A strong professional culture includes reflection, timely and specific feedback that improves practice, and support for continuous improvement toward vision and goals for student learning. Educators plan their own professional learning strategically, building their own capacities on the job. Leaders engage in continuous inquiry about effectiveness of curricular and instructional practices and work collaboratively to make appropriate changes that improve results.
Element A: Strong Professional Culture
A strong professional culture supports teacher learning and shared commitments to the vision and goals.
Indicators: A leader…
- Develop shared understanding, capacities, and commitment to high expectations for all students and closing achievement gaps.
- Guides and supports job-embedded, standards-based professional development that improves teaching and learning and meets diverse learning needs of every student.
- Models openness to change and collaboration that improves practices and student outcomes.
- Develops time and resources to build a professional culture of openness and collaboration, engaging teachers in sharing information, analyzing outcomes, and planning improvement.
- Provides support, time, and resources for leaders and staff to examine their own beliefs, values, and practices in relation to the vision and goals for teaching and learning.
- Provides ongoing feedback using data, assessments, and evaluation methods that improve practice.
- Guides and monitors individual professional development plans and progress for continuous improvement of teaching and learning.
Element B: Rigorous Curriculum and Instruction
Improving achievement of all students requires all educators to know and use rigorous curriculum and effective instructional practices, individualized for success of every student.
Indicators: A leader…
- Develops shared understanding of rigorous curriculum and standards-based instructional programs, working with teams to analyze student work, monitor student progress, and redesign curricular and instructional programs to meet diverse needs.
- Provides coherent, effective guidance of rigorous curriculum and instruction, aligning content standards, curriculum, teaching, assessments, professional development, assessments, and evaluation methods.
- Provides and monitors effects of differentiated teaching strategies, curricular materials, educational technologies, and other resources appropriate to address diverse student populations, including students with disabilities, cultural and linguistic differences, gifted and talented, disadvantaged social economic backgrounds, or other factors affecting learning.
- Identifies and uses high-quality research and data-based strategies and practices that are appropriate in the local context to increase learning for every student.
Element C: Assessment and Accountability
Improving achievement and closing achievement gaps require that leaders make appropriate, sound use of assessments, performance management, and accountability strategies to achieve vision, mission, and goals.
Indicators: A leader…
- Develops and appropriately uses aligned, standards-based accountability data to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
- Uses varied sources and kinds of information and assessments (such as test scores, work samples, and teacher judgment) to evaluate student learning, effective teaching, and program quality.
- Guides regular analyses and disaggregation of data about all students to improve instructional programs.
- Uses effective data-based technologies and performance management systems to monitor and analyze assessment results for accountability reporting and to guide continuous improvement.
- Interprets data and communicates progress toward vision, mission, and goals for educations, the school community, and other stakeholders.
Source: Sanders, N. M.,&Kearney, K. M. (Eds.). (2008).
Performance expectations and indicators for education leaders: An ISLLC-based guide to implementing leader standards and a companion guide to the educational leadership policy standards: ISLLC 2008 . Washington, DC: State Consortium on Education Leadership, Council of Chief State School Officers (pp. 16-18).
