Leadership
Successful schools require both effective teachers and an effective instructional leader. In this domain, teachers assess the effectiveness of their school leader—including the vision they set for the school, the extent to which they communicate and follow through on clear goals and priorities, and whether they seek upward feedback from their teachers.
Recommendations
Based on our extensive experience, TNTP recommends the following as evidence-based practices for this domain:
- Engage in an inclusive process with the entire school community to develop a vision of collective responsibility for the educational success of each student regardless of background.
- Acknowledge that most schools do not serve all students well, and design your school to both disrupt that inequity and be responsive to the complex and evolving needs of your community.
- Link actions, including feedback conversations and professional development, to instructional priorities that are aligned with the school’s vision.
- Model a committed practice to both growing knowledge and fostering personal development and wellbeing in service of leadership for school transformation.
- Solicit feedback frequently and adjust course as indicated.
Resources
Browse Resources by Audience
Teachers
Resources for Teachers
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: A research-based guide to creating lasting culture change
The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford: A guide to establishing and maintaining trusting relationships
Red Light/Green Light – Organizational Priority Tracking Tool: Template of a dashboard from The Management Center for monitoring progress toward goals
The Together Group: Leader Resources: A collection of free resources for leaders for organizing meetings, professional development, and more
The Management Center: Tools: A collection of templates, rubrics, worksheets, and more to build efficient, effective procedures and systems
The Management Center: Culture Resources: Resources for articulating core values and setting expectations for new hires to contribute toward a positive environment
Goals Bank (from The Management Center): A list of sample goals for various areas of operations and administration
RACI Chart Guide: A template for clarifying roles and responsibilities that can be used to ensure a point person for each area of operations
Highlight Exemplar Practices Sample Email: A sample email update to teachers to show how school leaders can communicate positive messages, share praise, and reinforce strong teaching
Street Data: a Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan: Addresses educational inequities by shifting from quantitative “satellite” data to qualitative, experiential “street data”, focusing on student voice, radical inclusion, and an equity transformation cycle that prioritizes the lived experiences of marginalized students
School Leadership
Resources for School Leadership
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: A research-based guide to creating lasting culture change
The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford: A guide to establishing and maintaining trusting relationships
Leading for Change: A Framework for Instructional Leadership: Protocols and tools from Insight Education Group to help school leaders create a vision and align their instructional leadership actions to them
Red Light/Green Light – Organizational Priority Tracking Tool: Template of a dashboard from The Management Center for monitoring progress toward goals
The Together Group: Leader Resources: A collection of free resources for leaders for organizing meetings, professional development, and more
The Management Center: Tools: A collection of templates, rubrics, worksheets, and more to build efficient, effective procedures and systems
The Management Center: Culture Resources: Resources for articulating core values and setting expectations for new hires to contribute toward a positive environment
Goals Bank (from The Management Center): A list of sample goals for various areas of operations and administration
RACI Chart Guide: A template for clarifying roles and responsibilities that can be used to ensure a point person for each area of operations
Highlight Exemplar Practices Sample Email: A sample email update to teachers to show how school leaders can communicate positive messages, share praise, and reinforce strong teaching
National SEED Project: An organization that trains leaders to guide conversations around social change within their school community and institutions
Street Data: a Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan: Addresses educational inequities by shifting from quantitative “satellite” data to qualitative, experiential “street data”, focusing on student voice, radical inclusion, and an equity transformation cycle that prioritizes the lived experiences of marginalized students
Support Staff
Resources for Support Staff
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: A research-based guide to creating lasting culture change
The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford: A guide to establishing and maintaining trusting relationships
Leading for Change: A Framework for Instructional Leadership: Protocols and tools from Insight Education Group to help school leaders create a vision and align their instructional leadership actions to them
Red Light/Green Light – Organizational Priority Tracking Tool: Template of a dashboard from The Management Center for monitoring progress toward goals
The Together Group: Leader Resources: A collection of free resources for leaders for organizing meetings, professional development, and more
The Management Center: Tools: A collection of templates, rubrics, worksheets, and more to build efficient, effective procedures and systems
The Management Center: Culture Resources: Resources for articulating core values and setting expectations for new hires to contribute toward a positive environment
Goals Bank (from The Management Center): A list of sample goals for various areas of operations and administration
RACI Chart Guide: A template for clarifying roles and responsibilities that can be used to ensure a point person for each area of operations
Highlight Exemplar Practices Sample Email: A sample email update to teachers to show how school leaders can communicate positive messages, share praise, and reinforce strong teaching
National SEED Project: An organization that trains leaders to guide conversations around social change within their school community and institutions
Street Data: a Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan: Addresses educational inequities by shifting from quantitative “satellite” data to qualitative, experiential “street data”, focusing on student voice, radical inclusion, and an equity transformation cycle that prioritizes the lived experiences of marginalized students
Central Teams
Resources for Central Teams
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: A research-based guide to creating lasting culture change
The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford: A guide to establishing and maintaining trusting relationships
Red Light/Green Light – Organizational Priority Tracking Tool: Template of a dashboard from The Management Center for monitoring progress toward goals
The Management Center: Tools: A collection of templates, rubrics, worksheets, and more to build efficient, effective procedures and systems
The Management Center: Culture Resources: Resources for articulating core values and setting expectations for new hires to contribute toward a positive environment
Goals Bank (from The Management Center): A list of sample goals for various areas of operations and administration
RACI Chart Guide: A template for clarifying roles and responsibilities that can be used to ensure a point person for each area of operations
Students
Resources for Students
Street Data: a Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan: Addresses educational inequities by shifting from quantitative “satellite” data to qualitative, experiential “street data”, focusing on student voice, radical inclusion, and an equity transformation cycle that prioritizes the lived experiences of marginalized students