Q&A with Alex Magiera, Senior Director of Innovation While focusing on addressing immediate needs, it can also be hard to think about how education might and should evolve further into the future. How can we prepare students for a future that feels almost beyond comprehension? And how can we help educators navigate and contribute to … Continued
Maintaining Focus Amid Change Effective leaders in all sectors know their decisions carry power, but the stakes feel even higher in education. The future of the next generation hinges on the instructional moves system leaders bet on, yet leadership development often overlooks a critical element: the psychological journey of managing change. How can leaders support … Continued
Understanding the Return on Your Investments While professional learning is one of the most promising levers for strengthening teaching quality and consistency across classrooms, many educators are unsatisfied with their professional development options—if they have any at all. But is satisfaction even the right end goal? Realizing that resources are tightening, including potential shifts to … Continued
Take Five is a quick-hit series highlighting the people behind Leading Educators’ mission, shining a light on the experiences they bring to our partnerships with school systems. Learn how Leading Educators can help you go further faster. Meet Mark Healy Education leadership—whether at the school or system level—is complex, human work. It’s also everchanging. This is a … Continued
Taking a birds-eye view of strategic trade-offs When you’re responsible for the full scope of children’s education, it’s impossible to be an expert in every aspect of what they require. Striking that balance—crafting an inspiring, directional, and actionable vision—can be incredibly difficult. Effective leaders across all sectors understand that their decisions carry power. And how … Continued
Getting Beneath the Surface to Enable More Coherent and Sustainable Instructional Work Leading a school district or network through a complex change process isn’t easy, but it’s often necessary for enabling future system success. Dr. Mark Healy says: Leaders should consider where they are putting their time and focus. Are the decisions and implementation building … Continued
Today’s principals face increasing demands Over time, their job has expanded to include a growing list of administrative duties—budget management, compliance, staffing—that can overshadow their original purpose: to be the principal educator within their school. For school system leaders, setting up principals to balance operational and instructional leadership is critical to transforming school outcomes. So, … Continued
School districts nationwide invest 3-5 percent of their budgets each year in developing their educators. Yet, professional development programs often fail to improve teachers’ instructional practice or student achievement (Kraft et al., 2018). In the 2016-17 school year, U.S. spending on public elementary and secondary schools totaled $739 billion, or $14,439 per public school student … Continued
Disrupting the One-And-Done Teacher Professional Development Approach Much as been written about the flaws of traditional, one-size-fits-all professional teacher development. Every year, $18 billion is spent nationally on professional development programs that fail to substantially impact teacher performance or student outcomes. Thankfully, field knowledge about better alternatives is building. Effective, ongoing professional learning for educators … Continued
How Coherence Can Maximize the Return on Your Instructional Investments What comes to mind when you hear the word “resources” in the school context? Perhaps facilities or basic supplies like pens, notebooks, and iPads? There’s actually more to consider that has a direct effect on learning. In our work to distill the conditions that support … Continued
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