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For principals, teacher leaders and literacy coaches, particularly in diverse high poverty Elementary and Middle schools. Rationale: Principals are both school administrators and instructional leaders with a critical role to play in building, managing and maintaining cohesive school-wide systems that ensure effective teaching and learning environments for all students. This includes: § Building a teaching and learning environment where there is a positive climate of collective responsibility for all of the children, all of the time. § Establishing and monitoring schemes for effective curriculum planning that are consistent and cognizant of District and State standards and benchmarks. § Observing that instructional and assessment procedures are research based, current, effective and responsive to all children’s strengths and learning needs. § Setting high expectations for intentional and differentiated teaching with close monitoring of student learning achievement. § Overseeing application of effective intervention strategies and programs for students who are in need of acceleration or extension.
This Instructional Leadership for School-wide Improvement course is built on research that identifies preconditions necessary to ensure effective management of school-wide change. They are (a) the role of the principal and management team in a school, (b) school leadership has the confidence and support of staff and (c) there is a negotiated and shared vision with a clear focus and agreement on the aims and objectives of change. Overview: The underlying premise is that principals do appreciate strategic and on-going training in the processes and products of effective literacy practices. They recognize a need to refine their own teaching knowledge and literacy skills and gain the expertise necessary to act as objective observers and enablers of instructional change, providing constructive feedback for teachers, families and students in classrooms. Within a clearly defined framework of research-based strategies for improving teaching and learning this course will engage participants in developing common understandings, shared learning experiences, observations, conversations and collaborative forward planning for school based implementation. Professional input will be responsive to the strengths and needs of individual participants and to the needs of leadership teams within individual schools. The course will include both theoretical input and practical application including demonstration lessons with students when applicable. It encompasses the following critical elements entirely from a leadership perspective: - Developing common understandings about: - § Philosophy and principles of effective schools § Research findings on school improvement § Research findings on professional development § Barriers to teaching and learning § Managing and monitoring change – leadership support systems Developing common understandings, expectations and practices in: - § Building school tone, relationships and collective responsibility § Theory of language and learning § Curriculum planning – co-ordinated, connected, strategic § The integrated curriculum – inquiry based learning and research § The reading and writing processes – reading writing connections § Key teaching approached – reading and writing across the curriculum § Classroom management and organization § Assessment procedures: Qualitative and quantitative data collection, interpretation and use Building systems for: - § Observing dimensions of effective teaching § Indicators to guide in-class observations § Developing an appraisal system with a focus on professional development § School goal setting Expectations: The instructional leadership course: - Is undertaken as a year-long, district wide project in school districts where building district capacity in instructional leadership strengths is a goal. A minimum of twenty participants is guaranteed. Participants commit to attend the full course. Participants agree to complete school-based tasks in the interim between course sessions.
Availability: This course is available to school districts and principal groups by arrangement directly with Literacy Learning (NZ) Ltd. The course is designed to include nine days of course attendance. It is organized into three individual sessions of three consecutive days – three days in the Fall, Winter and Spring, or Winter, Spring and Fall depending on the starting date. For further information and no-commitment enquiries, please contact Leanna Traill. Cost: Thirteen hundred and fifty dollars - US $1,350.00 per attendee. Minimum of twenty attendees. Price is inclusive of consultants’ preparation, travel, hotel and presentation fees - Literacy Learning responsibility - but not inclusive of course venue, hospitality, photocopying, audio-visual and course consumable requirements - school district responsibility. Recommendation: Participants will benefit greatly from attending a Literacy Learning (NZ) Ltd five day institute with teams of teachers from their schools during or following the training year. |
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