A review of the continuous school renewal process created by Dr. Walter Burt for the Learning Centered Leadership Crystal Mountain Aug 2014 workshop.

1. Achievement Centered Leadership
Crystal Mountain Resort
Thompsonville, MI
29 July 2014
Lead the Continuous School Renewal
by:
Walter L. Burt, Ph.D.
Facilitator

2. ACL TRAINING SCHEDULE
• Time Schedule
•
• Session 1: 8:15 – 10:05 Open Discussion (110 Minutes or 1.83 hrs.)
•
• 10:05 - 10:30 Activity #1: Moral Purpose (25 Minutes)
•
• 10:30 - 10:45 BREAK (15 Minutes)
•
• Session 2: 10:45 – 11:05 Open Discussion (20 Minutes)
•
• 11:05 - 11:30 Activity #2: To Lead one Must First Lead (25
• Minutes)
•
• Session 3: 11:30 – 11:55 School Renewal Activity (25 Minutes)
•
•
• TOTAL MINUTES: 220 MINUTES (3.78 Hours)
•

3. A SALUTE TO PRINCIPALS AND
TEACHER LEADERS
• Educators, and
particularly school
principals have one of the
most challenging and
beneficial role in
education today
(Hallinger & Heck, 1996;
Leithwood, 2003).
• A key for student success
is a great school, and the
key to a great school is a
great principal (Hallinger
& Leithwood, 1996;
Leithwood, 2003).

4. Learning Objectives
• Highlight the relevant research
associated with selected
leadership dispositions and their
indirect effect upon student
achievement.
• Conduct an assessment of
participants’ leadership attributes
and reflect upon their motivation,
dedication and commitment to
doing this important work.
• Brainstorm “best practices” for
infusing continuous school
renewal activities in the building’s
school improvement plan for the
2014-15 School Year.
4

5. INTRODUCTION
• So far, you have
received training on
five of the six
dimensions
associated with ACL.

6. 6
Manage Safe and
Orderly School
Operations
Establish a
Coherent and
Rigorous
Instructional
Program
Develop Teacher
Leaders
Lead the
Continuous
School
Renewal
Engage in Data-
Informed
Decision-
Making
Achievement
Centered
Leadership
THE ACL LEADERSHIP MODEL

7. 7
Manage Safe and
Orderly School
Operation
Engage in
Data-
informed
Decision-
Making
Develop Teacher
Leaders
Establish a
Coherent and
Rigorous
Instructional
Program
Redesign the
Organization
Lead the
Continuous
School Renewal
THE ACL LEADERSHIP MODEL - PROPOSED
REVISION

8. INTRODUCTION
• Humans are intensely
spiritual creatures
and requires a sense
of belonging,
development and
maintenance of a
sense of purpose and
calling (Graseck,
2005).

9. INTRODUCTION
• “AD -
• MINISTRATOR”

10. INTRODUCTION
• People that have a
sense of passion
about their work and
the workplace
encourage creativity
and risk-taking by
having supportive
programs to foster
outside commitment
(Groen, 2001).

11. INTRODUCTION
• This final training session
on leading the
continuous school
renewal process, in my
opinion, tends to bind the
other dimensions into
one encompassing model
that enables one to do
this important work.

12. INTRODUCTION
• The research reports
of the failure of the
publics schools in the
1980s served as the
served as the
harbinger for
policymakers to
institute change in
public schools
(Hallinger & Heck,
1996).

13. INTRODUCTION
• The decline in state and
national economies
during the 1980s brought
a wave of reform in
educational policy,
structure, and training
(Hallinger & Heck, 1996,
Marks & Printy, 2003;
Leithwood & Jantzi,
1999).

14. INTRODUCTION
• The research community
provided policymakers
with the venue to view
principals. We have seen
evidence of this in recent
policy decisions
pertaining to principal
evaluation, principal
preparation programs,
and principal
professional training
(Hallinger & Heck,
1996;Leithwood & Jantzi,
1999).

15. THE CHALLENGES OF PRINCIPAL
LEADERSHIP
• NCLB and RTTT legislative
fiats have placed
tremendous pressure on
school staff to improved
student achievement
(Hallinger & Heck, 1996;
Leithwood & Seashore-
Louis, 2012; Shen, Cooley,
Mia, Reeves, Burt, Rainey,
Yuan, 2012).

16. THE CHALLENGES OF PRINCIPAL
LEADERSHIP
• The goal of becoming a
teacher or principal
does not have the allure
it once had.
Consequently, fewer
candidates are moving
into teaching and
school administrative
positions (Burt &
McCrumb, 2011; Heitin,
2013; Tillman, 2009).

17. THE CHALLENGES OF PRINCIPAL
LEADERSHIP
• People with a high level
of personal mastery have
a special sense of vision
and goals for their
organization. It becomes
a calling, rather than
simply a good idea
(Allison, 2012; Bolman &
Deal, 2001; Senge, 1999,
2000).

18. • The extant research show
principals have an
indirect influence on
improving student
achievement (Hallinger &
Leithwood, 1996;
Leithwood, Seashore-
Louis, Anderson, &
Wahlstrom, 2010 ; The
Wallace Foundation,
2013).

19. • Developing leadership
capacity to improve
school conditions is
difficult work – few
people have the
background and
experience to do this
important work
(Fullan, 2001, 2005;
Wayman, Midgley &
Stringfield, 2006).

20. • Principals must not only
focus on student
performance, they must
also support the
intellectual and emotional
work of teachers
(Hargraves, Moore, &
Manning, 2001).

21. Activity #1: WHY I CHOSE TO DO THIS
IMPORTANT WORK? MY STORY
• Identify a person that you do
not know and/or have had
little to no prior conversation.
• Find a convenient place to talk.
• Share your experience about
what compelled you to do and
sustain your desire to lead in
this area.
• Take 25 minutes to share your
story.

22. THE VISION
• “We hold these truths to be
self-evident that all men are
created equal and that they
are endowed by their
Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of
happiness” (The United
States Declaration of
Independence, 1776).
22

23. STRUCTURAL TENSION
Goal
Reality
Discrepancy
Tension Resolution
Fritz, R. (1999). The path of least resistance for managers. San
Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

24. PURPOSE, VISION, AND GOALS
• Purpose, vision, and
goals helps to bring
focus to the individual
and collective work of
staff members. They
articulate a compelling
and challenging target
for one’s personal
practices (Cotton, 2003;
Fritz, 1999; Fullan,
2001, Kouzes & Posner,
2002; Leithwood &
Jantzi, 1999).

25. LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES THAT HAVE AN
INDIRECT INFLUENCE ON STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT
• Passion
• Commitment
• Motivation
• Rituals, Ceremonies, and
other Symbolic Actions
• Encouraging Risk-Taking
• Self Confidence,
Responsibility, and
Perservance
• High Expectations
• Charismatic Leadership
• Transformational
Leadership

26. PASSION
• Passion is a compelling
emotion. It conveys a sense of
conviction of responsibility to
others (Kouzes & Posner,
2002).
• Exemplary leaders model the
expectations they have for
others and are willing to make
personal sacrifices to
demonstrate their willingness
and conviction to make
improvements (Burns, 1978;
Marion, 2002; Northouse,
2010).
• Youtube.com – Remember the
Titans – Coach Boone Speech.
26

27. PASSION
• In high achieving
schools, principals hold
themselves accountable
for student
achievement (Cotton,
2003).
• Principals’ strong focus
on academics is essential
to improving student
achievement (Leithwood
& Jantzi, 1999; Cotton,
2003).

28. PASSION
• In high achieving
schools, principals
spend their time in
classrooms, hallways,
lunchroom, and
meeting with
instructional leadership
teams, rather than
being cloistered in their
offices (Cotton, 2003;
Witziers, et al., 2003).

29. COMMITMENT
• Making an effort to
embrace the
organization’s aim and
values as a member of
the organization.
Committed employees
feel the need to go
beyond normal job
expectations (Cerit,
2010).
29

30. COMMITMENT
• Principals’ strong
focus on academics is
essential to improving
student achievement
(Cotton, 2003;
Edmonds, 1979;
Leithwood & Jantzi,
1999).

31. COMMITMENT
• We can improve our
leadership by focusing
on a small number of
key dimensions – core
aspects of leadership.
It creates a new mind-
set about the leader’s
responsibility to him or
herself and to those
with whom s/he works
(Fullan, 2001).

32. COMMITMENT
• School and district
effectiveness studies
show that high levels of
student achievement are
possible when schools
and the district act as
coordinated units of
change (Chrispeels,
Burke, Johnson, & Daly
(2008).

33. COMMITMENT
• When implementing
school initiatives, school
leaders should recognize
that change is slow (Ma,
Shen, Kavanaugh, Lu,
Brandi, Goodman, Till, &
Watson (in press) and that
the commitment of the
principal and a core
group is critical to change
(Lee, Levin, & Soler, 2005;
Rogers, 1995).

34. COMMITMENT
• New school initiatives are
often seen to be
distractions. These
measures may distance
staff from the “real” work
and distance teachers and
principals’ emotions to do
well. In this sense,
commitment often
produced counterintuitive
impulses (Blackmore,
2004)

35. MOTIVATION
• School reform
initiatives depend on
the motivations and
capacities of local
leadership, including
teachers and
administrators,
(Leithwood,
Seashore-Louis,
Anderson, &
Wahlstrom, 2010).

36. MOTIVATION
• People are motivated
by goals which they
find personally
compelling, as well as
challenging, but
achievable
(Leithwood &
Seashore-Louis, 2011;
Leithwood, Seashore-
Louis, Anderson, &
Wahlstrom, (2004).

37. COLLABORATION
• Schools are
deprivatized and
there is a norm where
principals, teachers,
and others are
planning and
working together to
upgrade their skills
and knowledge
(Cotton, 2003).

38. MORAL PURPOSE
• Transformation of the
individual to become
committed to making a
difference in the lives
of children. It means,
– Raising the bar for all
children
– Treating people with
respect
– Altering the social
environment for other
schools and districts
(Fullan, 2001, 2005;
Goodlad, 1994).

39. RITUALS, CEREMONIES, AND OTHER
SYMBOLIC ACTIONS
• Effective schools
utilize ceremonies
and rituals intended
to honor tradition,
instill pride,
recognize excellence,
and stimulate
proprietary interest in
the school than
ineffective schools
(Cotton, 2003).

40. ENCOURAGING RISK-TAKING
• Principals in
productive
elementary schools
skillfully used a
number of strategies
to promote the efforts
of both parents and
teachers who work
directly with children
(Sebring & Bryk,
2000).

41. SELF-CONFIDENCE, RESPONSIBILITY,
AND PERSERVANCE
• In high achieving schools,
the administrator holds
him/herself accountable
for the success of the
whole school. They have
confidence in their ability
to influence situations.
They offer no excuses
about student
performance (Cotton,
2003; Smith, Guarino,
Strom, & Adams, 2006).

42. HIGH EXPECTATIONS
• Researchers from Edmonds
(1979) to the present have
consistently found that
high-achieving schools,
including poor and
minority schools, are
successful in part because
the principals communicate
to everyone in the school
their expectations of high
performance (Cotton, 2003;
Goodlad, 1994; Leithwood
& Jantzi, 1999).

43. Activity #2 : AN ASSESSMENT OF MY LEADERSHIP
QUALITIES:
• The purpose of this learning
activity is designed to assess
school leaders’ commitment
and motivation for doing this
work.
• Principals and aspiring
principals will use Activity
Sheet #2 to discuss their
leadership qualities. Take 25
minutes for this activity
• Be prepared to discuss your
“take-away” from this activity.
43

44. CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP
• Theories of leadership almost
always involve theories of
change (Knight, 2001).
• Leaders with a great degree of
passion are also individuals
imbued with a high level of
charisma (Crawford, 2002).
• Many people think charisma is
vital to leadership (Burns,
1978; Marion, 2002; Northouse,
2010).
44

45. The Dilemma of the Charismatic
Leader
• Charismatic leaders are
often described in ways
that make it similar to
transformational leadership
(Northouse, 2010).
• Charismatic leaders have
exceptional powers of
persuasion and are able to
overcome resistance and
opposition to the chosen
course of action.
45

46. Personality Characteristics, Behaviors, and Effects on
Followers of Charismatic Leadership
46
Personality Characteristics Behaviors Effects on Followers
Dominant
Desire to influence
Self-confident
Strong moral values
Sets strong role model
Shows competence
Articulates goals
Communicates high
expectations
Trust in leader’s ideology
Belief similarity between leader and follower
Unquestioning acceptance
Affection toward leader
Obedience
Identification with leader
Emotional involvement
Heightened goals
Increased confidence
Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th Edition).
San Francisco:, CA: Sage

47. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
• Strong transformational
leadership by the
principal is essential in
getting teachers involved
in the implementation of
various instructional and
support initiatives (Marks
& Printy, 2003). These
principals create a sense
of urgency for doing this
work (Kotter, 1996).

48. CONCLUDING REMARKS
• People that have
passion & commitment
have discovered work
that excites them.
• Passionate and
committed people are
willing to take risk.
• Passionate and
committed people
believe they have the
ability to make a
difference.
48

49. CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE
• Whitney Houston –
Children are our
Future
49

50. Activity #3: SCHOOL RENEWAL
ACTIVITY
• Principal and Aspiring
principals will take 25
minutes to begin the
planning process for
demonstrating their
commitment and
willingness to lead
continuous school
renewal activities for the
2014-15 School Year.
50