District Rubric Leadership Strand CVNetworkN+S

Enter District (If you do not see your district's name, please select "other" and enter district name.

Enter Your Name (or the name of the person who will receive a copy of this data submission)

Select data entry cycle

Leadership Systems: This section of the rubric describes the leadership system in a school district. The focus here is on describing how individual leaders in different roles work together to make the leadership system—and the organization—work to produce the results they want.

Understanding the Context: The superintendent and other leaders assess on an on-going basis the demographics, culture, history, values and strengths/needs of the district and community and leverage the context including internally and externally-driven accountability demands.

Beginning - The superintendent has just begun to reach out to understand the district and the community it serves, and may be looking at demographics, history, culture, strengths and/or needs. Efforts to understand how various constituencies experience the current performance of the district and to connect with their vision of a better future have begun. One result is that the raw materials for a political coalition (inside and outside the district) to support the work of improving teaching and learning is emerging. Most often, the district responds to context in a reactive manner. The more volatile the context, the less able the leaders are to change the district’s culture of constant reactivity. Leaders may understand that culture is part of context, but culture is viewed as a “given” rather than something that can be changed.

Emerging - The superintendent has formed a working knowledge of the district’s history, culture, strengths and gaps and has begun to understand how this context, including the culture of the district, shapes what is needed and what is possible. District leaders have begun work to actively address the needs of various constituencies. As a result of connections forged with other community leaders during the outreach and assessment process, raw materials for a broader leadership group have been assembled. The district’s leadership team is coming together and each is doing his/her own assessment of the context that will shape the work to come. This allows them to become less reactive to crises and some leaders are able to re-frame some crises as catalysts for change. The superintendent has begun a culture-change strategy within the district that includes communication with the board and other in-district stakeholders.

Systematic - The superintendent has put in place systems and structures to conduct an ongoing assessment of the context that will inform other district and school leaders, with the goal of generating a flow of information that will continue to shape and be shaped by the district’s reform work. Cultural proficiency is the goal in the district, which means that district leaders seek to understand and respond effectively to differing needs of the communities they serve. A working coalition is in place and actively helps maintain the district’s focus on improvement of teaching and learning. Issues arising from changes in the context are brought to light quickly and responded to in ways that are inclusive and that maintain the district’s focus on its goals for students. Leaders create or leverage catalysts for change and make a conscious and ongoing effort to develop a culture that supports achievement of their goals.

Sustainable - At all levels of the system, context shapes the work in ways that strengthen its impact by both broadening support and deepening implementation. Cultural proficiency is the norm in the district, which means that district leaders understand and respond to differing needs, goals and values of the communities they serve. As a result, the district has become a demand-driven organization, one that is nimble and flexible in responding to changing needs. A coalition of community leaders with a commitment to the district’s vision and goals helps manage leadership transitions in ways that maintain momentum and leverage on-going support for continuous improvement. The district has institutionalized systems for assessing context and using strategic opportunities that arise from this analysis as catalysts for deepening reforms and distributing leadership. This enables district leaders to proactively adjust based on results. The inclusive culture of the district invites diverse voices to the table and helps ensure that the district is sensitive to changing context and evolving needs.

Enter Evidence

Vision and Goals

Beginning - The Superintendent’s vision and goals may be general, unfocused, or not yet fully in step with the community. Long term goals may be obscured by short term goals. Without a clear analysis of current performance and conditions, there may be limited sense of urgency. Measurable goals may not extend beyond those defined by state and federal agencies.

Emerging - The Superintendent and key leaders drawn from board, community, and district office have developed a shared picture of current district performance, a vision for an improved future, and a sense of urgency about achieving goals which may or may not yet be formulated in measurable terms. In some cases, an initial formulation of goals in measurable terms may be ready to be adjusted to be more challenging or compelling.

Systematic - The Superintendent and key leaders from the board, community, and district office are able to articulate a vision for improved results that inspires commitment, challenges the status quo, and reflects the values and aspirations of the community. These goals have been translated into measurable targets which are both challenging and achievable;

Sustainable - Leaders at multiple levels of the system and leaders in the broader community have internalized and work from a shared vision and goals; they assess their own work and the progress of the district with a set of metrics that are tied to these goals and that are well understood and valued by all. As challenging goals are met, new ones are established in an ongoing process of adjustment.

Enter Evidence

Strategy

Beginning - The Superintendent and key district leaders may have articulated challenges, goals and a general vision for change but a core strategy – a big idea that will focus the work-has not emerged or several are being tested or debated. In the interim, the district operates a variety of programs and initiatives, many of them worthwhile and some working at cross purposes. The whole is less than the sum of the parts.

Emerging - The Superintendent and district leaders foster a culture of intellectual challenge as they study and build awareness of strategies in place in other districts and of results that are being achieved. Strategy is emerging as the Superintendent works to build a team and phase out efforts that are not showing results or that are in conflict with the emerging goals and strategy. As the district becomes more focused, conflict results and leaders are challenged to “stay the course.”

Systematic - The Superintendent articulates a strategy or big idea for improving teaching and learning throughout the district. This strategy is a good match for the context of the district because it matches the superintendent’s, board’s and community’s vision and goals andreflects an experienced-based theory of action about how change can happen in the district. The district’s strategy is highly focused, but also serves to connect the parts of the system and create coherence.

Sustainable - The Superintendent leads the process of reflecting on and adjusting the district’s core strategy to meet more challenging goals. These adjustments are made without losing momentum or dismantling core elements of the strategy.

Enter Evidence

Messaging and Communication

Beginning - The Superintendent has begun to reach out to understand how various constituencies experience the current performance of the district and to connect with their vision of a better future. The Superintendent and other leaders may be experimenting with messages as they work to find common ground and build shared vision with various constituencies. Consensus about shared values has not yet emerged or may be obscured by disagreements about both operational and philosophical issues.

Emerging - The Superintendent sends clear messages about not only what goals and strategies are, but about what they mean and why they matter. As a result, other district leaders also deliver a consistent message. The Superintendent and key district and community leaders have formed an alliance with a diverse set of community partners. Leaders from a variety of sectors are actively involved in formulating and in explaining the reform effort in language that connects with the values and experience of the constituencies they represent.

Systematic - The Superintendent models the skill of reframing questions and connecting answers with core values, theory of action, and goals for students. As a result, district and school leaders are able to connect both strategies and tactics with core values and commitments. The district has created a more inclusive and respectful culture and has in place multiple formal and informal strategies for tapping the insights, energy and expertise of everyone who has a stake in improving teaching, learning and schools.

Sustainable - An active network of community leaders works in partnership with the Superintendent, board and other district and school leaders to maintain the district’s focus on its vision, goals and core strategy. The meaning and rationale for both strategy and tactics is consistently described by all in terms of “what’s best for children.”

Enter Evidence

Tactics

Developing Tactics

Beginning - Leaders and others often see change through the dichotomy of centralization or decentralization and may embrace one or the other because of history or context. Roles, responsibilities, systems and structures reflect the lack of a core strategy, with elements of the system functioning as silos—independent of one another—as the norm. Resources are allocated on the basis of history or tradition and go to support a variety of efforts and programs. The Superintendent and other leaders spend much of their time in a reactive mode.

Emerging - Key leaders understand that some decisions should be left to schools and some made by the district, and that different schools need different kinds of support. Roles are becoming more aligned with the goals and a system for holding people accountable is in place. More leaders are willing and able to intervene when performance is not adequate. As roles shift, people are struggling with change and leaders balance needs for both pressure and support. Resources are being reallocated to support the specific people and activities to carry out the district’s strategy for improving instruction.

Systematic - Leaders throughout the district are clear about who is responsible for what and what being responsible entails. School and district efforts add up to a coherent whole. The district has in place a culture, policies and strategies that hold all accountable for spending time on, and making a contribution to, the improvement of teaching and learning. Those struggling to succeed in their roles are surrounded by a network of both pressure and support. Resources are consistently allocated in ways that reflect the focus on better results for students

Sustainable - A network of leaders at multiple levels of the system translate the district’s core strategy into work that deepens and extends it. The culture is one of high levels of both autonomy and accountability within a clearly-defined set of roles, responsibilities, systems and structures for implementing a core strategy that everyone understands. Resources are continually and smoothly re-allocated to support the highest leverage activities for meeting the district’s goals for improving teaching and learning.

Enter Evidence

Making Adjustments

Beginning - Leaders may not actively seek data or they may be overwhelmed with data but not have a clearly defined way of deciding what data matters. Mistakes are not routinely examined for important lessons. Since implementation tactics are often poorly defined, strategies may be abandoned prematurely instead of adjusted. Crises distract leaders or even boil over to derail improvement, or crises are resolved and urgency disappears.

Emerging - The Superintendent and other leaders have begun to actively seek out data and this effort has begun to uncover gaps in the data. In response, the Superintendent and other leaders model using “good enough” data to build a culture of continuous improvement at the same time they work to improve data systems and expand the data to include data about important adult issues. The Superintendent models treating mistakes as learning opportunities and managing crises in ways that foster and maintain a sense of urgency about improving teaching and learning.

Systematic - Leaders actively seek out and use data that matters because it extends beyond just data about students and gives them a useful ongoing picture of the effectiveness of their core strategy and tactics. Regular feedback loops are in place that include timelines and a process for making adjustments. The data analysis and decision-making process is clear to all. Leaders adjust tactics in ways that maintain or increase focus, intensity and coherence of the effort.

Sustainable - The culture of the district is one that seeks out and uses data for continuous improvement. The Superintendent and other key district leaders have begun to understand the limits of their core strategy and to make adjustments without losing momentum. The focus remains on getting better results for students.

Enter Evidence

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions regarding this survey.