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EDL520 Instructional Leadership

Principal Quality Standards Reflections

In this Principal Quality Standards Reflection e-portfolio document, I will be addressing the ten Elements identified in the eight modules of assignments of EDL520. Since many assignments have multiple Standards or Elements attributed to them I will simply list the Standard and Element verbatim followed by a link to or excerpt of the assignment(s) with a description of its importance, and how it represents, demonstrates, or provides evidence for the Element (in italics). References to course resources will be provided throughout. 

 

QUALITY STANDARD I

Principals demonstrate organizational leadership by strategically developing a vision and mission, leading change, enhancing the capacity of personnel, distributing resources, and aligning systems of communication for continuous school improvement.

ELEMENT C: Principals establish and effectively manage systems that ensure high-quality staff.

Note: in the EDL520 Syllabus, it states that QS I, Elements A and B are also covered, but no specific assignment lists them. However I will include ELEMENT B: Principals collaborate with staff and stakeholders to implement strategies for change to improve student outcomes.

Throughout EDL 520, an initiative focused on Read Act implementation was developed. The goal of the initiative states, ‘During Fall of 2024, [the Crestone Charter School (CCS) will] collect and analyze Dibels 8 Beginning of Year (BOY) Benchmark data on all K-5 students and move all yellow students into green and 2/3rds of red students into yellow, while maintaining or improving green and blue students, by winter break.’ A detailed review of the data and its analysis is described in the EDL520 M2 Critical Thinking Assignment. It also outlines the steps to meet this goal, which are enumerated again here: 

  1. Launch professional learning model and student Science of Reading growth plan to K-5 faculty.

  2. Collect and analyze Dibels 8 Beginning of Year (BOY) Benchmark data on all K-5 students 

  3. Determine the number of red (below 20th percentile) and yellow (between 20th and 50th percentile) students

  4. Examine root causes

  5. Provide instructional coaching to classroom teachers

  6. Support struggling students through intervention

  7. Track with project monitoring

This is an important initiative because CCS’s CMAS and NWEA Reading scores are consistently below state and national norms. The initiative uses benchmark and progress monitoring data to drive instructional practices, using evidence-based strategies (Colorado Department of Education. n.d.). The attached artifact is important because it summarizes the preliminary work, and the initiative itself. It has five slides showing the preliminary data, analysis, and the determined root cause. The root cause analysis follows the Circle Map protocol (Colorado Department of Education. n.d.). The next eight slides are a parent presentation to enlist feedback from stakeholders. This artifact and initiative address Elements B and C by providing systematic professional development and coaching to ensure high-quality staff. The tri-annual Dibels 8 benchmark testing, followed by weekly progress monitoring, and targeted interventions is a specific strategy for change to improve student outcomes. Dibels 8 is an appropriate measure of Structured Literacy progressions (Amplify MClass. n.d.). 

 

QUALITY STANDARD II

Principals demonstrate inclusive leadership practices that foster a positive school culture and promote safety and equity for all students, staff, and community.

ELEMENT A: Principals create a professional school environment and foster relationships that promote staff and student success and well-being.

ELEMENT B: Principals ensure that the school provides an orderly and supportive environment that fosters a sense of safety and well-being.

ELEMENT C: Principals commit to an inclusive and positive school environment that meets the needs of all students and promotes the preparation of students to live productively and contribute to the diverse cultural contexts of a global society.

ELEMENT D: Principals create and utilize systems to share leadership and support collaborative efforts throughout the school.

 

In the EDL520 Module 6 Critical Thinking Assignment I took the master schedule I had created over the summer and further defined the collaborative planning periods. Building and refining the schedule was done through the lens provided by Hibbein, C. (Summer, 2020). In brief, teachers have five prep periods over the 4 day school week. The fifth prep period is utilized for MTSS, PLC, and peer observation cycles. This specifically addresses Elements A and D by reinforcing a collaborative teaching environment, which is directly focused on student outcomes. This scheduling also relies on a shared leadership model with the Curricular, Instructional, and MTSS staff (CIMS) and the Reading Interventionist (RI) leading these MTSS meetings. Here is an excerpt from the master schedule showing the collaborative prep periods: 

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In terms of Elements that foster a sense of safety, well-being, cultural diversity and inclusion (A, B, and C), the closest this EDL520 coursework came is in the READ Act initiative being applied to readers at all levels. While the red and yellow level students will receive more intervention time, green and blue students will also receive specialized instruction. This eliminates any sense of competition, or ranking of the students, including the English Language Learners (ELLs) who regularly feel ‘othered’. In the EDL 520 Module 4 Critical Thinking assignment, SMART goals are set for students, individual teachers, and staff collectively providing transparent and equitable practices for all.

ELEMENT E: Principals design and/or utilize structures and processes which result in family and community engagement and support.

Element E is the least addressed element in EDL520 but was covered in the parent presentation soliciting feedback in EDL520 M2 Critical Thinking Assignment slides 8-16.

 

QUALITY STANDARD III

Principals demonstrate instructional leadership by aligning curriculum, instruction and assessment, supporting professional learning, conducting observations, providing actionable feedback, and holding staff accountable for student outcomes.

ELEMENT A: Principals establish, align, and ensure implementation of a district/BOCES plan of instruction, instructional practice, assessments, and use of student data that result in academic growth and achievement for all students.

While CCS does not have a District or BoCES-required curriculum, the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is a CDE-approved curriculum adopted by CCS. The READ Act initiative, described in Part Two of the EDL 520 Module 4 Critical Thinking assignment, focuses on the Science of Reading Structured Literacy approach that is aligned, established, and being implemented following instructional practices, and utilizing progress monitoring assessments to guide best first instruction. Professional Development and coaching are provided. Part Two documents the researched-based approaches being utilized.

ELEMENT B: Principals foster a collaborative culture of job-embedded professional learning.

As described above and related to the EDL520 Module 6 Critical Thinking Assignment, in the master schedule, teachers use a fifth prep period for MTSS, PLC and peer observation cycles. This reinforces a collaborative teaching environment, including PD support and coaching from the Curricular, Instructional, and MTSS staff (CIMS) and the Reading Interventionist (RI) with a focus on best-practices to serve students identified during these MTSS meeting times. Assignment EDL 520 M3 Critical Thinking chronicles a collaborative meeting between elementary staff members embarking on the READ Act initiative. It is important because it shows the trust and willingness to be vulnerable in a PLC setting for professional development. A Professional Learning and Growth Plan is outlined in the EDL520 Module 8 Discussion Assignment, based on Strike, K. et al. (2019, p.187).

ELEMENT C: Principals demonstrate knowledge of effective instructional practice and provide feedback to promote continuous improvement of teaching and learning. And ELEMENT D: Principals hold all staff accountable for setting and achieving measurable student outcomes.

In the EDL520 Module 7 Discussion assignment I describe an observation with a teacher and the action step feedback I provided. In the lesson, the teacher was attempting to hold students accountable through a check for understanding that was not efficiently executed. Additionally, the content was below grade-level standards. The action step suggested several other ways to efficiently check for understanding and to increase the rigor of the lesson. The teacher accountability component is embodied in the READ Act initiative described throughout this reflection, and is primarily focused on using progress monitoring to guide instruction, with support of coaching for teachers, and interventions for students. While student performance cannot be the sole measure to hold teachers accountable, it is in addition to classroom observations, and coaching to support the implementation of strategies to meet the needs of MTSS-identified students as described in Elements C and D.

 

References

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