OVERVIEW OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTION 1: ALIGNING
Effective leaders, at every level of an organization, influence the organization’s vision and direction. In school settings, effective leaders have the power to create and support a culture of teaching and learning for continuous improvement. In order to lead continuous school improvement, effective leaders must understand school districts as a system containing interconnected policies and practices. While each school in a district may have diverse needs, it is important for there to be alignment across a common set of district goals and agreement on instructional priorities. Essential Function 1 focuses on system-wide alignment through systems thinking with a focus on data in order to determine impact on teaching and learning.
Essential Function 1: Leadership develops, aligns, and monitors a system-wide plan for implementation focusing on impact within a cycle of continuous improvement.
There is a system-wide plan for continuous improvement that includes all of the criteria below.
- Alignment of district-wide initiatives
- A district-wide common focus with specific and attainable goals
- Building goals aligned with the district-wide common focus
- A mechanism for feedback from all levels
- A year-long district-wide professional learning structure that is practice specific
- A process for the collection of multiple sources of data to inform progress toward district and building performance goals
- A schedule for the analysis of key performance indicators at all administrative/educator levels for the purpose of monitoring impact
- Specific practice-based strategies focused on increasing the impact that teachers are having on students collectively across the district
Leadership teams regularly engage in formal problem-solving using district/building level data.
Download the Practice Profile for Leadership for Effective Implementation of District-Wide Evidence-Based Practices
Reflective Questions
What are examples of system-wide planning in your district?
Where do you see opportunities for system-wide planning?
What challenges do you see in taking a systems-wide approach to implementing District Continuous Improvement in your district?