The Research Findings are In!

Effective teachers are constantly assessing what students know and are able to do in relation to particular standards and goals. Based on evidence of student learning (or lack thereof), they make decisions about what resources and teaching strategies to employ. Effective leaders look for evidence that the adults in their schools are applying what they learn from professional development experiences to their classroom and leadership practice. Ongoing assessment of professional practice in relation to specified outcomes informs planning for future professional development and support. Similarly, the Center for Educational Leadership is engaged in assessing its own effectiveness in working to build the capacity of school and district leaders to improve the quality of instruction for all students.

To this end, CEL has contracted with researchers from the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy (CTP) to conduct an inquiry into some of its partnership work. The CTP team recently completed a one-year pilot investigation of CEL's partnership with the Highline School District. The results are both interesting and promising. This year, researchers are expanding their investigation to include two additional partnerships: Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, and Marysville School District.

Click here to read the Executive Summary of the pilot research in the Highline School District.

Kati Haycock, Director of the Education Trust, is one of the nation’s leading child advocates. In 1990, Kati co-founded the Education Trust as an organization which speaks up for young people of color and in poverty. The Trust provides hands-on assistance to urban school districts and universities that want to work together to improve student achievement for all children. Before coming to the Education Trust, Haycock served as Executive Vice President of the Children’s Defense Fund. Haycock recently addressed participants in CEL’s District Leaders Seminar Series. Please click here to view a portion of Kati Haycock’s District Leaders Seminar Series presentation. Haycock also shared her thoughts about the critical role of instructional leadership in the following interview:

CEL: A foundational principal of CEL's work is stated in the phrase, "You cannot lead what you do not know…" What does this phrase mean to you, in light of the Trust's research agenda and mission to improve instructional quality in public schools across the country?

KH: We agree. Powerful instruction is the only way to ensure mutual agreement to increase achievement, and the person this is placed on is the school principal. We are expecting principals to know what powerful instruction looks like and feels like. It is a high priority for gap-closing schools that there is support for principals to learn themselves in order to help teachers. Our work with principals and teachers centers around, "What do good assignments look like?" Our work focused there, using assignments teachers developed, i.e., anchor assignments, as a way of getting teachers together to talk together about the assignment and student work.

We are in the business of helping the kids who need quality teaching-get it. In High Impact High Schools—schools which accept higher numbers of diverse and under-performing students and produce larger gains than the state average—principals are very conscious of the inequity of teacher quality that can be present in schools. Therefore, they do not use simple seniority to place their teachers.

CEL: Please elaborate on a statement you made during recent testimony before the Committee on Workforce and Education (US House of Representatives) regarding the No Child Left Behind legislation. The Trust's initial research seems to indicate there has been a positive effect of the legislation on many school districts. You described the negative reaction to NCLB as "a pushback against a law that is such a bold assault on the status quo." In your view, how has the legislation assaulted the status quo for students of color and in poverty?

KH: I don't think the law is perfect. It did cause a shift in how we define success. For suburban schools that were sending their students to fancy colleges and were generating high student test scores, they were called "good schools" although there were ugly things happening underneath. NCLB causes us to look at "good schools" as schools that were good for all kids. Suburban schools were thought of as better than urban and rural schools. They now have to look at their ugly gaps. How are their black and Hispanic students achieving compared to their white students?

We have to adopt the Ritz-Carlton [Hotel] motto: We do not lose a single client. At a conference I recently attended, Jason Kamras, National Teacher of the Year, said that the law is doing things for poor kids and others ...[He said,]"I didn't worry about the quality of teachers teaching special education students, now I do worry."

I do think we are not focusing on the right thing. We are doing dumb things and acting as if they are good things. We drill kids for the tests; principals are badly informed about the strategies that could make a difference for these students. An example is the Council of Great City Schools' Road Map. The Council is deeply critical of the member districts and feels any weakness reflects on all members. The Council is working to learn more about systemic teaching, expanded time for students, student assignments, etc. Systems such as Philadelphia are following the "road map" and showing improvement.

CEL: One of the issues the Trust's research has helped highlight is the importance of teacher quality as it relates to improved student achievement. Several of your publications have focused on the role teachers should play in the improvement of teaching practice. What is the role, and accountability, of system and building leaders for the improvement of quality of instruction and practice in their schools?

KH: Nobody is better positioned than principals in the system to make a difference in the quality of instruction. Central office administrators are not always well positioned, but they do have both positional and persuasive roles to promote the efforts toward powerful instruction as a means to instruct those who need it most. They need to focus on any principal who is not engaged with teachers, and teachers who are not engaged in the practice of analyzing their practice.

It is the principal's role to move schedules, create time for teachers and promote the agenda of quality and equitable instruction for the students who need it most. Right now, the Trust is working with schools in Portland, Oregon to create powerful student assignments. Each quarter, teachers come together to work on an anchor assignment and look at student work. The goal is to get teaching to move from private practice to public practice and then to collaborative practice.

CEL: CEL's theory of action for eliminating the achievement gap holds that the extent to which students have access to high level curricula and powerful instruction is the extent to which the achievement gap will be closed. What do you think are the main policy implications for public education?

KH: We agree. What should schools and school districts do differently? Right now, the choice of curriculum is up to the students. You can take the hard or the dumb math class. Oklahoma, Texas, and Indiana have developed state mandates for high academic levels for all kids. San Jose has done the same at the district level. I think it is hard at the building level. Powerful teaching is an issue, right now, because of collective bargaining issues such as tenure. Even if you are not a strong or powerful teacher, you may have a lock on the job. Seniority says who teaches who and can be a barrier for teachers to perceive that all kids are their responsibility. This can't continue. Authority and accountability issues need to be clarified for principals: who hires, fires and trains the teachers in his/her building. I think that today's business leaders have no idea that principals work within these types of constraints.

Is Campaign UW on your donation list this year? If so, did you know that your contribution to Campaign UW can be designated as a gift to CEL? By simply clicking on the University of Washington fundraising link and following the directions, you will be able to make an on-line gift to the Center. With even less clicking, you can go directly to the link below. Thank you for helping us to sustain and expand our work.

The Center for Educational Leadership Fund was established to support CEL’s mission of eliminating the achievement gap. The Center is a self-sustaining organization that relies, in part, on the contributions of individuals and foundations to help us accomplish our goals. By making a donation to the Center for Educational Leadership Fund, you will contribute directly to CEL’s success in meeting three important goals:

   1) To bring the highest caliber speakers to Center programs
   2) To establish program scholarships for participants
   3) To keep program costs as affordable as possible

With a gift, you can help to make a difference in the lives of educators and students who need it most. We are grateful for your interest and support. Make your online gift now.

Center Director: Steve Fink finks@u.washington.edu
Newsletter Editors:
Joyce McGlaston, Project Director joycem2@u.washington.edu
Dina Blum, Program Manager dinablum@u.washington.edu
Abby Suplizio, Technology Director abigails@u.washington.edu