ICE 19 Conference Presentation delivered February 26th at 8am - Schaumburg, IL -- DEMYSTIFYING INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP

1. Making Sense of
Instructional
Leadership

2. Dr. PJ Caposey
#ICE19
@MCUSDSupe
pcaposey@gmail.com
815.980.0310

3. Essential Questions
• What would help you believe in your
ability to be an instructional leader?
• If you were confident in your ability to
lead instructional leadership would your
schedule look differently?

4. Turn and Talk
What is an
‘instructional
leader’?

5. 13 percent
Wallace Foundation/Vanderbilt

8. Why?

9. THREE TYPES PRINCIPALS WHO ARE NOT
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS
• CANNOT DO
• WON’T DO
WILL NOT DO BECAUSE THEY
BELIEVETHEY CANNOT
DO

11. Things we know . . .
• Nothing matters more than effective teachers
• Principals are also key to causing data or fact-based school
success/improvement
• More than we will ever need to about what works in instruction
PRINCIPALS and
TEACHERS MATTER

12. Education research shows that most school
variables, considered separately, have at most
small effects on learning. The real payoff
comes when individual variables combine to
reach critical mass.
Creating the conditions
under which that can occur is the job of the
principal.

14. Effective school leadership is simply
creating the conditions
for change in which four things can
occur/exist:
1) Healthy Climate
2) Healthy Culture
3) Deep understanding of the interrelated
nature of CIA
4) Empowered teachers take ownership and
drive real instructional change

15. 1) Healthy Culture
2) Deep understanding of the
interrelated nature of CIA
3) Empowered teachers take
ownership and drive real
instructional change
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP IS
CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR
CHANGE IN DEVELOPING THE
FOLLOWING AREAS:

16. Watch your thoughts, they become words
Watch your words, they become actions
Watch your actions, they become habits
Watch your habits, they become character
Watch your character,
(it becomes your culture)

17. Culture DEFINED by how we act in
five contexts
• Kids’ learning
• Adult interactions
• When confronted by change
• When we have data
• Use of technology

18. Turn and Talk
• Kids’ learning
• Adult
interactions
• When
confronted by
change
• When we have
data
• Use of
technology

19. The vision is, first, that the school will be a
community, a place full of adults and
youngsters who care about, look after, and
root for one another and who work
together for the good of the whole, in times
of need and times of celebration. Every
member of a community holds some
responsibility for the welfare of every
other and for the welfare of the
community as a whole.
Roland Barth

20. What do we believe about kids
actions versus how we act?
• We believe all kids can learn
• We believe that all kids deserve to be intellectually challenged
• We believe kids need feedback to learn
• We believe kids should have voice in their learning
• We believe kids can do amazing things
BUT . . .

21. What do we believe about adult
interactions versus how we act?
• We believe all adults should make decisions with kids in mind
• We believe all adults should continue to grow
• We believe all adults should have difficult conversations with
each other and not behind others’ backs
• We believe that we want our peers to push us to become better
BUT . . .

22. What do we believe about create
positive change versus how we act?
• We believe we all want progress
• We believe we are all open minded enough to accept
critique
• We believe that change is inevitable
• We believe that our kids deserve better than what we are
currently providing
BUT . . .

23. What do we believe about data
versus how we act?
• We believe data matters
• We believe if we have the right information we can better
serve kids
• We believe that our performance matters and we can
impact change
BUT . . .

24. What do we believe about
technology versus how we act?
• We believe kids should have the tools of the day in their
hands
• We believe if done right technology can make us better at
our jobs
• We believe software can make learning more fun and
personalized
• We believe technology can make our life easier
BUT . . .

28. The Big Five - CIA
• Why do we teach what we do how we do?
• Do we value time more or learning more? Is time
flexible or is learning flexible?
• What percentage of the students in a class have
their needs meet through the core curriculum?
• What is rigor?
• What is engagement?

32. Great leaders set floors for
people’s performance – but
never ceilings.
Great leaders have the unique
skill of seeing people for
greater than they currently are.

34. Effective instructional leadership is simply
creating the conditions for change in which
four things can occur/exist:
• Healthy Climate
• Healthy Culture
• Kids
• Each other
• Change
• Data
• Technology
• Deep understanding of the interrelated nature of
CIA
• Empowered teachers take ownership and drive real
instructional change

35. Effective instructional leadership is simply
creating the conditions for change in which
four things can occur/exist:
• Healthy Climate
• Healthy Culture
• Deep understanding of the
interrelated nature of CIA
• Empowered teachers take ownership and drive real
instructional change

36. Effective instructional leadership is simply
creating the conditions for change in which
four things can occur/exist:
• Healthy Climate
• Healthy Culture
• Deep understanding of the interrelated nature of
CIA
• Empowered teachers take
ownership and drive real
instructional change

37. Essential Questions
• What would help you believe in your
ability to be an instructional leader?
• If you were confi?

38. Dr. PJ Caposey
#ICE19
@MCUSDSupe
pcaposey@gmail.com
815.980.0310