Instructional Leadership

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Instructional Leadership
Sandy GarrettState Superintendent of Public
InstructionOklahoma State Department of Education

• Reading First
• Technical Assistance

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Instructional Leadership

• Instructional leaders must askIf some schools
  can teach kids to read on Grade Level, can all
  schools do it?This question provides the vision
  and motivation for Reading First schools to
  reevaluate and modify the reading instructional
  practices.

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Foundation for Success

• Four pillars create the foundation for success
• at the local level. This foundation supports
• everything a district does.
• Accountability
• Commitment
• Sharing
• Leadership

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Accountability

• Definition
• Using assessment data to improve reading
  instruction
• Examples
• Teachers use assessment data to help their
  students learn.Principals use assessment data to
  help teachers teach.Superintendents use
  assessment data to help principals become
  instructional leaders.

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Commitment

• Definition
• Resolving that all students will learn to read
• Example
• Focusing on reading achievement above all
  else.Utilizing funding from diverse sources to
  fully support program implementation with
  materials, coaches, and staff development.

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Sharing

• DefinitionBringing educators together to learn
  from each other
• ExamplesTeachers meet regularly to share what
  works.Reading coaches meet regularly to share
  what works.Principals learn from other
  principals in successful schools.

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Leadership

• DefinitionMaintaining a clarity of focus on
  reading, and working to bring about significant
  improvements in reading instruction
• ExamplesDistrict superintendents provide
  principals with the resources to support
  improvement.Principals visit classrooms
  frequently and protect reading instructional time
  from interruptions.

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Six Steps to Success in Reading First Schools

• To build on the four pillar foundation, six
• steps must be followed. These steps
• provide a guide for planning and
• implementing reading programs in Reading
• First schools.

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Step One

• Fully implement a comprehensive research-based
  reading program
• Provide the program materials to every K-3
  classroom.
• Provide professional development.
• Schedule adequate time for reading.
• Monitor progress of students.

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Step Two

• Create a timeline
• Establish specific reading achievement goals for
  each grade level to attain during the school
  year.

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Step Three

• Regularly evaluate student progress
• Use instruction-based assessments to help
  determine if each grade levels reading goals on
  the timeline are being reached.

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Step Four

• Analyze Data
• Use data from classroom-based instructional
  assessments to determine where help is needed to
  increase reading achievement, but not to blame
  struggling teachers and students.

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Step Five

• Intervene Immediately
• Help struggling students by re-teaching,
  tutoring, or intensive teaching.
• Help teachers become more expert reading teachers.

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Step Six

• Validate, Recalibrate, and Celebrate!
• Analyze students performance on both internal
  and external assessments.
• Use the information to decide on changes for the
  up-coming year.

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How to Support Commitment

• Be the torchbearer for improved reading
  instruction.
• Encourage utilization of funding from multiple
  sources to fully support implementation of a
  research based comprehensive program.

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How to Support Accountability

• Report data in useful fashion.
• Help districts select reading assessments.
• Help districts establish specific goals for all
  students.
• Shine a spotlight on schools and districts with
  high reading achievement for at-risk students.

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How to Support Sharing

• Provide districts with information about
  scientifically-based comprehensive reading
  programs, and classroom-based instructional
  assessments.

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How to Support Leadership

• Ensure that state level policies and actions
  support implementation of research-based reading
  programs, professional development, and
  classroom-based assessment.