Developing Principals' Instructional Leadership for Mathematics in 10 School Districts

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Districts in Research and Reform Poster Session

Abstract

The [Project Name, "PN"] initiative convenes participants from ten California school districts into a community of practice focused on implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M). Principals emerged as a key lever for shifting instruction in classrooms. This paper explores the main supports districts created or leveraged to position principals as instructional leaders for mathematics. The most important vehicles for empowering principals were: gaining access to groups of principals in order to communicate the district’s “vision” for implementation, pairing principals with math staff/coaches to create site-based plans, attendance at yearly PN “principal institutes,” and supporting principals’ learning about instructional shifts and the new standards through classroom observations.

Author

• Frances E. Reade, WestEd