2. “We don’t have to be superstars or win
championships…All we have to do is to learn to
rise to every occasion, give our best effort, and
make those around us better as we do it.”
John Wooden
3. Problem Statement
Leadership development for future assistant
principals needs to offer a brought range of
learning opportunities to meet the demands
of a complex educational environment. It is
the responsibility and legacy of current
school leadership to support and provide
that leadership for the future of education.
4. Background
• More than 80% of teachers and 75% of teacher
leaders nationwide report they never want to
move into the principalship .
• Only between 40 and 50% of assistant principals
advance to other professional posts (Austin and
Brown Study)
5. Superintendents Principals
• The job is too stressful
• The job is no longer
perceived positively by
communities
• Too many hours are
required
• The job was too
stressful
• Poor perception from
the community
• Too many hours
6. Background
• However, policymakers spend little or no
effort researching Assistant Principal
recruitment issues or job satisfaction.
• Perhaps they should, as this virtually the only
pipeline to campus and district leadership
thus making the biggest difference in the
future of education
9. What are the needs of our future
leaders?
What to learn about?
• Discipline
• Personnel
• Finance
• Duties
What important things do
principals do?
• School culture
• Instructional leadership
• Engage staff in developing
new ideas to address needs
• Understand data and use to
make school adjustments
• Think outside the box
• Deal with the community
• Safety
10. Clearly a Discrepancy Between School
Leadership Needs and Perception of
Future Leaders
Enter…REEP
• Entrepreneurial Leadership
• Simulation Learning for Critical Problem Solving
• System Understanding and Process Development
• Instructional Leadership
• Collaboration/Problem Development Tools
• Communication/Culture for Change/Moral Compass
• Risk Taking Opportunities
• Research and Discussion of Current Issues
12. What does being and entreprenerial
problem solving leader mean?
13. System Learning as an Entrepreneurial
Leader
• 5 Whys for Root Cause
• Affinity for Drivers
• Relational Diagram
• Problem Statement
Development Tool
• Data Analysis Tools to
Understand Problem
such as Pareto Chart or
Flowcharting
14. Instructional Leadership
• Book Study: Building
Teachers’ Capacity for
Success
• Administration Shadows
• Walkthroughs/Role Play
Coaching
• All meetings are conducted
using classroom
• Build Personal Instructional
Toolkits
15. Communication/Culture for Change
•Moral Compass/ Critical Thoughts
•Two Minute Speeches
•Role Playing
•Team Building and Performance
•Conflict Resolution
•Improvisation
•Communication Starters
16. Typical PIT Crew Agenda
• Process Feedback/Toolkit Activity
• Critical Thoughts/Moral Compass Activity
• Communication Activity
• Simulation of Critical Event Activity
• Current Educational Article Activity
Or
• Book Study Activity
17. Future Implications
Continue to learn from and use the processes
and knowledge learned from the REEP
Institute to engage future leaders to be
prepared to solve problems we have not even
encountered yet.
This is our legacy.
Editor's Notes
Education leaders typically come from the classroom through the ranks into leadership positions. These future leaders may have been recruited from the classroom because they were good teachers, decided they wanted to move up for financial reasons, have a driving urge to have a bigger role in the education process, or other reasons. The question is, do these teachers have a realistic view of the role of education leadership, as it is today and what skills will be needed to lead education in the next generation.
In 2004, Texas Study reported a shortage of qualified candidates for superintendents in Texas citing the following reasons:
In a 1998 survey of superintendents asking about their difficulties in recruiting principals, they reported that candidates were most discouraged for the following reasons:
For the last 3 years at Cypress Creek High School we have been meeting as a learning team. This began as an offer to learn and grow together. The original request was that all members have at least 12 hours toward any education master’s in order to maintain integrity and class size. The first class had 16 members and the second class had 18 members. The current class has 14 members. So far 12 past members have promoted on to new positions, either on campus or in the district. The first question I ask each year is “What do you want to know about?” This is an affinity created by the first team. The second question was what do you think are the most important things a principal does? The answers were distinctly different.
Dr Patal shared several tools for project mangement that assist the process and engages all members for more buyin to the strategies being used. In addition Langford international training integrates quality tools in the education field very effectively Members use tools from both experts to analyze and engage in problem solving
PIT Crew members conduct ‘Walk Through’s with administrator, compare feedback, analyze, and role play effective coaching strategies
All meetings are conducted using classroom instructional tools such as gallery walks, think/pair/share, share/listen/reflect, sideline coaching, etc. to build personal skills
Brent Smith’s Coaching for Performance
Professor Linbeck offered us several opportunities to discuss current issues and how our own belief systems need to be challenged so that we can understand the change necessary to make decisions for an education future that we have not seen yet. Members of the PIT crew discuss current issues in the same format for deeper understandingDr. Kehoe shared strategy questions to begin seeing the big picture for strategizing. Communication Starters for 2 minute speeches.
A Process feedback activity is an opportunity to look at a current feedback loop or set of data and analyze or work in group to discuss possible root causes, barriers or give suggested next steps to consider from different vantage points. We often use this feedback or analysis to assist the Admin team in decision making.
Critical thoughts/ moral compass activities members are given an ethical dilemma to address from different viewpoints. All meetings include some form of communication activity either written, similar to the Darden Email Exercise or Verbal such as role playing giving valuable instructional feedback or defending alternate sides of a current issue.
It is the responsibility of the teacher in the classroom, not to teach students what they know but to teach students how to solve problems with what they know, to meet the problems we haven’t even encountered yet in our civilization. The same responsibility lies with current education leaders. We have a moral responsibility to guide and teach future leaders to think well beyond the problems facing education today to the problems of tomorrow. We should not be teaching the future leaders how to address our problems, but rather, boosting them up to our shoulders so they can see beyond the horizon and use the skills and tools of deeper understanding to solve those problems. Then we will have left leadership to continue to do the necessary work in education.
