REPORT CARD: ARNE DUNCAN
Fidelity to the Constitution F
Doing what’s right for children F
Doing what’s right for public education FRespecting the limits of federalism F
Doing what’s right for teachers F
Doing what’s right for education F
We thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss how our administrators are "graded." Aside from "My School My Voice" surveys - there really is little assessment of our leaders for public view.
How would we evaluate our administrators? After all, effective and fair leadership makes all the difference. Some bright folks from the University of Texas released a study "Estimating the Effects of Leaders on Public Sector Productivity." EdWeek summarized the findings briefly here - basically that good principals make a difference in high-poverty schools. Duh.
I'm not sure how the value-added assessment worked. The data came from Texas Schools - however, the EdWeek blog post does not state when the data is from. Either way - if you have the $5 to spend to get the actual study, feel free to forward it to me! I won't tell ;)
Assessing the effectiveness and value of our principals is an issue that we would like to tackle here. The UT study summary states:
"...there is little quantitative evidence due to the difficulty of separating the impact of leaders from other organizational components – particularly in the public sector."Interesting. Other organizational components? Is that code for 'principals have no autonomy because they receive orders from on-high so frequently?' Perhaps. I can remember a time when the staff would get hit one day with (insert screaming administrator here) ATTENDANCE! Then another week...GRADES! Then...STANDARDS! Then....ATTENDANCE! All in one quarter - as if the principal just got reamed on the phone by the Area. We surely can't hold principals accountable with qualitative data because of those pesky "other organizational components."
** Unlike teachers and the mountain of initiatives we are pummeled with - yet held accountable for without mention of the district, board, etc.
At least for now we can turn to the qualitative. How would you rate your principal? If he/she is effective, what does that look like? We at SCT have yet to experience it.
An idea of some principal effectiveness measures for discussion:
Shares leadership
Nurtures Students
Thoughtful of Professional Development Needs
Understands a balance of testing in education
Communicates effectively
Supports staff and shows respect (treats staff like professionals)
Consistent in decision-making
Follows through in initiatives/mandates brought to staff
Acts as an educator first
Puts students needs before the "appearance" of the school
Respects STU contract
Our principals would receive F's and D's across the board. What are your thoughts on your leadership? Does it matter?
Do you have strong leadership? What does that look/feel like? What kind of difference does it make?
We're dying to know!
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