EducationHall

The challenges inherent in today’s educational environment are as demanding, complicated, and unyielding as ever. Cries for positive educational reform echo throughout the halls of schoolhouses, district offices, legislature, and businesses across the board. Answering this call is the responsibility of the “principalship of the aughts” (Hall, 2006). Arguably the most influential position in 21^st Century education, the building-level principal is the critical link between policy and practice, simultaneously articulating vision and strengthening instructional delivery.

This is, without a doubt, a tall order. The myriad demands on a school principal’s time muddy the waters of an already raging current, but a principal need not paddle alone. Professional development initiatives nationwide offer support, guidance, and clarity to the nebulous definition of “instructional leader.” One such program is docked in the Washoe County School District (WCSD) Principals’ Academy in Reno, Nevada.

The Principals’ Academy, a collaborative effort of the WCSD, the University of Nevada, the University of Phoenix, the University of Pittsburgh, and San Francisco-based education research think-tank WestEd, has developed an innovative 10-tier approach to building, developing, and strengthening principal leadership. Following the tenets of the Professional Learning Community concept (DuFour, 1998) and driven by the active instructional leadership vehicle of the Walkthrough process (Werlinich, 2004), the 10-tier model empowers and professionalizes the principalship, from pre-novice to established expertise.

The foundational level of the 10-tier model is an active recruiting tool designed to provide a cursory introduction into school administration. Principals nominate their own lead teachers, instructional coaches, and other staff with clear leadership strengths to participate in a series of workshops. These five sessions, three of which (School Culture, Families and Communities, and the Big Picture) are designed around the heralded Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards for school leaders (CCSSO, 1996), provide the necessary knowledge base for certified personnel that might be interested in delving into the ranks of administration. The remaining two sessions re-introduce participants to the driving forces behind district leadership emphases: the Walkthrough Process and Professional Learning Communities.

The Principals’ Academy joins forces with the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of Phoenix (Nevada campus) to offer a rigorous, for-credit internship for new and aspiring administrators. This program provides the intern with an invaluable experience outside of his/her current school setting, thus offering fresh perspectives to familiar issues and building the intern’s knowledge base. Working alongside established leadership teams and under the tutelage of a distinguished principal or senior director, the intern works

directly with the students, staff, parents, and assistance team members on a multitude of initiatives at the school and district level.

Recognizing that many of the district’s lead teachers are within striking distance of their first administrative position, the Leadership Institute provides pertinent pre-service training to aspiring administrators. Those holding administrative certification, or who are within six credits of such certification, are eligible to attend Institute sessions led by Principals’ Academy instructors or faculty of the University of Pittsburgh or the University of Nevada, Reno. In addition, these candidates are eligible for short-term administrative contracts as needed by the district. Fellow distinguished administrators provide mentoring support during these acting-administrator stints.

A step into the administrative realm is the post of “dean of students.” Like an assistant principal, except on a teacher’s salary and with no authority to evaluate staff, this pseudo-administrative position offers all the experiences an administrator could want. A specially designed dean cohort meets on a monthly basis to discuss pressing matters, share ideas, and provide support for one another. Presided over by a Principals’ Academy leader, these meetings offer opportunities for problem-solving, networking, and continued administrative preparation. Participants receive in-service re-certification credit and regular time with colleagues facing the same issues.

All new principals and assistant principals are developed internally through the “First Years” training series. This intensive program builds a solid foundation for district-wide school leadership. First-year, second-year, and third-year administrators are divided into cohorts that meet regularly with peers, network with experienced mentor principals, and engage in challenging problem-solving exercises. Mentors meet with smaller communities of new administrators to engage in team walkthroughs, cooperative job shadowing episodes, book studies, and other collaborative efforts to build the relationships and leadership capacity within newer administrators.

Both active and retired principals and assistant principals provide a number of services to the district through the Principals’ Academy as mentors. Some mentors offer coaching and personal assistance to rookie and second-year administrators, others work one-on-one with aspiring administrative candidates. A select group of mentors assists selected schools with their school improvement process and help identify strengths and areas of need, while other mentors with specific skills serve as instructors in Principals’ Academy workshops. Realizing that providing ongoing support for the mentoring program is essential, all mentors meet on a monthly basis to share strategies and methods for effective mentoring.

The Principals’ Academy has been instrumental in the designation and implementation of several key school district academic initiatives over the past few years. Ongoing workshops and intensive training sessions covering the Walkthrough Process, the Teach For Success protocol, Differentiating Supervision, Professional Learning Communities, Struggling Teacher Assistance, and other pertinent topics provide principals with the updated, research-based information they need to lead their schools. This tier is perhaps the most comprehensive of the lot, as the Principals’ Academy has tremendous resources at its disposal to train, prepare, support, and empower school leaders in all these areas. In addition to the categories outlined above, the Principals’ Academy was influential in the creation of the district’s Technology Pilot Team, with now over 100 members, and for partnering with the University of Wisconsin at Madison to create a new evaluation system for principals, assistant principals, and deans.

Typically, newer administrators garner the majority of the professional development focus in most school districts. Here, the Principals’ Academy ensures that all principals, including veteran, expert administrators, receive the tools, skills, strategies, and learning that combine to sustain effective leadership. Veteran principals and assistant principals use Principals’ Academy funding to attend national conferences, to participate in regional trainings, and to host skilled consultants at district-level or school-level workshops. All district-approved workshops share the characteristics of data-driven, sustainable, results-oriented, and team-based, and all fit into the structure of, once again, the Walkthrough Process and the Professional Learning Community concept.

In the fall of 2006, the Principals’ Academy united with the University of Nevada, Reno, to create an executive doctorate program. The coursework is based upon the eight leadership dimensions outlined by the principals’ Academy:

Instructors include University professors, district-level administrators, and distinguished principals as selected by the Principals’ Academy. Participants can earn a doctorate degree in instructional leadership, while the Principals’ Academy furnishes the books, materials, and provides the stipends for instructors. Additionally, the district superintendent works alongside the advisory board to select candidates for partial or full tuition scholarships within this program.

In perhaps the most exciting and groundbreaking innovation, the Principals’ Academy has recently joined in a collaborative partnership with the National Principals Initiative, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Nevada, the Nevada Association of School Administrators, the Union Pacific Principal Partnership, and WestEd to establish a National Administrator Board Certification Program. Quite rigorous in its time and content demands, this program will establish a voluntary system of advanced certification for school administrators that leads to an additional pay stipend (8%, not unlike National Board Certified teachers) and an increased level of professionalism. The first cohort is scheduled to embark upon this quest in the fall of 2006, and the Washoe County School District has been selected to serve as a pilot host. In the grandest of scenarios, this higher-echelon certificate program will reach regional and national levels.

Developing school principals as instructional leaders is of paramount importance to implementing meaningful school improvement efforts (LaPointe, 2004). To answer that monumental challenge, the Principals’ Academy of the Washoe County School District has provided this innovative 10-tier approach. Weaving the common threads of the Professional Learning Community concept and the Walkthrough Process, this comprehensive professional development program attracts and supports individuals from the time they first show interest in administration all the way through the continuum as expert, distinguished building principals.

Experience and common sense dictate that building principals play a critical role in school improvement efforts; thus, the urgency to develop superior administrators intensifies. Complicating matters is the uncertainty with which we approach professional development endeavors for school administrators. Currently, the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute is completing a major research project to learn more about principal preparation, induction, and training – many of their preliminary findings support the efforts of several professional development models (Davis et al, 2005).

The 10-tier initiative of the WCSD Principals’ Academy (see graphic, next page) is one such model. Covering the 6,600 square miles surrounding the “Biggest little city in the world,” the WCSD hosts 63,000 students in 89 schools. Since its inception in 2001, the Principals’ Academy has provided leadership training, mentorship, coaching, and professional development to practicing administrators and other professionals in many roles throughout the school system.

In Washoe County, achievement rates are steadily climbing, dropout rates are declining, and the professional learning impact of its principals is strengthening (WCSD, 2006). The answer to the question du jour, “How can schools truly improve?” sits here, in the internal development of principals and school leaders. By following the innovative model set forth by this school district, and by massaging it to adapt to local influences, any school district can begin to realize the promise within its own leadership corps and positively impact the school community. It’s a matter of principal.

The WCSD Principals’ Academy 10-tier professional development plan for administrators

National Administrator Board Certification

Executive Doctorate

Veteran Administrative Support

Academic Initiatives

Mentorship

New Administrator Training

Deanship

Leadership Institute

Apprenticeship

Diving into Administration

Foundation A:

Foundation B:

The Walkthrough Process

Professional Learning Communities

Davis, S., L. Darling-Hammond, M. LaPointe, & D. Meyerson (2005). School leadership study: Developing successful principals (Review of Research). Stanford, CA: Stanford University, Stanford Educational Leadership Institute.

DuFour, R. & R. Eaker (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.

Hall, P. (2006). The principalship of the aughts. Workshop delivered at Dekalb County (AL) Public Schools, July.

LaPointe, M. (2004). Effective schools require effective principals. Leadership: Association of California School Administrators, May/June.

Werlinich, J. (2004). Werlinich on walkthroughs. Reno, NV: Washoe County School District Principals Academy Programs and Services manual.

Rick Harris is the Senior Director of the Principals' Academy in the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada.
You can reach him at (775) 348-0200 or via e-mail at RJHarris@Washoe.k12.nv.us.

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