STANDARD TWO
Instructional Leadership
Principals set high standards for the professional practice of 21st-century instruction and assessment that result in a no-nonsense accountable environment. The school executive must be knowledgeable of best instructional and school practices and must use this knowledge to cause the creation of collaborative structures within the school for the design of highly engaging schoolwork for students, the on-going peer review of this work, and the sharing of this work throughout the professional community.
Principals set high standards for the professional practice of 21st-century instruction and assessment that result in a no-nonsense accountable environment. The school executive must be knowledgeable of best instructional and school practices and must use this knowledge to cause the creation of collaborative structures within the school for the design of highly engaging schoolwork for students, the on-going peer review of this work, and the sharing of this work throughout the professional community.
Element 2a. Focus on Learning and Teaching, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment:
The principal leads the discussion about standards for curriculum, instruction, and assessment based on research and best practices in order to establish and achieve high expectations for students.
The principal leads the discussion about standards for curriculum, instruction, and assessment based on research and best practices in order to establish and achieve high expectations for students.
During my time as the principal resident, I was granted the opportunity to support, coach, and guide a new teacher through planning and classroom procedures in an effort to address classroom management concerns. I created a template to be utilized for daily lesson plans. In addition, I created a Powerpoint presentation for the teacher to use as an instructional tool as well as let students know what will happen next. The teacher expressed concerns about the student’s continuous use of their cellphones during instruction time. To provide a possible solution, I created a cellphone policy letter for the teacher to send home with students to inform parents and guardians about the changes regarding the use of cellphones. I observed the teacher once a week during different class periods and followed up with a weekly meeting to discuss the next steps.
As a school leader it is vital to be an instructional leader as well as grow the capacity of the teachers in your school. As such, one of my responsiblities as the principal resident at Riverside High School consited of completing classroom observations. I completed peer observations for 14 teachers throughout the 2019-2020 school year. I was responsible for conducting Pre-Observation Conferences, Observations, and Post-Observation Conferences. At the Post-Observation Conferences, I addressed researched-based practices currently used in the classroom and made suggestions for instructional practices to increase student achievement.
As an instructional leader, one of my major focuses is on student engagement. The following artifact is an example of what I use during a formal observation to measure the percent of students on task. I separate the class into groups depending on the number of rows set up in the class. During the observation I choose four check-in times, usually one at the beginning of the lesson, two during the middle and one at the end of the lesson. The purpose of these times is to measure student engagement and also teacher placement. During the post-conference, I use this data in hopes of the teacher using it as a refelction tool.
Element 2b. Focus on Instructional Time:
The principal creates processes and schedules which protect teachers from disruption of instructional or preparation time.
The principal creates processes and schedules which protect teachers from disruption of instructional or preparation time.
The following is the 2020-2021 master schedule that was created by the administrative team for Riverside High School. My mentor principal, along with the schools’ Assistant Principals, the SIT team, and grade level chairs worked to develop the plan for the new implementation of lunch. Our goal was to maximize instructional time in each department/subject area, while also ensuring teachers have an opportunity to meet with their department-level PLT’s. Class schedules are scheduled on a 4x4 90-minute block schedule with an hour built in for lunch. Riverside High School encourages students to be proactive with their academics and to be active members of their school community. Students are on a homeroom schedule every Monday, which incorporates 20 extra minutes in their second-period class. The extra time allotted for homeroom each Monday is to ensure our students take advantage of the hour-long lunch built into their daily schedule. After implementing SMART lunch, we saw a decrease in office referrals during the times of 11-am and 2 pm as well as increased student participation in social clubs and tutoring. Also included within the document is a detailed plan for S.M.A.R.T Lunch assigned duties for staff.