individual .24 Recognizes and rewards individual accomplishments: accomplishments: Using hard work and results as the basis for rewards and recognition for individual This responsibility can be Using hard work and results as accomplishments easily confused with the basis for rewards and o Use praise appropriately with staff. If there are staff who do not like to be affirmation. The main recognition recognized or celebrated public (i.e. staff meeting, board meeting, teacher’s difference between the two Using performance versus lounge) then remember to provide praise in private. is that affirmation not only seniority as a primary o “Don’t praise crap” in the name of trying to “bring someone around.” systematically and fairly criterion for rewards and o When trying to change beliefs and behaviors make sure the ratio of interactions acknowledges successes recognition is high (5:1) in order to increase the likelihood the teacher will see the merit in but it also does the same the work that he/she is doing that is challenging belief systems for FAILRURES. o Using performance versus seniority as a primary criterion for rewards and Contingent rewards recognition focuses on rewarding When the leader sees that staff is engaged in difficult and timely INDIVDIUAL work, seek ways to reward them. Advocate for district compensation ACCOMPLISHMENTS and procedures (i.e. Schedule B) to be determine based on merit not using accomplishments as seniority the basis for promotion of assuming additional responsibilities (i.e. Schedule B work at a district level is done because of performance not seniority) Communication Establishes strong lines of .23 Establish strong lines of communication among and with students and staff communication among and with students Developing effective means for teachers to communicate with one another by establishing and staff a grade level meeting schedule and/or common planning time. Although the schedule and Developing effective means for time will have been allocated the parameters around HOW that time will need to be used teachers to communicate with is critical. one another Developing effective means for leadership team members to communicate with one Being easily accessible to another by ensuring that the meetings are scheduled on a monthly basis, agendas are teachers created and followed, minutes are recorded, and action items are documented with Maintaining open and effective timelines and necessary resources. Any subcommittee meetings (i.e. work groups) must lines of communication with have the same expectations. As the leader, since you are unable to be at every meeting it staff will be essential that minutes, action plans and conversations with the facilitator or committee chair occur on a regular basis. Data should be expected to be the out on the table and guiding the decisions that need to be made Being easily accessible to teachers by maintaining an “open-door” policy. Become very knowledgeable about reading non-verbal communication in an effort to support teachers Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size who might not feel comfortable voicing their concerns. Be transparent about decisions made at the leadership team level and about the direction in which the school/district is moving. Even though decisions might be made to withhold information from people because they are not on the team or because you don’t want to bother them with the information it is wise to always keep people informed about issues, decisions, suggestions that are appropriate for them to know. This is a fine line and requires thoughtful planning about the ramifications of teachers/staff members knowing the information. Are there negative implications? If so, what are they and what could come of them? Are there positive implications? If so, what are they and what could come of them? This leadership responsibility integrates with Visibility because in order to be accessible to teachers you have to be visible. While it is true that you can still communicate via e- mail or cell phone, face-to-face interaction is essential and e-mail causes people to interpret tone or meaning from the written words. Information from trainings will need to be shared with all staff and very intentional skill building will be expected. Communication isn’t just the “what” it is also the “how” and “why. “ If staff are going to be expected to engage in a behavior that resulted from something learned during training then communication will mean formalized ways to present/teach information to stakeholders. Time will also be needed to identify the rationale for why this is happening. Even though staff might have been in agreement with the practices and procedures underlying research base for everything done thus far, never assume you are finished with consensus. Effective lines of communication assist the leader in maintaining a pulse on consensus. Leaders can deal with any questions, unsettled feelings, or concerns immediately before they spiral into something more than it needed to be in the first place. This responsibility also begins to integrate with Situational Awareness because keeping your eyes and ears open for any disturbances, cliques, concerns, potential problems will need to be addressed using effective methods of communication (i.e. Crucial Conversation, Influencer concepts)
Culture Fosters shared beliefs and a sense of .25 Fosters shared beliefs and a sense of community community o Promoting cohesion among staff by creating opportunities where staff is working together Promoting cohesion among (formal in the school setting and informally through various team-building activities) to staff establish relationship with one another that extend beyond the confines of the classroom Promoting a sense of well- and formal meetings. Strengthening relationships with one another fosters the kind of being among staff environment where disagreements can be had while still preserving the relationship. If Developing an understanding “business as usual” is the driving force behind the interactions staff have with one another of purpose among staff the relationships might not be strong enough to preserve over challenges in belief Developing a shared vision of systems, philosophies, and challenge of the status quo. what the school could be like o Promoting a sense of well being among staff allows staff to spend time engaging in leisurely activities or activities that do not focus around their formal roles and responsibilities at school. Some examples include: staff gatherings to celebrate data, October Fest, Road Rally, TGIF). The leader should intentionally pre-plan activities such as these. In addition to activities that might occur outside of the school/district, the leader should think about opportunities to engage in light-hearted activities within the school (i.e. friendly prank on fellow teachers or secretary, friendly sports rivalry). Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size o Developing a shared vision of what the school could be like will need to move beyond what is written in words and focus on actions supporting the words. Often times it is not the vision or ambiguous shared purpose that staff struggle with; rather, it is the methods used to achieve the shared purpose/mission and vision. This aspect of Culture will need to connect with Intellectual Stimulation because in order to have staff view the path necessary to achieve the shared purpose they will need to be developing deeper knowledge of the methods, practices, programs that will be used. The skillful leader will need to intentionally pre-plan how the practices associated with achieving the shared purpose relate to and are also better choices than alternate methods that might differ in philosophy. o The leader must also foster a culture that is open-to and wanting of peer feedback. This will require the leader setting the expectation that any new strategy and practice will require teachers to identify an implementation buddy before the training of the strategy or program. The principal will also need to be willing to receive feedback. McREL has developed a Balanced Leadership Profile Survey that is designed for principals to receive 360-degree feedback. This is feedback from teachers, self-assessment, and feedback from supervisor. The skillful leader will be honest about his/her areas of strength and areas of need in relationship to leading a change initiative such as RtI. The leader will present his/her plan for growth by clearly articulating the leadership responsibilities that will be targeted for improvement. The principal will highlight strategies and actions for improving the fulfillment of the leadership responsibility and communicate progress- monitoring data to staff. This is truly the leader leading by promoting a culture that is safe for risk taking and open to feedback. The goal of continuous improvement will be highlighted at multiple levels: teachers to principals; principals to teachers, teachers to students; and students to teachers. Discipline Protects teachers from issues and .27 Protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from instruction and focus influences that would detract from o Protecting instructional time from interruptions will require intentional skill building in instruction and focus behavioral strategies, interventions; academic engagement strategies; academic Protecting instructional time intervention planning; and data analysis. from interruptions . Behavioral perspective: the leader needs provide staff with the time, training, Protecting teachers from and resources necessary to implement an evidence classroom management internal and external program (i.e. CHAMPS). Teachers will have time to create a matrix for their distractions most common instructional routines and transitions. The teacher will frame his/her expectations around the variables that can be manipulated in order to create a classroom environment for students to be successful. Once the matrixes are complete then staff need to be given the time to create visual displays for their expectations. Teachers will take the most essential words, phrases from their matrixes and display them on posters or some other visual display that is large enough for students to read and to receive formal instruction and repeated review. Clearly defined, operationalized classroom rules will need to be developed along with a teaching schedule for not only the expectations for instructional routines, transitions, but for the rules as well. A continuum of classroom-based consequences will need to be established, clearly defined and taught to all students. Staff will establish an acknowledgement system that is centered on the teacher systematically Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size increasing his/her rates of specific, positive feedback to all students in the classroom. Implementation buddies will be established prior to the training of all of these concepts therefore setting the stage that coaching and feedback loops are essential. Training will also need to occur around evidenced based behavioral intervention for individual students (i.e. “Interventions”) so staff have strategies to manage the few students who will not respond to the behavioral “core” that has been implemented in the classroom. Interventions that need to be used when behaviors have just started and/or appear to be more minor in nature. The strategies include: planned discussion, academic assistance, goal setting, data collection and debriefing, increasing positive interactions, and teacher-friendly functional behavior assessment (i.e. STOIC Analysis). Implementation buddies will be used in this aspect of the behavioral training and coaching, feedback, staff dialogue will occur around the successes and challenges of implementing the behavioral interventions. Teachers will also visually display the students’ behavioral needs on a triangle in order to see if the behavioral “core” is meeting the majority of students in the classroom (80% or higher). The connection between academics and behavior will be repeatedly reinforced with staff and academic engagement strategies will be universally implemented (i.e. begin with choral responses, then partner responses). Implementation buddies will also be used as well in order to make the best use of the coaching feedback loops. The leader’s role is magnified in allocating the time for training, resources for the necessary materials, time for peer to peer coaching and feedback, and to join the staff in the learning of and implementing of the behavioral strategies. The skillful leader will ask to come into classrooms to practice the strategies (i.e. student engagement) and will pre-plan portions of the lesson that could be improved, set the expectation that the teacher will provide feedback, and will receive the teacher’s feedback. Until teachers get comfortable giving the principal critical feedback, the principal will have to reflect on his/her mistakes and then use skilful dialogue to extract the feedback from the teacher. Protecting teachers from outside influences and distractions o The leader will protect the instructional time by avoiding scheduling assemblies and other non-instructional/non-academic events from conflicting with reading instruction. In addition, parent phone calls, problems, visits will be monitored in order to allow teachers to maximize their instructional time with students. This responsibility aligns somewhat with Order because of the policy and procedural implications for parents making unannounced visits to teachers ‘classrooms etc. Flexibility Adapts leadership behavior to the .28 Adapts leadership behavior to the situation and is comfortable with dissent situation and is comfortable with dissent o The skillful leader pre-plans his/her leadership style (as much as possible) based on he Adapting leadership style to data, systems, practices necessary for implementation of RtI components. Resisters are the needs of specific situations identified along with staff that is likely to be supportive of implementation. The leader Being directive or nondirective begins to work with the potential resistors to plant the seed of something new on the as the situation warrants horizon. For example, the leader might say, “I was thinking about something and would Encouraging people to express like to get your thoughts on this.” That technique allows the staff member to put his/her diverse and contrary opinions guard down while allowing the leader to intentionally make connections between the data, Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size Being comfortable with systems, and practices for RtI implementation and the goals, mission/vision of the making major changes in how district/school. There are specific aspects of the initiative/innovation that have some things are done flexibility and wiggle room where the leader can engage others in the decision- making but there are other aspects that are non-negotiable. o Being directive and nondirective as the situation warrants is a tough line to walk. If the leader effectively utilized the Relationship responsibility and built a strong culture then the leader has “enough money in the bank to make a withdrawal” by being directive and rigid in his/her decision-making. An example of a decision that required a withdrawal is the elimination of additional recess times above the normal lunch/recess period. Because the leader was effectively able to craft a rationale as to why the decision was being made, had the support of central office to say the decision was best for the students in the district and aligned with the goals of the organization, the staff (although they did not like it) went along with it. The relationship was still preserved but the line in the sand was drawn. Another technique used (that also requires pre-planning) is anticipating the way staff will respond to a decision or announcement. Using the elimination of the additional recess story again, the leader anticipated the decision would be unpopular. Consequently, she brought into the meeting foam balls, nerf guns, and other soft objects for staff to hold. She precorrected that what she was about to say might make people want to throw or shoot objects at her. This helped to acknowledge the feelings of the staff while at the same time giving the staff an outlet for expressing their anger that might make them chuckle at the same time. o Encouraging people to express diverse opinions will be enhanced if the leader is strong in Relationship, Culture, and Flexibility. Relationships have to do with getting to know staff on a more personal level outside of business as usual in the school. Knowing about situations that might be troubling them, their families, things that are sources of pride show that the leader cares. In regards to culture, creating a culture of shared purpose, risk-taking, and mutual respect will also allow staff to feel comfortable about expressing diverse opinions. Flexibility allows the leader to determine under what circumstances can she/her be directive or non-directive. Transparency in decision-making (decisions that are appropriate for staff to know about) will also contribute to making others feel more comfortable about expressing diverse opinions. Knowledge of the initiative/innovation will also assist the leader in being able to respond (in a kind and fair way) to diverse opinions if they contain misinformation or information that differs from the district. While the leader does not want to “cut the person off at the knees” he/she may speak to the staff member in private to clarify some misconceptions or inaccuracies with the opinion. If the leader is skillful in the way he/she crafts responses so they do not suggest blame, ridicule, or embarrassment then addressing the misinformation in the moment may be acceptable. A general rule of thumb though is to avoid giving people who are resistors an audience that might be swayed by their dissenting opinion. Some strategies for managing that is to acknowledge the concern, accept that it needs to be addressed, and differ it to the break or immediately following the staff meeting. Hot button issues that typically generate opposing opinions might include: reading wars, use of curriculum based measurement data, finings of the National Reading Panel, use of core basal reading program, misconception that explicit and systematic instruction automatically equates to a scripted program, scripted programs are not responsive to individual student needs, lack Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size of teacher autonomy and overreliance of the state and federal government in educational policies, use of a tangible acknowledgement system in a PBIS program (intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation), necessity to clearly define the expectations and to teach those expectations to students; link between academics and behavior, etc) o Being able to feel comfortable with making changes to how things are done is necessary for a leader. While this seems fairly obvious, it is amazing how many leaders feel uncomfortable disrupting the status quo for fear they will anger staff. Being a leader requires a think skin and can be one of the loneliness positions at times. For that reason, it is essential for leaders to know “who has their back” when moving forward with change. Having a support network of leaders who are also trying to change current practice as it relates to reading practices and behavior support. Focus Establishes clear goals and keeps those .24 Establishes clear goals and keeps those goals in the forefront of the school’s attention goals in the forefront of the school’s o The leader establishes concrete goals for curriculum, instruction, and assessment attention practices within the school. The goals are specific and specify improvement by identifying Establishing concrete goals for improvement in relationship to how much, how well, by when. The goals are established curriculum, instruction, and by using data and by involving staff in the process (see tool: “Steps for Involving Staff in assessment practices within the School Improvement Process”). Once goals and objectives are established, grade level the school teachers begin to develop strategies and action steps towards meeting the goals. The Establishing concrete goals for skillful leader keeps the goals in the forefront of the staff and systematically measures the general functioning of the progress on her own as well as with staff to identify how much progress has been made in school meeting those goals. This process can be done with grade level teachers during regularly Establishing high, concrete scheduled grade level meetings as well as three times a year with the whole staff. The use goals, and expectations that all of data to demonstrate progress and effectiveness of efforts is also beneficial to staff who students will meet them might be resistant to the systems and practices that are being implemented in reading and Continually keeping attention behavioral practices necessary for RtI implementation. An example of this is staff on established goals resistance to a tangible acknowledgement system to reinforce students who are following the schoolwide behavioral expectations. It is important for resistant staff to see how their effort and the practice in general is working. Gut feelings or opinions are not sufficient in changing staff beliefs and behaviors. Data allows the leader to keep staff attention on what is important and to validate their hard work and effort. o Clear focus on improvement goals/objectives is essential for leaders to stay the course for the implementation of what is being perceived by staff as a second order change. The leader needs to know that the hard work and staff resistance is going to be worth it for the children and families that the school serves. o There should be alignment between the goals/objectives of the school district and the buildings. This allows there to be coordinated resource deployment and allocation as well as coordinated and focused professional development opportunities. An important consideration is the connection between Focus and Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. The challenges schools face is not necessarily a lack of motivation, it is in their ability to select the right thing to focus efforts (Elmore). The leader must not only understand how to interpret data but he/she also needs to make sure the strategies and actions that are designed to meet the goals/objectives must have the research to support their use. Ideals/Beliefs Communicates and operates from strong .22 Communicates and operates from strong ideals and beliefs about schooling ideals and beliefs about schooling o The staff need to know where the leader stands in relationship to RtI, the converging Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size Possessing well-defined beliefs research base for teaching reading and managing student behavior. The ideals and beliefs about schools, teaching, and should not only be communicated and understood but the leader’s behaviors must be learning consistent with those ideals and beliefs. An example of ideals/beliefs not aligning with Sharing beliefs about school, behaviors is as follows: a leader believes in the findings of the National Reading Panel. teaching, and learning with the Staff approaches the leader about increasing independent reading time to 50 minutes per staff day and provide research from another author in the education field to substantiate their Demonstrating behaviors that suggestion. Although the leader knows the school has approximately 60% of the student are consistent with beliefs population reading below expectations he agrees to do so because the teachers who presented this idea are also building representatives for the teacher’s union. When approached about his decision, the leader responds that he did not want to argue with the influential staff members. A behavioral example is a leader who believes in being relentless about trying to find a behavioral strategy that will allow the student to be successful. Although the principal has stated that he is committed to “trying anything,” when the student begins to talk back (and demonstrates mild misbehavior compared to what the student is normally exhibiting) the leader suspends him for the maximum amount of time: 10 days. o Leaders must be solid in their ideals/beliefs about the core essential elements of RtI through the lenses of reading, behavior, and math. If philosophically the leader is unable to support the findings of the NRP and the converging evidence about how children learn to read then it would be wise to reconsider your role as the leader within the school district. It is very difficult (if not impossible) to lead something that is philosophically opposing to your current belief system. An analogy to this would be a vegetarian who is trying to sell meat. It just won’t work. Input Involves teachers in the design and .25 Involves teachers in the design and implementation of important decisions and policies implementation of important decisions o The leader seeks staff input regarding policies and decisions that will impact the school. A and policies behavior RtI example is as follows: when trying to identify broad expectations for the Providing opportunities for school (i.e. safe, respectful, responsible) the leader purposefully involves staff in the staff to be involved in brainstorming and conversation. The same holds true for the 3-5 clearly defined developing school policies behavioral expectations that will become the essence of the building behavioral matrix for Providing opportunities for non-classroom settings; what constitutes major behavior offenses vs. minor offenses; what staff input on all important behaviors need to be managed in the classroom or managed in the office; developing the decisions continuum of consequences for behavior infractions that are considered to be major or Using leadership teams in minor. decision making o Input is continuous and might require the leader to develop a formal and systematic way to elicit staff feedback regarding systems and practices related to the implementation of an RtI framework.. An example of this might be sending out a staff survey regarding the format and utility of grade level meetings; the reading schedule and allocation of additional targeted and intensive reading support; and the effectiveness of the Behavior Response Team. Once input is gathered it is important for the skillful leader to communicate the information to all staff so as to increase awareness about the collective feelings regarding the systems of support that are provided by the school. Transparency is essential and although developing and disseminating a feedback survey or allocating the time to have dialogue with the staff in order to get input may seem like it will take too much time to do or be bothersome, the benefits (short-term and long-term) outweigh the risks. Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size o It is important to remember though depending on how staff perceive the magnitude of the change it is likely staff who perceive the practices, systems, data pieces associated with an RtI framework as second order change will view the leader as ignoring this leadership responsibility. Input is one of the four leadership responsibilities that had negative effects. When leading second order change the leader should pre-plan the types of decisions that the staff can have input. It will be important to remember though that even if opportunities were had by staff to provide input the fact that the change is perceived as second order will likely still cause staff to believe they “didn’t have a say.” Intellectual Stimulation Ensures faculty and staff are aware of .24 Ensure faculty and staff are aware of current research of theories and practices and finds ways to make current research of theories and them part of continual dialogue practices and finds ways to make them a o It is critical for the leader to allocate time to read current research and theory around RtI part of continual dialogue and the implementation perspectives. Current reading research and behavioral research Continually exposing staff to needs to be intentionally placed in the hands and ears of staff. Deepening the leader’s cutting-edge research and knowledge will help manage resistance and refute inaccurate statements or quotes from theory on effective schooling “research” refuting the innovation/initiative. For example, the findings of the National Keeping informed about Reading Panel Report of the Subgroups has served in many ways as the foundation for current research and theory several extensions of the research regarding essential skills for teaching children how to on effective schooling read as well as instructional practices that best support the teaching of the essential Fostering systematic, reading skills. Being aware of the findings will help the leader be able to make decisions discussion regarding current related to reading instruction, allocation of time, and instructional resources. A list of research and theory on current research and theory regarding effective reading practices and behavioral supports effective schooling will be included as an appendix to this document. o Since every leader spends a great deal of time on several different tasks and activities, finding time to read current research seems like the easiest thing to be cast aside for the sake of “catching-up” or “attending to more pressing matters.” The reality though is that resistance and having to field questions about purchasing programs, materials, reading schedule can be easily answered if the leader’s knowledge of RtI is deep and the data, systems and practices associated with its implementation are well understood. o The issue of finding time to intentionally foster conversations amongst staff around the research base should happen both formally and informally. If a leader has a staff member who questions the use of a particular intervention program but isn’t exactly resistant but still isn’t convinced, it would behoove the leader to have an informal conversation bout what was read. It will be important to not have an “I told you so” attitude; rather, it can be approached by acknowledging the teacher’s concerns and when “I came across the article I immediately thought of you. I wonder if this teacher and maybe others had the same initial thoughts about this intervention program?” There should be formal opportunities to foster systematic discussions regarding current research and theory. Prioritizing staff meeting time to have such discussion is an option. It will be important for the leader to remember though that the normal information disseminating staff meetings will need to be reconceptualzied in order to fit in essential pieces like discussions around current research. Staff respect a knowledgeable leader who strives to expand his/her knowledge base. Be careful though because there is a fine line between feeling and looking like you ALWAYS have the right answer. It is okay and necessary at times for the leader to admit he/she does not know the answer but he/she knows whom to call to try to find out. Involvement in Curriculum Is directly involved in the design and .20 Is directly involved in the design and implementation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment plan Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size and Instruction implementation of curriculum, o In order to be directly involved in helping teachers design curricular activities it is instruction, and assessment plan important for the leader to engage in the Intellectual Stimulation responsibility. It is Being directly involved in important for leaders to allocate the time necessary to experience in a direct way what helping teachers design teachers are having to experience as they utilize new instructional strategies, academic curricular activities engagement techniques, begin to implement a new core program, implement an Being directly involved in intervention program, implement evidence based classroom management strategies, and helping teachers address research based behavioral interventions for students. Being directly involved in the assessment issues implementation of these things will help to foster a culture where feedback is an expected Being directly involved in norm. The leader needs to feel comfortable with possibly not implementing perfectly in helping teachers address front of teachers and students; however, this does not necessarily give permission to instructional issues eliminate the necessity for preparation work on learning the strategies or interventions prior to the teaching of the lesson. This means that the first time something new is tried it does not necessarily look perfect. The leader models adequate planning and being receptive to post lesson feedback. o This responsibility connects to Intellectual Stimulation in a very direct way. The implementation knowledge/experience coupled with the knowledge of the research and theory behind the interventions and/or strategies creates a perfect combination and is likely to increase the level of credibility the leader has with his/her staff. Too often though daily managerial administrative tasks impede a leader from rolling up his/her sleeves and implementing the practices. It is easy to remove experiences such as these from an already full calendar but the level of respect and credibility for “being in the trenches” even though the principalship is already demanding is priceless. o Involvement in curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices will also increase the likelihood staff will approach you with student data or to problem-solve around a student who is not making adequate academic gains. The leader’s input will be valued and thus when the time also comes to implement a new practice, program or intervention that might be perceived as second order change, the leader might be able to draw from his/her bank account (so to speak) with the staff. Knowledge of Curriculum Is knowledgeable about current .25 Is knowledgeable about current curriculum and instruction, and assessment practices and Instruction curriculum and instruction, and This leadership responsibility is interconnected to Intellectual Stimulation. The difference assessment practices between the two though is the degree of specificity around knowledge of effective Possessing extensive instruction and specific curricular and assessment practices. For example, the research knowledge about effective behind a reading fluency intervention program entitled, “Six Minute Solution” is good to instructional, curricular, and know but does not automatically equate to the leader being knowledgeable about the assessment practices program itself. Another example might be knowledge of research for various approaches Proving conceptual guidance to phonics instruction (i.e. synthetic, analytic). This depth of knowledge does not mean regarding effective classroom that the leader is automatically knowledgeable about a particular phonics program (i.e. practices Reading Mastery). A behavior example might include a leader being knowledgeable behind the research base supporting the use of Positive Behavior Support in a schoolwide and classroom setting. This depth of knowledge does not automatically translate into being knowledgeable about a specific classroom management program (i.e. CHAMPS). If staff view the leader as knowledgeable about curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices the leader is more likely to be able to provide guidance to staff regarding implementation, troubleshooting roadblocks around the implementation, and suggestions for adaptations given the classroom population. Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size The challenge with this leadership responsibility and many others that have to do with increasing knowledge and involvement in curriculum, instruction, and assessment is finding the time to do everything that comes with being a building leader. If the leader is finding this statement to be true then it will be important for the leader to gather baseline data (time-task analysis) to determine what is occupying majority of his/her time. Collecting this data will require a few observations due to the high degree of variability in the principalship. Once a determination is made about the tasks monopolizing the leader’s time it will be important to ensure the superintendent and/or assistant superintendent are supportive of suggestions/recommendations for reallocating time and attention. It will be important to have an honest plan about how the leader’s time is currently being spent compared to a plan of how he/she plans to spend time with the permission of central office administrators. Monitoring/ Monitors the effectiveness of school .27 Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and evaluates their impact on student learning Evaluation practices and evaluates their impact on o The leader continually monitors the effectiveness of the school’s curricular, instructional, student learning and assessment practices by frequent review of progress monitoring data, classroom Continually monitoring the observations, fidelity checks for strategy and intervention use, as well as direct effectiveness of the school’s involvement in grade level professional learning communities. Formal opportunities to curricular, instructional, and review schoolwide data and implementation with the leadership team can also assist the assessment practices leader in systematic and frequent monitoring. Using the school improvement process as a Being continually aware of the vehicle for formalizing and institutionalizing the systems and practices for implementing impact of the school’s an RtI framework by demonstrating to staff formal progress monitoring of the school practices on student improvement plan and adjustments as needed will assist staff in understanding achievement continuous improvement processes are formal, intentional, and unrelenting. o In order for leaders to be able to monitor the effectiveness of practices and programs on student outcomes it will be necessary for the leader to have tools and resources that assist the leader in knowing what to look for during a classroom observation, observation of an intervention group, and data collection for student engagement (opportunities to respond, etc). Having these tools without formal training in their use as well as guidance on how to debrief with the teachers/staff who were observed will not allow leaders to fully maximize the potential the monitoring/evaluation process in closing the achievement gap. Optimizer Inspires and leads new and challenging .20 Inspires and leads new and challenging innovations innovations The skillful leader inspires teachers and staff to accomplish things that might be beyond Inspiring teachers to their grasp. Some of the characteristics of second order change that relate to this accomplish things that might leadership responsibility include needing additional knowledge, skills, and resources to be be beyond their grasp able to effectively implement an RtI framework. Since change is perceived as difficult, it is Being the driving force behind essential for the leader to be a cheerleader in motivating and inspiring the teachers/staff. major initiatives For example, staff might feel as though their student population is full of behavioral Portraying a positive attitude challenges that are beyond their control or the control of mental health agencies. The about the ability of staff to principal wants to implement evidenced based behavior interventions that can be used accomplish substantial things with students who demonstrate similar behavioral issues that the teachers/staff are trying to manage. The leader has scheduled training, purchased all the materials necessary for implementation, and embedded coaching for a behavioral coach. The leader will play a crucial role in motivating the staff they have the ability to manage difficult behaviors. The problem was that they did not have the right tools/resources. There might be times as a leader where you too are feeling skeptical and possibly negative Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size about a possible new practice or program that is being adopted district-wide. It is important though for the leader to maintain a poker face and motivate the staff so they feel they can accomplish what will be expected of them. This leadership responsibility relates to Ideals/Beliefs because the leader must reconcile his/her beliefs/philosophies with the selection of evidence based practices and programs that are needed in an RtI framework. The analogy mentioned in the Ideals/Beliefs section: “It is like a vegetarian trying to sell meat” holds true in relationship to this leadership responsibility. If the leader finds that the decisions regarding the use of evidenced based programs and/or practices from the district are opposing to his/her belief system then some internal reflection should occur and a decision must be made whether or not the leader’s continued involvement in the district is what is best for all parties.
Order Establishes a standard set of operating .25 Establishes a standard set of operating procedures and routines procedures and routines This leadership responsibility directly relates to the implementation of PBIS practices and Establishing routines for the systems of support for students within an RtI framework. Schoolwide implementation of smooth running of the school PBS requires staff to clearly define the expectations for non-classroom settings. This that staff understand and process causes the leader and staff to reflect on procedures such as dismissal, entrance follow into the building in the morning, hallway transitions between class, lunch/recess, and Providing and reinforcing management of tardiness. When the leader and staff collectively venture into reflecting on clear structures, rules, and what is going well with the policies and procedures in place and what needs improvement procedures for staff it offers a unique opportunity for collective ownership of re-defining and/or more clearly Providing and reinforcing defining the expectations for non-classroom settings. This seemingly simple act has many clear structures, rules, and implications though on policies. An example of this is a building that revamped the procedures for students student dismissal procedures. Students who were being picked-up from school by parent needed to report to the gymnasium in order to be greeted by the adult (or older sibling that was driving age) who was taking them home. The previous policy had parents in the hallways waiting outside of the teacher’s classrooms or roaming the hallways. It was not uncommon for a parent to call their child from the dismissal line to leave without the teacher’s knowledge. This posed a safety concern and consequently the new policy implemented was more organized, safer for children, and made the teachers feel more secure with knowing which students got onto the bus and which student were picked-up from school. In an example such as this one, the leader needs to be prepared to manage criticism and concerns from parents who liked the “old way” of dismissing students. It is important to remember though that Order is one of the four leadership responsibilities negatively related to second order change. The parents who were upset by the change perceived the new dismissal policy as second order change. Reflecting back on the characteristics of second order change (figure 7.3), a few of the characteristics that are relevant to this example include: the change is perceived as a break from the past, lies outside of existing paradigms, and may be resisted because only those who have a broad perspective of the school see the innovation as necessary. This leadership responsibility also integrates with Discipline. Positive feedback and reinforcement will also be necessary when implementing new policies and procedures. It is important for the leader to not confuse feedback with only mentioning positive things associated with the routines, clear structures, rules, and policies. If there are aspects that are not being implemented correctly then it is important Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size to provide the feedback. Just like with students it is important to begin by identifying what is working and then provide feedback about what is being overlooked (5:1 ratio). Outreach Is an advocate and spokesperson for the .27 Is an advocate and spokesperson for the school to all stakeholders school to all stakeholders It is essential for the leader to comply with all district and state mandates. It is not Ensuring that the school uncommon for leaders to report that the state and federal government requirements to complies with all district and secure funding (for example) occupy an inordinate amount of their time. The same argument state mandates is made regarding compiling with district policies, mandates, procedures. An example of Being an advocate of the district policies might include something as simple of signing the appropriate district forms school with parents, central to approve absences, conference attendance, time slips for noon-supervisors and office, and community at large paraprofessionals, budget adjustment paperwork, teacher evaluations, building school improvement plans using the state approved school improvement template, etc. Since needing to complete these things are mandatory and non-negotiable open and honest conversation needs to occur with central office administrators. Some creative ways of providing leaders with the gift of time include rotations by the superintendent and assistant superintendent to the school buildings in order to provide relief for the principal so he/she can work on some of the paperwork or reports free from interruptions. Some other districts have also scheduled a mandatory workday once per month (early in the morning until the day ends) for principals to complete district mandated paperwork, reports, and managerial tasks. Some districts have been able to identify a pattern of when the workload is particularly heavy for and consequently have been able to build the workdays into the master calendar for principals in order to minimize scheduling conflicts. This leadership responsibility often times impedes the leader’s ability to demonstrate Involvement in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Visibility, and Monitoring/Evaluating (which is somewhat ironic because leaders report the teacher evaluation process requires an inordinate amount of time and the observation, feedback, evaluation process requires the demonstration of those two leadership responsibilities). Since teacher evaluation is intimately connected to three very important leadership responsibilities the crux of the conversation might center on the paperwork/forms that are required to document the teacher evaluation. Engaging central office administrators and the teacher association to simplify the process and corresponding forms might be beneficial for all parties (principal, teachers, assistant superintendent, superintendent). Being an advocate of the school with parents, central office, and the community at large is an important aspect of the leader’s job. This aspect of Order is closely connected to Communication because to be an advocate of the school with various stakeholder groups will require a formalized communication plan. The flow of information will need to not only extend to families and the community but to central office as well. When the leadership team meets (with the leader as one of the members of the team and actively involved in many aspects of the team) it is important to continually ask the question: “What are the implications of our work and our findings for the school district?” An example of this involves the leadership team completing a systems evaluation for the schoolwide reading model. It becomes evident that goals and priorities for teaching reading for grade level teachers are ill defined and/or inconsistent across the grade level. This matter should be addressed at the district level as opposed to only fixing the problem in the individual school building. The role of the district is to standardize the process and the role of the building is to customize implementation. It is important to think about that statement in the context of Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size an overall RtI framework as it relates to reading, behavior and math. Unfortunately, school buildings who begin this journey of establishing an RtI framework tend to be operating in isolation from the district. The superintendent, assistant superintendent, curriculum director, and business manager have not been engaged to participate in the conversation and/or have not had their role in the process clearly defined in the first place. Advocating for students and families will also require the leader (and district in general) to have a positive, working relationship with parents and family services. An example of this includes the creation of a Behavior Support Team that is equipped to support students with varying degrees of behavioral needs. Having a positive relationship with community mental health services and access to individuals who have the necessary skills and expertise to be involved in the Behavior Support Team as the situation warrants is critical in being able to have a continuum of supports for students and their families. Unfortunately, too often the relationship between the districts/schools and community mental health services has been ill defined, non-existent, or contentious. By focusing on the student’s needs and upholding the goal of no students falling through the cracks the relationships can be formed based on a common goal and necessity of a positive and successful partnership. Relationships Demonstrates an awareness of the .18 Demonstrates an awareness of the personal aspects of teachers and staff personal aspects of teachers and staff Leaders must have a desire to form and deepen relationships with staff. While there is a Being informed about time and place for “shop-talk” there is also a time and place for conversation about the lives significant personal issues of staff. It is not uncommon for principals to report that they are faced with constant within the lives of staff interruptions from teachers. Early in the morning while staff are coming into the building is members a great opportunity to converse with staff about matters outside of school. When staff come Being aware of personal needs into the office to check their mailboxes is another opportunity to engage in informal of teachers conversation. An example of the power mailbox checking has with intensifying relationships Acknowledging significant with staff is a principal who decided to change the location of the staff mailboxes to another events in the lives of staff location in the building. Staff no longer had a purpose for coming to the office on a regular members basis. The principal and assistant principal were inundated with district mandates, Maintaining personal meetings, and behavior problems and consequently spent a great deal of time in the office. relationships with teachers Although the leader was wonderful at delegating leadership responsibilities to staff (and the staff appreciated the shared leadership) the sheer number of informal conversations staff had with the leader in previous school years was significantly reduced. The teachers reported,
“We never have a chance to even say hi to our leader now. When we use to come into the office to check our mailboxes we could at least strike up a conversation about a television show from last night. We understand that the decision to move the mailboxes makes things more efficient for them because if you take the number of staff members and multiply that number by a five- minute conversation then collectively we would be wasting the principal’s time; but we really enjoy talking to her and are missing that this year.”
As highlighted in the anecdote, a seemingly simple decision like moving the mailboxes had unintended consequences. This leadership responsibility is intricately connected to Culture and Visibility but it also ebbs and flows with several others like Involvement in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Monitoring/Evaluating; Situational Awareness; Outreach; Ideals/Beliefs; Communication; and Optimizer. It is not uncommon for leaders to question Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size why the Relationship responsibility had a low effect size (.18) in being able to improve student outcomes. Think about it from this perspective: a leader can have very strong relationships with staff but still be focusing on things that are contrary to current research about teaching reading and/or managing student behavior in positive, proactive ways, and teaching math. It is true that having strong relationship with staff can help to foster a culture of continuous improvement; however, selection, training, and coaching for implementation of evidence-based strategies/programs must be in place in order for the work to translate into improving student outcomes.
Resources Provides teachers with necessary .25 Provides teachers with necessary materials and professional development necessary for successful materials and professional development implementation necessary for successful implementation Ensuring that teachers have the necessary materials and equipment to implement is critical. Ensuring that teachers have When implementing an RtI framework it is important for teachers to have a strong evidence the necessary materials and based core for teaching students how to read and providing students with the social skills equipment necessary for success. Having a strong “core” is the foundation upon which many of the Ensuring that teachers have other core principles for RtI are based upon. Teaching the right things at the right time with the necessary staff the right resources and materials allows schools to prevent students from entering into a development opportunities to remedial loop. Too often though holes are exposed in the reading and math curriculum and directly enhance their teaching supplemental programs and practices are adopted to compensate for the gaps in the curriculum. It is crucial that teachers be provided with all the materials necessary for implementation. An example demonstrating how common it is to deprive teachers of the materials and resources necessary for implementation is a district that adopted a core basal reading program but due to budgetary circumstances was unable to provide all the materials to support the implementation of the program. The decision was made to purchase one set per grade level of the leveled readers. The leveled readers were an integral part of the core program. Since budgetary constraints are becoming commonplace across the country, districts are faced with making difficult decisions. Therefore, creative problem solving was necessary in order for teachers to share the resources across the grade level so all teachers had access to the materials during the appropriate time. Looking at the grouping structures across the grade level might be one way to problem-solve around limited resources. Not only is cross grade level grouping an efficient way of maximizing resources and talents of teachers, it also supports differentiation and grouping based on student skills. A behavioral example involves an administrative decision to focus on strengthening the behavior “core” for students within the classroom. A part of the “core” not only includes clearly defining expectations for in for all students and adjustments of academic assignments/tasks/activities for students whose skill level requires such adjustments to be made. The expectation was set to implement evidence based classroom management strategies (i.e. CHAMPS) but the time was not allocated and the resources for teachers to create visual displays were also not allocated. When thinking about implementation it is essential think about resources in terms of materials and time. The essential training component will be addressed in the next bullet. Training is absolutely critical. Too often though, the concepts of training are a one-day spray and pray method. Research has found that this type of professional development is ineffective in impacting classroom practice. (Joyce, Showers, 2005). Joyce and Showers found that when professional development emphasized theory, demonstration, modeling, Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size coaching, and feedback the likelihood of implementation increased to 95%. The variables that had the strongest impact were coaching and feedback. Given this information, it is important to think about setting the expectation that coaching (implementation buddies might be a less threatening term) and feedback is necessary for learning new skills, practices, and programs. Unfortunately, professional development opportunities are typically not designed to be on going, continuous, and require peer-peer observations with structured feedback. The variable of time impacts not only professional development choices but it also impacts the deep learning opportunities. The skillful leader creatively and intentionally creates time for these learning opportunities. Staff meetings are used for continuous learning rather than disseminating information. Too often leaders report that contractually there is more time available for staff meetings than what is actually utilized. This is another example of how the district should standardizes the process by setting the expectation that the allocated time for staff meetings will be used to its fullest potential. The building then customizes the use of that time depending on the practices that are being learned by staff. It was mentioned in the explanation of Intellectual Stimulation that time to have meaningful discussions around current theory and research visa vi book studies and article reviews can and should also be used during this time. The skilful leader finds alternate ways to communicate necessary information to staff rather than spending precious staff meeting time. For that reason, Communication also relates to this leadership responsibility as does Intellectual Stimulation; Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Involvement in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Culture; and Order. Situational Is aware of the details and undercurrents .33 Is aware of the details and undercurrents in the running of the school and uses this information to address Awareness in the running of the school and uses this current and potential problems information to address current and An analogy has been used before that describes this leadership responsibility: “Leadership is potential problems like a game of chess. Any good chess player anticipates the other player’s move and has a Accurately predicting what pre-planned decision tree as to how he/she will respond according to the player’s move.” could go wrong from day to This analogy was not designed to suggest that principals and staff are in opposition or day competition with one another; rather, it was designed to underscore the importance of pre- Being aware of informal planning and anticipating ANYTHING that might possibly occur as a result of a decision that groups and relationships is made. Another analogy that has been used to operationally define this responsibility is among the staff one of a lawyer who is preparing to go to trial. A good attorney will anticipate the evidence Being aware of issues in the and argument of the defense. Large amounts of time will be spent researching and studying school that have not surfaced the core principals and theories of the case (Intellectual Stimulation, Knowledge of but could create discord Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment). It is important that the leader does not minimize the importance of this leadership responsibility. More so, out of all the 21 leadership responsibilities, Situational Awareness has the largest effect size. Being aware of informal groups and relationships among the staff is essential as well. The skillful leader keeps his/her eyes and ears open to these types of informal groups/relationships. A part of this awareness means being skilled in non-verbal communication (“Emotions Revealed”). Effectively practicing the responsibility of Relationships can also assist the leader in increasing awareness of informal groups and relationships. Many leaders report that fellow staff members privately inform them about concerns, teacher lounge conversations, or other groups that have formed. The argument can be made that if the leader does not have a good relationship with his/her staff then the likelihood of staff informing the leader about groups, issues, etc is low. Leading RtI: Operationalizing the 21 Leadership Responsibilities For School Leaders for Successful Implementation The 21 Leadership Responsibilities are from “School Leadership that Works” by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005. Operationalizing the responsibilities around RtI Implementation was done by Kim St. Martin, 2010. Leadership Practice The Extent to Which the Principal… Effect Leadership Responsibility for RtI Implementation (Responsibility) Size Visibility Has quality contact and interactions with .20 Has quality contact and interactions with teachers and students teachers and students It is important for the leader to build into his/her schedule systematic and frequent visits to Making systematic and classrooms. Not only does this assist the leader in deepening his/her knowledge of frequent visits to classrooms curriculum, instruction, and assessment but it also allows the leader to have more direct Having frequent contact with involvement in those areas as well. “Principal as learning leader” is a common phrase and students unfortunately it is not uncommon for principals to report that very little time is devoted to Being highly visible to matters that directly involve them in instruction. Allocating the time to be visible is a students, teachers, and parents necessity. Many leaders have reported that the mere act of standing outside while the students are entering into the building and being visible in other high traffic areas of the school seems to have an impact on reducing behavioral problems that occur in the building. Leaders have even reported that participating in the supervision of recess has significantly reduced the time they spend managing student conflicts after lunch/recess and even for the rest of the afternoon. The added benefit to being visible in the areas previously identified is the increase in contact and relationship building opportunities with students. Having relationships with students can also foster better relationships with parents. Many leaders report that there is a district expectation that they conduct monthly walk- throughs with all their teaching staff. Too often, many of the principals report that the walk- though is “just something else that is district mandates.” Most troubling is the myopic view of the utility of systematic and frequent visits for both leaders and teachers. It is important to be careful when making broad statements like the previous one because the daily demands of the principalship most certainly are weighing in on the belief that classroom visits are yet “another task added to the 100 already on the list.” For this reason it is important for open and honest conversation with central office administrators about priorities for effective leadership. If the priority is for principals to fully understand and demonstrate the leadership responsibilities in the context of leading RtI then leaders need to have a clear definition and understanding of which of the leadership responsibilities are non-negotiable and are the sole responsibility of the principal. (For more information on distributing the leadership responsibilities to the leadership team please see chapter 7 from “School Leadership that Works.” Specifically, figures 7.4, 7.5, 7.6 are a good starting place for beginning to think about what responsibilities and corresponding actions to distribute to the leadership team.)