Name of Project: Leadership Development
Name of Initiative: Initiative One: Comprehensive Services to Schools
Team members:
Sharon Kurns
Cheryl Risen
Rob Brookhart
Roger Scott
Dick Sundblad
Mary Petersen
Dave Stickrod
Give the gist of what your project is about including the long term goal.
The Leadership Development project is intended to improve professional learning opportunities for Heartland leaders. There are two major strands to the professional learning that will be available. One is for LEA administrators and another is for internal Heartland leaders. Eventually the program will provide learning opportunities for aspiring leaders, new leaders and veteran leaders.
What are the things that your team has been working on?
The team has been working on creating a cohesive program for LEA administrators. The Agency made great strides over the past few years to develop a cadre of individuals who are qualified to deliver McCREL’s Balanced Leadership Program which is based on the research of Dr. Bob Marzano in his book Leadership that Works. This program serves as the basis for leaders to begin their learning with a focus on instructional leadership. The team supported a second year of learning for leaders who participated in Balanced Leadership through work with Dr. Bob Marzano and Dr. David Livingston. They will begin the planning for year three of the learning experience over the next few months.
Other learning for LEA administrators supported by the team is through on-site coaching provided by partnership directors, Roger Scott and Dick Sundblad. Additionally, the team will be supporting a pilot of a Superintendent Network based on the medical rounds model developed by Richard Elmore. The team has also been working on development of a Leadership Academy for Heartland leaders. This will begin with leaders having an opportunity to receive feedback on their leadership through a 360 Degree Survey. This survey is based on the Iowa Standards for School Leaders and will be used by leaders to determine their professional learning needs.
The Leadership Academy will meet for the first time on December 15. This will be an opportunity to dig deeper into Fierce Conversations. There will be two additional large group learning sessions this year. Participants of the Academy will also form smaller learning communities to study areas of specific need with a small group their colleagues.
What has your team accomplished?
We are developing as a team. The group was newly formed at the onset of this school year. We plan to utilize the background and expertise of each of the team members to learn from one another. So far, the team has accomplished a smooth delivery of three learning sessions attended by over 275 members of administrative teams from across Heartland. We have developed a system of on-site support for superintendents and their administrative teams. We are also very excited about the Leadership Academy for Heartland leaders. It is just kicking off this week as leaders learn about the 360 Survey and begin to gather data for their own learning. We are engaged in planning and developing high quality learning opportunities for all leaders in our agency.
Why are these important to the Agency’s goal of increasing student achievement?
A quote from Dennis Sparks, Executive Director of the National Staff Development Council, highlights the importance of learning for leaders... “I believe that it is essential that senior leaders first make deep changes in themselves before they expect changes in others.”
We know that significant changes are necessary to provide the schools and the instruction that will be needed for our students to compete and thrive in our global society. Strong school leaders, both LEA and AEA, are the key to this change and ongoing student achievement.
What can the staff expect in the future?
The Leadership Development team at Heartland is building on the strong foundation built through previous efforts. We will continue to work toward having a comprehensive and cohesive set of learning offerings for all leaders.
