Program Standard 4: Practical Examples

The following examples illustrate the development, design and implementation of professional learning in a Clear Administrative Services Credential program.

Moving from Middle School Teacher to Elementary Principal

In the scenario, a former middle school teacher becomes a new principal at an elementary school struggling with reading scores. He is in a CASC program and working with his coach and district supervisor to identify professional learning goals that will help him be successful in his job and with his induction program project.
Notice:

• The expectations the district has for Mr. Mann and Calvin Elementary
• The types of data collected and the methods used to gather input
• Mr. Mann's professional learning needs based on the possible staff needs for professional learning at Calvin Elementary

Mr. Mann is a new principal at Calvin Elementary School in a district with a high percentage of low socio-economic students. District assessments indicate students at Calvin have been scoring between 26%-30% on district end-of-year assessments for the past six years. When he met with the assistant superintendent and coach to review the district expectations and priorities, Mr. Mann learned that four years ago the district had implemented the Reading A initiative to improve reading and writing. He also learned that all but two of the seven elementary schools, Calvin and Holmes, had made incremental improvements over the past three years and students at the other sites were consistently scoring between 65-79% on the end-of-year assessments. Later that week Mr. Mann and his coach reviewed the district's initiative and decided to collect more data. They found that Calvin had been allocated the same resources and provided the same training as the other schools to implement the Reading A program. Mr. Mann and his coach made a plan to gather the following information over the next few weeks:

• Mr. Mann interviewed his leadership team to learn more about the Reading A initiative.
• Mr. Mann and his coach planned to visit classrooms during reading to observe instruction and student learning.

After interviewing the leadership team, Mr. Mann reviewed his findings:

• His middle school science background left him unfamiliar with basic reading instruction and he did not understand the overall Reading A program for reading and writing instruction.
• Over half of his teachers were new to the school since the reading initiative had been introduced and those teachers had not been trained in the Reading A program. He also learned that grant funding for the training was no longer available.
• The overwhelming majority of the leadership team at Calvin felt Reading A was too difficult or the students had so many other challenges at home that following the program was simply not as important as having the kids feel successful, so they provided students with easier reading and writing activities that were not part of the program.

Reflection Questions:

• Based on the data gathered, what types of professional learning might Mr. Mann consider for himself and for his staff to improve reading at Calvin?
• What knowledge, skills, or attitudes might Mr. Mann need to develop to be able to lead the next steps?
• How might Mr. Mann's coach use the QPLS with the CPSEL to help him draft an IIP that meets his CASC and district goals?
• What equity issues might need attention in future? What professional learning might be needed by Mr. Mann and/or the staff to address these issues?

A Model of Leadership Induction for California: A Candidate's Perspective of the University Leadership Support Program

The following two-part scenario details a typical candidate's two-year induction experience in a comprehensive, university-based induction program that has integrated the four components of CASC professional learning. In Year One, the candidate is introduced to the induction program process and people involved, and determines her professional learning priorities.

Notice:

• The interactions and coordination of people involved with the candidate to develop her induction program components
• The variety of professional learning experiences and opportunities for the candidate, including large group, small group and individual
• The relationships among the four professional learning components: coaching, professional development, assessment and the IIP.

Part One
Year One: Induction Launch

Within the first four months of her hiring as an assistant principal, the CASC Induction candidate, Ms. Lee, has been admitted to Leadership Support Program, the University's two-year induction program. In the early fall, she is required to attend a day-long retreat with all of the other first year candidates. Led by Mr. Jones, the Program Coordinator, the retreat provides an overview of the year, opportunities for relationship building, an introduction to the monthly meeting protocols, and the launch of the initial assessment. Guided by the CPSEL, Ms. Lee's initial assessment focuses on Standards 1-3, as they are the foundational leadership aspects, and includes a self-assessment, as well as other inputs such as her preliminary program portfolio (completed in her preliminary preparation program) and employer goals. Ms. Lee leaves the retreat with homework including the completion of the initial assessment and identification of 5-6 learning goals for the first year. From the retreat, Ms. Lee knows that half of her learning goals will be supported by her leadership coach, while the remaining goals will be supported through the program's professional learning options or Ms. Lee's employer.

Less than a month after the retreat, Ms. Lee is introduced to her leadership coach by the Program Coordinator, Mr. Jones. Ms. Lee and her coach were matched based on various criteria, such as, district, school level, specialization, school type, gender, and race. Ms. Lee and her induction program coach, Mr. Diaz, make an appointment for an initial meeting to take place at her school site.

Mr. Diaz arrives for their initial coaching meeting the next week. Ms. Lee invites him into her office and they review the agenda Mr. Diaz has drafted and begin by spending some time getting to know each other. Ms. Lee takes Mr. Diaz on a tour of the campus, describing some of her early observations and challenges. Later, Ms. Lee shares her self-assessment results that she started working on at the retreat. They identify the 2-3 goals set in her IIP that will be supported by her coach. Mr. Diaz asks probing questions about her goals and what support she needs, using the CPSEL as one point of reference. They agree that Ms. Lee will take responsibility to schedule a three-way meeting where Mr. Diaz can introduce the induction credential program and its expectations to Ms. Lee's supervisor and the supervisor will have the opportunity to provide input to the IIP. Within a few days, Ms. Lee receives a follow up email from Mr. Diaz summarizing their meeting, agreed upon next steps, as well as his availability for the three-way meeting.

About one month after the retreat, Ms. Lee attends her first required monthly meeting. Her facilitator, Ms. Ali, is a veteran school administrator in a neighboring district. Ms. Lee's group is composed of 8-10 other first year administrators who also attended the opening retreat where they initially met Ms. Ali. At the beginning of the first meeting, Ms. Ali describes her excitement about working together for the next two years and explains that these professional learning sessions will be a supportive environment throughout the program. She further describes that each meeting will be divided into several parts: supporting problems of practice, providing content as well as applications, and making other program connections. At the beginning of the problems of practice section of the agenda, Ms. Lee is assigned to a trio with two other participants and they are asked to use the storytelling protocol introduced at the retreat. The trio reviews the protocol: Each person is given 5 minutes to describe a specific leadership dilemma, then the two partners have a chance to ask questions, make observations, and identifying implications for leadership.

Sustained Learning and Support

Ms. Lee continues to attend monthly meetings and engages in multiple coaching sessions at her site (approximately 3 hours per month). She completes short reading assignments about supervision and evaluation for her monthly meetings, engages in several email conversation chains with her coach between sessions and also phones a fellow participant to learn more about how his school's special education integration model works.

At the November monthly meeting, Ms. Ali reminds everyone that there will be no monthly meeting in December. Instead, participants have the opportunity to select other professional learning options. Ms Ali describes the options, which were first introduced at the retreat, to the candidates. Candidates may choose to participate in workshops, complete Personalized Learning Modules, or conduct a focused school visit. Ms. Lee decides to consult with her coach, Mr. Diaz, about her options. One workshop offering is focused on the legal procedures for an expulsion hearing. Ms. Lee thinks that she could benefit from this workshop, because she is in charge of student discipline at her school, however, it is not a focus of her IIP goals. She is also interested in visiting a fellow participant from the program because his school has an integrated special education model and Ms. Lee is responsible for supervising her school's special education department. Finally, the Personalized Learning Module about the Equity Framework also seems important and could be completed on her own schedule. Mr. Diaz encourages Ms. Lee to use the goals that she set in her IIP as a guide, to look at the related CPSEL, but to also to take her context into consideration. She decides to attend both the legal procedures for expulsion workshop and complete the Personalized Learning Module on the Equity Framework.

Intersections of Professional Learning and Formative Assessment

The workshop on legal procedures for expulsion hearings is held in the evening at a local middle school and facilitated by an attorney who specializes in education law. Ms. Lee is happy to see a few people from her monthly group as well as others she met at the retreat. The two-hour workshop centers on a case study. The participants use the case study to surface questions about the legal proceedings. They have time for small group and large group discussions and questions. After the workshop, Ms. Lee submits a reflective paper to her portfolio about what she learned, both in terms of content and leadership development, to Mr. Jones and Ms. Ali.

To begin her work on the Personalized Learning Module about the Equity Framework, Ms. Lee goes to the program's website where she views a two minute video introduction (made by Mr. Jones) as well as resources and suggested activities. Based on the overview, she creates a plan for how she wants to complete the Module. As part of the Module, Ms. Lee shares some of her learning reflections with Mr. Diaz in her coaching session. Next, she writes a paper documenting the process by which she completed the Personalized Learning Module, ideas that surfaced from her conversation with Mr. Diaz, and next steps and implications for her leadership practice. Finally, Ms. Lee uploads the paper to her online portfolio for review by Mr. Jones and Ms. Ali.

Continued Learning and Support in the Spring

After the more individualized professional learning options in December, the monthly meetings continue to focus on problems of practice as well as supervision and evaluation of staff. Ms. Lee decides to leverage this topic by focusing on how to support a struggling teacher she is assigned to evaluate. Ms. Lee has a chance to analyze and compare selected evaluation instruments, practice having hard conversations, and rate staff performance according to the district rubric. In the spring, she writes a paper on how she has grown in her leadership stances related to supervision and evaluation of employees and submits it via her portfolio for review by Mr. Jones and Ms. Ali.

Through their ongoing coaching sessions, Mr. Diaz supports Ms. Lee by discussing leadership dilemmas, helping her plan professional development, co-observing a set of teachers that Ms. Lee is assigned to evaluate, and observing Ms. Lee's presentation at a parent and community meeting for the purposes of providing feedback about her professional presence, one of her IIP goals. Together, they regularly revisit the three goals Ms. Lee set in her IIP, checking them against the related CPSEL, and identifying areas of growth. One goal was adjusted after the first semester due to a change in the district's student discipline policy. With their coaching conversations, they have developed a trusting, confidential relationship over time.

In the spring, Ms. Lee also has a second opportunity to choose a workshop, Personalized Learning Module, or another professional learning offering. Again, several options look appealing. She reviews her IIP and decides to complete the school visit to her fellow candidate's school to learn more about his integrated special education program, an activity she was unable to schedule during the fall. As the administrator in charge of the Special Education department, she is leading a team that is in the process of creating a vision for an integrated program at her school. Ms. Lee decides to support her work responsibilities by identifying this topic as the focus for her instructional change project, a central activity in the second year of the induction program.

Benchmark Assessment

The end of the first year, the halfway mark of the induction program, includes a series of summary activities culminating in the Benchmark Assessment. From the retreat, Ms. Lee understands that the Benchmark Assessment is an important checkpoint in her induction program. Ms. Lee exchanges impressions about her progress on her IIP goals with her coach. By compiling and analyzing all of their meeting notes and monthly summaries, Mr. Diaz presents Ms. Lee with a report that includes a description of their coaching work as well as the evidence he has collected from his field notes about her progress on three of the CPSEL-aligned goals from her IIP. Ms. Lee submits this document to her portfolio for the Benchmark Assessment. At the last monthly meeting of the school year, Ms. Lee prepares a reflection document about her leadership development which she shares with her trio. This document is also submitted to her online portfolio for the Benchmark Assessment.

During the summer, Mr. Jones reviews the various components of Ms. Lee's Benchmark Assessment: coach report, reflection documents, as well as professional learning assignments. He determines that she has made sufficient progress to continue into the second year of the induction program without stipulations or additional recommended activities.

Reflection Questions:

• How is Ms. Lee's IIP affected by her actual practice?
• What are all of the ways Ms. Lee receives feedback and assessment of her progress and skills? Which could have the greatest impact on her future performance?
• What experiences in Year 1 will help inform Ms Lee's Year 2 activities?

Part Two

The second year of the induction program is structured much like the first year in terms of activities and program expectations.
Notice:

• What has changed from Year 1 to Year 2
• The interactions and coordination of people involved with the candidate during year two
• The variety of professional learning experiences and opportunities for the candidate, including large group, small group and individual
• The relationships among the four professional learning components: coaching, professional development, assessment and the IIP.

Year Two Launch

In August, Ms. Lee attends the Year Two day-long retreat. She is excited to re-connect with the participants in her monthly group as well as others in the larger group. Led by Mr. Jones, the Coordinator, the retreat provides an overview of the second year, opportunities for relationship building, an introduction to a new monthly meeting protocol, and the continuance of the IIP. Again, guided by the CPSEL, Ms. Lee's IIP now focuses on Standards 4-6, including a self-assessment, as well as other inputs such as feedback on her Benchmark Assessment, her performance evaluation from her supervisor at work, and employer goals. Ms. Lee leaves the retreat with homework that includes completing the self-assessment and identifying 5-6 learning goals for the second year. As in Year One, half of her learning goals are to be supported by her leadership coach, while the remaining goals will be supported through the program's professional learning options or Ms. Lee's employer.

Mr. Diaz continues as Ms. Lee's leadership coach. Building upon the trusting relationship established in Year One, they jump in to identifying the goals in the IIP that will be supported by coaching for Year Two. Ms. Lee wants Mr. Diaz to support her instructional change project- collaboratively creating a vision for an integrated special education model. Mr. Diaz will support Ms. Lee by helping her to identify the organization and systems that may be affected by the new model as well as predicting how other curriculum and instruction decisions may be impacted. Through this process, she is better able to analyze both the challenges and possible solutions for making the change. They agree that Ms. Lee will coordinate the three-way meeting between herself, Mr. Diaz, and her supervisor so that Mr. Diaz has the opportunity to review the program requirements and her supervisor can give input into the CPSEL-aligned goals in her the second year IIP.

About one month after the retreat, Ms. Lee attends her first required monthly meeting of the second year. Ms. Ali is excited about building upon the work of the first year, specifically shifting from trios to whole group work. Ms. Lee volunteers to be the first person to offer a problem of practice for the new consultancy protocol. She learned a lot from preparing to present her problem with Ms. Ali, and especially benefitted from hearing the questions and suggestions of the other participants in her group.

Sustained Learning and Support in Year Two

Similar to Year One, Ms. Lee continues to attend monthly meetings and engages in coaching sessions at her site (approximately 3 hours per month). She has two more opportunities to engage in workshops, Professional Learning Modules, or other professional learning like the site visit she chose last year. Ms. Ali, Mr. Diaz, and Mr. Jones all continue supporting Ms. Lee throughout the year. She continues to use her online portfolio to collect her reflection papers, CPSEL progress analyses, and other artifacts that provide supporting evidence of her leadership development.

In Year Two, Ms. Lee is invited to participate in a district wide leadership institute for aspiring principals. Through that program, she attends workshops from various experts as well as district office leaders. She is able to leverage her participation in this institute by documenting her professional learning in her induction program portfolio.

Ms. Lee begins to realize that some of the peers in her monthly meeting group will be professional colleagues beyond the induction program. She networks more strategically. For example, Ms. Lee consults with her peers for recommended Personalized Learning Modules. A small group of peers begin to meet together for dinner before their meeting. She more frequently contacts individual peers for resources or other contacts for both the program and in her work.

Summative portfolio assessment

The end of the second year includes a series of summary activities culminating in the Summative Assessment. From the retreat, Ms. Lee understands that the recommendation for the ASC Clear Credential is based on the Summative Assessment. In preparation, Ms. Lee exchanges impressions about the progress she has made on her IIP goals with her coach. By compiling and analyzing all of their meeting notes and monthly summaries, Mr. Diaz presents Ms. Lee with a report that includes a description of their coaching work as well as the evidence he has collected from his field notes about her progress on three of the goals from her IIP. Ms. Lee prepares and presents her final portfolio to Mr. Jones, Mr. Diaz, and a group of her peers. Her 15-minute presentation highlights her most significant leadership growth for each element of the CPSEL during the last two years. The audience provides feedback about Ms. Lee's growth and readiness to lead in the future.

During the summer, Mr. Jones reviews the various components of Ms. Lee's Summative Assessment: coach report, portfolio, as well as professional learning assignments. This evidence informs his recommendation for the Professional Clear Administrative Services Credential.

Reflection Questions:

• How do year two activities strengthen and grow Ms. Lee's leadership abilities?
• What are all of the ways Ms. Lee receives feedback and assessment of her progress and skills? Which could have the greatest impact on her future performance?
• What processes and experiences in the induction program would be good models for use with staff in Ms. Lee's current position?
• Which types of professional learning opportunities are/could be available to your district induction candidates?

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