DMC’s Leadership Development Meeting: Principal Effectiveness: Aligning Evaluation, Accountability, and Support for a Changing Role occurred Nov. 11, 2011, in Boston. The focus of this year’s event was on key leadership and managerial tactics school districts can use to implement systemic approaches to improve principal effectiveness. The emphasis on on aligning diverse functions, systems, and data to improve overall management and coordination of principal effectiveness components, including evaluations.
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Morning Session 1: Introduction and Overview of Key Themes
DMC CEO John J-H Kim presented an overview of the topic of principal effectiveness and evaluation practices nationwide, as well as varying perceptions of the role of the principal and the importance of aligning a principal's role to the district's theory of action.
Morning Session 2: Case Study Discussion: Carol Edison at Citrus High
The second morning session began with a case study discussion focused on a principal in a fictitious school district who was struggling to complete observations as part of the district's intensive new teacher evaluation system. The theme of how her time was spent led into the day's first exercise on time allocation.
Exercise 1: Principal Time Allocation
Shifting responsibilities from the principal to the central office or assistant principal can help free up time for the principal to focus on the most important aspects of his/her job. Use this exercise to help you determine which responsibilites can be shifted away from the principal, and to whom.
Afternoon Session 1: Evaluation Workbook Discussion
DMC introduced its new Manager's Toolkit: Guide for Developing a Coherent and Aligned Principal Evaluation System. Participants were tasked to discuss their district's principal evaluation with their group and work towards developing a new system based on assessing effectiveness.
Afternoon Session 2: First Steps for Aligning & Managing Principal Profiles
The last session of the day focused on actionable first steps for the systemic alignment of recruiting and ongoing management of principals within school districts.
Exercise 2: Ongoing Performance Management of Principals
This exercise focused on how district leaders can best manage their different types of principals, and how best to intervene when a principal is being less effective.
