Essential Element
Build your educators capacity to lead and improve instruction and learning for teachers and students with Instructional Leadership support.
Many leaders find themselves isolated in their roles and without a clear plan for continued professional development or collaboration with peers. Intentionally focusing on instructional leadership as part of a professional learning program encourages leaders to approach their work with a focus on teacher support and coaching, systems thinking and design, and student-centered outcomes. When leaders are given the opportunity to develop their craft, they’re able to make an even bigger impact on helping all students succeed.
The work leaders do to support teachers is critical to the success of students. Whether you’re starting a new initiative or looking to scale best practices across your district, building a PD plan from these focus areas is the first step to approaching your work with a focus on student-centered outcomes.
Lead the improvement of teaching, learning, and overall school climate to support student achievement.
Support instructional coaches to grow in their practice in order to provide teachers with personalized coaching cycles.
Develop a collaborative professional culture that supports student-centered teaching and learning.
Create an observation and feedback cycle that focuses on student-centered goals.
Equip new leaders to meet the specific demands that come with the first three years of serving as a building principal.
Sustained changes don’t happen after one-off PD days. Begin a year-long professional learning program that’s designed to provide school leaders with the skills they need to positively impact academic success for their students, the cultural climate of their schools, and the professional development and retention of their teachers. Each plan is personalized to align to your district’s strategic plan and goals to deliver meaningful outcomes. These plans are built from distinct phases to provide learning opportunities throughout the school year.
All professional learning should lead to specific and impactful shifts in practice for leaders, teachers, and students. Every learning experience is tied to an outcome that can be observed and measured with data to support sustained changes. Leaders choose one or more outcomes to work towards throughout the school year as they work with an Executive Coach, collaborate at interactive Workshops, and take self-directed BL Connect courses.
All learning experiences for leaders are designed to create meaningful outcomes for leaders, teachers, and students. Whether it’s a Coaching session, Virtual Workshop, or online strategy, our team of Learning Designers create experiences for leaders that are guided by these core principles:
Leaders need the opportunity to contemplate real-world scenarios that match their specific context in order to build actionable plans for continuous improvement.
All learning experiences should encourage student-centered leading, teaching, and learning to support the success of all students.
Leaders deserve to have the chance to collaborate with peers through online Leadership Coaching, discussion spaces, and interactive Workshops to talk through challenges and brainstorm solutions.
Alignment with the research and frameworks of experts in the field of instructional leadership is key for creating meaningful development experiences that lead to real change.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is one of the 20 largest districts in the country, serving over 148,000 students with a staff of 9,400 teachers. Beginning in 2019, BetterLesson began supporting CMS teachers in implementing the OUR K-8 Math Curriculum. This was a major shift that had the potential to improve middle-school math outcomes for students, but the initiative lacked clear leadership and the support structures needed for success.
CMS leaders worked with BetterLesson to create a year-long PD plan built from the Instructional Leadership focus areas Collaborative Professional Learning and Instructional Coaching. By focusing on providing support to the leaders who would be guiding the curriculum implementation, district leaders and instructional coaches had the opportunity to grow the skills that would allow them to take on more direct support of teachers.
Start building a PD plan that gives school and district leaders the tools they need to impact teacher and student outcomes.
All of our learning experiences are aligned with the findings of experts in instructional leadership in order to connect research to actionable steps for building and district leaders. Some of the key frameworks or philosophies that we align our learning experiences with include:
When principals are better equipped to lead, support, and maintain high levels of teaching and learning, outcomes for students are improved. Join BetterLesson and expert leaders at a webinar as they explore different ways to support both new and experienced principals.
How can leaders overcome the most common challenges to implementing PLCs, from finding the time to gather to identifying the most pressing concern from a neverending list of to-dos? By setting clear goals, supporting the PLC’s work, and making room to grow together, you will set your teachers on the path to success.
BetterLesson and the Rural School Leadership Academy (RSLA) are working together to help prepare rural teacher leaders and administrators. Learn how they’re supporting leaders who often find themselves in an isolated position.
Accelerate growth in your schools and stay ahead of the curve.
