ERIC Number: EJ1147550
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jun
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
Inspiring Growth
Fink, Stephen; Markholt, Anneke
Learning Professional, v38 n3 p22-25 Jun 2017
In her 24 years as an educator, Principal Lori Duckstein has experienced many kinds of professional development aimed at improving leadership and instruction. And, like school leaders and teachers everywhere, she has completed many one- and two-day training workshops only to return to her school and reflect on her learning in isolation. Recently, though, Duckstein and her colleagues in Florida's Hendry County District Schools have embraced a new approach to professional development--an approach that has them excited about the possibilities of transforming professional learning and practice at every level of their district. Duckstein and Jodi Bell, district director of federal programs, took part in a yearlong training curriculum through the Florida Department of Education that left them saying, "This is what our county needs." They graduated from the Commissioner's Leadership Academy, a novel approach to improving the practice of educational leaders at scale across the Sunshine State. Designed by the University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership, the research-based curriculum is setting a new standard for statewide--and districtwide--school leadership professional development. This article discusses the five key elements that should be embraced and developed for a school system to cultivate or build instructional leadership at scale: (1) a common language and shared vision for high-quality instruction; (2) nonjudgmental methods for observing and analyzing instruction; (3) deepened skills in providing targeted feedback and planning professional development; (4) a broader, deeper culture of public practice; and (5) a collaborative and supportive professional learning community.
Descriptors: Communities of Practice, Faculty Development, Instructional Leadership, Leaders, Instructional Improvement, Principals, Administrator Role, Feedback (Response), School Districts
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida; Washington
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A