MNPS School Leadership Plays

Play overview

Playbook

Collaborative Planning Structures

Collaborative Planning Structures are critical for the success of Continuous Improvement Cycles. Planning structures are leveraged to plan for implementation of professional learning and address instructional practice needs that have been identified through School Leadership Visibility.Collaborative Planning Structures are a collaborative approach to designing, implementing, and reflecting on instruction for students. This type of collaboration occurs among general education teachers, English Language (EL) teachers, and Exceptional Education (EE) teachers on a grade-level or content team. Led by a facilitator, teams work and learn together when developing and implementing units, lessons, and classroom-based assessments by analyzing standards and creating essential questions for learning. Collaborative Planning Structures also lead to teacher learning. These structures provide teachers with new ways of thinking about pedagogy, content, and other instructional materials, standards, assessments, and rigor, resulting in better-designed lessons. Collaborative Planning Structures also distribute planning among a team, creating efficiency for teachers and supporting collective teacher efficacy.

This graphic illustrates how leadership moves must surround and connect with teacher instructional collaboration to ensure that Collaborative Planning Structures are implemented with fidelity and integrity. Conditions for success for teacher instructional collaboration are created when MNPS Executive Principals implement the roles and responsibilities found in the MNPS Leadership Framework.

School Leadership Visibility

School Leadership Visibility, especially classroom walkthroughs, is most impactful on continuous improvement cycles when leveraged strategically to assess the quality of instruction in the building and monitor the implementation of the strategic professional learning that has been provided and planned for during collaborative planning structures.A Metro Nashville Public Schools executive principal ensures School Leadership Visibility by maintaining frequent, meaningful, and quality interactions and relationships with teachers, staff, students, and families. Research indicates a strong correlation between School Leadership Visibility and student achievement. But what exactly is meant by “visibility?” Visibility refers to administrators (i.e., executive principals, assistant principals, deans of instruction, and instructional coaches) having quality contacts and interactions with teachers, staff, students, and families. Three specific actions embody the fundamentals of School Leadership Visibility: systematic and frequent classroom visits, being highly visible, and being accessible and responsive. These three actions offer opportunities to assess and improve student outcomes through the following activities:• Affirming teacher instructional practices and offering feedback for continuous improvement purposes (i.e., classroom walkthroughs with cycles of feedback) • Monitoring the fidelity of implementing a guaranteed and viable curriculum (i.e., the adopted curriculum and scope and sequence grounded in the Tennessee Academic Standards) • Promoting and modeling a positive culture of inclusion • Sustaining a safe learning environment • Creating opportunities to listen, learn, and address the unique needs of teachers, staff, students, and families • Forging positive relationships with the school community • Increasing awareness of other situational factors impacting teachers, staff, students, and families Each of the above-listed items strongly correlates with highly effective schools and increasing student achievement levels. Therefore, the primary purpose of School Leadership Visibility is to improve student outcomes while promoting a positive school culture and climate.

Supporting School Leadership Visibility

It is the job of the executive principal to support School Leadership Visibility. The principal should communicate a vision and purpose for visibility, noting this as an essential component of supporting teachers, staff, students, and families. In addition, communications should articulate that School Leadership Visibility is instrumental in growing a healthy school culture and climate committed to student success.

Cycles of Professional Learning

Cycles of Professional Learning must be leveraged strategically to support Continuous Improvement Cycles. The ongoing processes of professional learning are informed and monitored through the data collected during School Leadership Visibility practices. Collaborative Planning Structures must be intentionally planned to capitalize on the professional learning efforts taking place in our schools.A Metro Nashville Public Schools executive principal equips and empowers the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) to offer differentiated, job-embedded Cycles of Professional Learning. Professional development refers to direct instruction on implementing a strategy or practice. Quality professional development entails explaining, modeling, and connecting learning to research and results, differentiating for adults at various knowledge or skill levels, experimenting and discussing, as well as sharing all needed materials and resources. Note that professional development is a single learning event. Contrast professional development with Cycles of Professional Learning. A Cycle of Professional Learning is a series of learning and opportunities for practice, feedback, and refinement. Metro Nashville Public Schools recently adopted a school-based or site-based approach to professional learning. This site-based approach to professional learning aims to connect the centralized areas of focus from Support Hub content experts to site-based implementation by schools. The Support Hub will provide centralized, essential content to the school's Instructional Leadership Team (ILT). Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) will develop, implement, monitor, and support delivery via Cycles of Professional Learning.

Instructional Leadership Teams (ILT)

Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) are the distributive leadership structure that offers a mechanism for implementing cycles of professional learning, school leadership visibility, and collaborative planning structures that strategically support continuous improvement cycles.A Metro Nashville Public Schools executive principal distributes leadership by forming an Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) charged with identifying, implementing, connecting, and refining the school’s continuous improvement cycles, instructional priorities, and evidence-based practices. Effective Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) are powerful levers for making a change in schools. The Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) is responsible for raising academic achievement for all students through the implementation, operation, monitoring, and support of the teaching and learning process. Foundational to this purpose is the team’s method for collecting, analyzing, and effectively using data to drive decision-making and build the capacity of teachers. An Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) includes the executive principal, assistant principals, deans of instruction, instructional coaches, and other teacher leaders. The Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) offers a systematic way to execute and achieve your school’s most critical instructional priorities and goals. Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) are responsive to student academic performance by developing teacher professional practice through Cycles of Professional Learning and Collaborative Planning Structures. Through a culture of collaboration amongst teachers and school leaders as well as distributive leadership practices, these teams maximize and grow effective instruction, thereby improving outcomes for students. In addition, the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) provides structures and supports for ensuring the implementation of the adopted curriculum and scope and sequence, grounded in the Tennessee Academic Standards (i.e., guaranteed and viable curriculum).

The primary work of the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) is to meet regularly, focusing on student learning and teacher practice.

• Developing, implementing, monitoring, and refining instructional improvement goals • Performing ongoing classroom walkthroughs with feedback to teachers, discussing data trends, and determining the next steps for improving instructional practice • Monitoring, supporting, and ensuring the implementation of a guaranteed and viable curriculum • Building teacher capacity through differentiated, job-embedded Cycles of Professional Learning • Offering systems and support for Collaborative Planning Structures

Steps to Continuous Improvement :

Continuous Improvement Cycles

• A Continuous Improvement Cycle entails the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) taking the following eight steps: • Step 1: Collecting and analyzing data • Step 2: Identifying a student problem of learning • Step 3: Identifying a teacher problem of practice • Step 4: Constructing a theory of action • Step 5: Drafting a SMART goal • Step 6: Planning actions • Step 7: Implementing, supporting, and monitoring • Step 8: Analyzing and presenting the impact Each of the above steps supports the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) and school leaders in implementing a Continuous Improvement Cycle.

Continuous Improvement Cycles are the driving force of the work of instructional leaders. These cyclical processes are intended to help Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) identify an area for instructional improvement or focus (i.e., teacher problem of practice and student problem of learning). This progression includes creating SMART (i.e., specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals, identifying precise actions to accomplish SMART goals, and establishing dates to monitor change within a continuous feedback loop. A Metro Nashville Public Schools executive principal within the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) structure leads data-driven Continuous Improvement Cycles, guiding identifying, implementing, and refining school-specific actions, instructional priorities, and evidence-based practices. Continuous Improvement Cycles are vital in public education because schools and leaders face many challenges as well as limited resources and time. Continuous Improvement Cycles allow leaders to narrow their focus to the most pressing instructional improvement opportunities and target time and resources towards addressing those areas. In short, Continuous Improvement Cycles allow school leaders to examine student learning, what impacts student learning, and what should be done to grow instructional practice and maximize student learning.