Topic: Leadership
Maxwell's Maxims for School Leaders
When I spoke on my Leader Chat podcast with John C. Maxwell, known as the number one leadership author in the world, I was struck as much by his empathy as I was by his wisdom and passion. Maxwell acknowledged that the role of an educator is a difficult one,... Read the full article >
A Statewide Approach to Developing Leaders
The impact of principals on teaching and learning has long been acknowledged. Research ranks school leaders as the second-most influential school-level factor—after teacher quality—on student achievement. However, programs to develop principals’ skills and support their leadership often have been limited to disconnected pre-service residencies and mentoring programs for new leaders... Read the full article >
Partnership at the Speed of Trust: Q&A with State Superintendent Baesler
State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler has described Cognia as a crucial partner in her efforts to support the continuous improvement of each school and district as well as the state department. In a recent interview, Baesler described her perspective on partnerships and some of the ways in which Cognia has worked... Read the full article >
Principals: Thoughtful Approaches to Maximize Professional Learning Outcomes
While the responsibility of ensuring teacher participation in professional development often falls on the principal as the educational and instructional leader of the school (Vogel, 2018), principals must plan TPD initiatives, set expectations for implementation, and evaluate implementation results (Celeste, 2016) in addition to a multitude of other responsibilities and... Read the full article >
Get More Out of Professional Learning
Convenient, high-quality professional learning is hard to come by and needed now more than ever. But the needs of learners and the demands of teaching and learning are evolving in ways not well served in traditional professional development delivery models. Sure, online access is more available but is anyone really... Read the full article >
It’s Time to Lean In—How Leaders Should Leverage Community
As a former classroom teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and a superintendent in three very different districts on both sides of the country, I have a solid handle on typical professional development strategies we tend to employ for educators. My knowledge and experience have been my motivation to change the model... Read the full article >
Don't Lead Alone
Much has been written about the challenges teachers endured due to the disruption from COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. Teachers deserve our praise and sympathy as they continue to navigate the impact of the dramatic instructional shift when all students were sent home in early 2020. Now teachers are confronting... Read the full article >
The Meaning of Standards
Around the turn of the twenty-first century, the focus and process of accreditation shifted from a ten-year evaluation of the accomplishments of an institution’s past decade to a forward-looking process examining what an institution is striving to accomplish in the following five years. Modern accreditation examines the current and future... Read the full article >
A Courageous Approach to School Improvement: Teacher Agency and Voice
How many school improvement initiatives have you implemented … and how strong were your results? Now is the time for leaders to look at school improvement from a new perspective of supporting teachers and invest their focus and energy into a different approach to continuous school improvement—using the power of... Read the full article >
Helping School Boards Lead
Boards of education and superintendents that operate in a cohesive manner with respect, trust, transparency, and clear communication lead as a unified team that focuses on specific goals to reach their vision, mission, and beliefs of the system. Effective school boards: Have a clear vision for the district Communicate their... Read the full article >