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Project Abstract
This study investigates the implementation and effects of
a school-level leadership model which was intended to institutionalize
quality principal-teacher interactions into the culture of a high
school. This leadership model was operationalized by incorporating four
new principal-teacher interactions. Over a two year period, the
principals (one head principal and three assistant principals) at this
high school introduced individual conferencing (one hour
principal-teacher meetings in the summer), snapshots (frequent short
visits to teacher classrooms), data reviews (regular analysis of student
grade distribution and discipline reports), and teacher self assessments
(a rubric-based document used to aid teachers in self reflection on
their performance as a teacher). The purpose of this study is to
document the implementation of this set of principal-teacher
interactions as well as analyze changes in teacher performance (operationalized
as teacher instructional practices) and student performance
operationalized as classroom grade performance, and discipline related
behavior.
Dixie
Heights High School is nestled in the Edgewood community. It is between
two very urban areas with high poverty and a number of popular private
schools. Dixie Heights has the reputation for having high academic
expectations, although, the school could be considered average in ACT
and slightly higher than average in state testing. The culture is
student centered, giving each student a Dixie hoodie to begin the school
year free of charge. A multitude of interventions are offered for
struggling students ranging from after school tutoring to school with in
a school credit recovery to a school funded night school. The district
has an open-enrollment and tuition policy that allows students to come
from another district or move within the district. Given that choice,
Dixie Heights has 160 plus open enrollment and over 65 tuition students.
The district has a very
strong teacher union and the district works closely with the union.
Teacher evaluation is required by state law every 3rd year of
the teacher’s tenure and every year for non-tenured (teachers with less
than four years). Two formative assessments are required with a
summative at the end of the observations. A pre-observation is done
before the observations begin and post-observations are done after the
observations. Although the evaluation process has limited
effectiveness, it does allow for conversations to take place between
administrators and teachers.
Dixie Heights High School
was on block scheduling for 8 years. When we started a School of Study
(small learning communities) program, the vision team of twelve teachers
chose to go to trimesters to offer more classes to the students. The
schools of study are Visual and Performing Arts, Science Technology
Engineering and Math, Business Information Technology. Although all are
popular, surprisingly, the least attended is the BIT School of study.
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 --Click Here
to down load full proposal in its most recent draft.
 --Click
Here to download ASCD PowerPoint presentation held in Orlando Florida
March 14, 2009
 --Click
Here to download KPA PowerPoint presentation held in Louisville KY June 15, 2009
Research Questions
How will the changes in teachers’ instructional
practices, initiated by the set of principal-teacher interactions,
effect specific aspects of the school culture?
How will the set of principal-teacher interactions effect
teachers’ instructional practices?
How will the changes in teachers’ instructional
practices, initiated by the set of principal-teacher interactions,
effect student performance?
Needs Statement
Speaking about school culture in their book School Leadership:
Handbook for Excellence in Student Learning, Smith and Piele (2006)
noted that “culture is stable and difficult to change because it
represents the accumulated learning of a group—the ways of thinking,
feeling, and perceiving the world that have made the group successful”
(p. 186). There are many programs and organizations that offer ways to
improve school culture (e.g. International Center for Leadership in
Education, 2008); The Center for Improving School Culture, 2004), but
there is little conclusive evidence that any of these programs have a
direct effect on the culture of a school. Of these programs, most are
expensive and require funding for extra personnel and resources which
are difficult to reallocate within a school.
Related Sites
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