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"Education leadership has been called the "critical "bridge" that can unite the many different school reform approaches in ways that practically nothing else can. This was the central theme of The Wallace Foundation's national education conference held in October 2007, at which more than 400 leaders and experts gathered to share practical lessons and experiences about how states, districts and universities are going about the tough work of ensuring that all schools have well-trained, well-supported leadership. This special post-conference report opens with a commentary by Wallace President M. Christine DeVita on the progress and key lessons emerging from the Foundation's education leadership initiative. Richard L. Colvin, director of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, provides detailed highlights of the gathering. Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, a conference keynote speaker, discusses the key elements of effective leadership training. Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, another keynote speaker, offers vivid examples of how strong leadership made the critical difference in previously-failing schools and urban districts"

Key Findings "Teacher leaders can immediately boost student learning in their schools. Some 70 percent of participants achieved notable gains in student achievement across classrooms they supervised during their training year. Teacher leaders can quickly develop and apply critical leadership skills. Participants made significant, measureable gains on high-impact skills, such as using student data and coaching to improve instruction. Teacher leaders can fill gaps in the leadership pipeline. After one year of Emerging Leaders, 80 percent of participants who were accepted to a principal apprenticeship started that training having mastered key leadership skills. The report includes recommendations for steps stakeholders can take to unleash the potential of teacher leadership to support student success."

"Mike McCarthy, principal of Portland's Helen King Middle School, shares his ideas for effective leadership in the following article for Edutopia. These are strategies that are infused with a great deal of common sense and compassion, which makes them that much more effective in the field of education.""

iObservation is an instructional and leadership improvement system. It collects, manages and reports longitudinal data from classroom walkthroughs, teacher evaluations and teacher observations. Teacher growth and leadership practices inform professional development differentiated to individual learning needs for every teacher and leader to increase his/her classroom effectiveness each year.

"Please join us on Thursday, March 28th, for the first inaugural School Leadership Summit (SchoolLeadershipSummit.com). This is be a free, global, and online event. We invite school, district, regional, state, national, and other educational leaders to save this date."

SST5 Building Leadership Team demo video

videos on standards based grading organized around three themes: SBG 101: videos designed classroom practitioners who are getting started with standards-based grading. Discipline-specific: math, science, social studies, language arts, visual arts, career & technical education videos Leadership/Change: videos for administrators and leadership teams.

"THE PRINCIPAL STORY Project couples THE PRINCIPAL STORY - a critically-acclaimed PBS documentary about school principals - with specially-prepared materials to help you promote excellence in education leadership. Whether you are a principal, state or district official, policymaker or concerned parent, please take advantage of the videos and conversation guides here."

"Around the world there is a preoccupation with improved performance and ever increasing standards. But how do we secure exceptional performance and what type of leadership is needed in top performing organisations? The answers to such questions are addressed in a major new study about performance beyond expectations, led by Professor Andy Hargreaves and Professor Alma Harris. Performance beyond expectations - summary of the report Performance beyond expectations - full report This study takes a unique look at how organisations perform beyond expectations in three sectors: business; education and sport. "

"Give Em The Pickle and Leadership Pickles and What's Your Pickle? from Bob Farrell , customer service & leadership training videos!" Mentioned by Ritz Carlton guy

"This blog is written by members of the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC), a partnership between the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE)."

Yet studies of principal behavior in schools makes clear that spending time in classrooms to observe, monitor, and evaluate classroom lessons do not necessarily lead to better teaching or higher student achievement on standardized tests. Where there is a correlation between principals' influence on teachers and student performance, it occurs when principals create and sustain an academic ethos in the school, organize instruction across the school, and align school lessons to district standards and standardized test items. There is hardly any positive association between principals walking in and out of classrooms a half-dozen times a day and conferring briefly with teaches about those five-minute visits.The reality of daily principal actions conflicts with the theory.

"In an environment of tight resources, tough academic challenges, and increasingly stiff competition from new education providers, smart leadership may matter more than ever for the success of America's school districts. Against this backdrop, Education Week introduces the first of what will be an annual Leaders To Learn From report-a way to recognize forward-thinking education leaders and share their ideas."

"This study provides new evidence on the importance of school leadership by estimating individual principals' contributions to growth in student achievement."

Education is a reflective practice. This blog provides my views on educational leadership, effective technology integration, best practices, and creating a student-centered learning culture.

"Ambiguity and subjectivity contribute to the disproportionate placement of minorities in special education." in Ed Leadership 2/07

"America Achieves helps communities and states leverage policy, practice, and leadership to build high-quality educational systems and prepare each young person for success in careers, college, and citizenship."

"The Wallace Foundation aims to make a difference, in part, by disseminating lessons from our work in education, afterschool and the arts that we believe can be useful to policymakers and practitioners. Among the most frequently downloaded reports in 2013 were those that focus on school leadership, particularly the link between the position of the principal and student achievement."

Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools Low-performing schools can quickly increase student achievement using multiple turnaround actions that need to be jointly implemented. These actions target leadership and instructional practices, staff commitment, and visible improvements early in the process.

Ohio Leadership Advisory Council