In the summer of 2007 the four principals of Dixie Heights High School began consulting with district personnel to investigate possible treatments to improve instruction. They initiated conversations with the school’s staff and brainstormed ideas for improving school instruction. In the fall of 2007, two principal-teacher interactions, data review of classroom grade distributions and frequent, short classroom visits by the principals, were piloted in the school (the next chapter provides more details of these principal-teacher interactions).

Personnel from the academic support department of Kenton County School District’s central office assessed the execution, effect, and teacher perception of these two principal-teacher interactions. Based on experiences from the pilot year, input from the Kenton County School District’s central office and Dixie Heights High School teachers, and a substantial review of the literature (as described in chapter two), a set of four principal-teacher interactions were crafted in detail for 2008-2009 implementation. The principals would: (a) hold individual one hour summer meetings with each teacher to establish expectations, discuss the teacher’s individual strengths and weakness, and establish the teacher’s individual growth plan for the coming year; (b) conduct snapshots (short classroom visits) on a frequent basis during the school year during which principals would become part of the educational process and have frequent discussions with the teachers about their instructional practices; (c) provide and collaborate with teachers on data reviews in the form of their classes’ grade distributions and discipline reports at the end of each trimester (once every 12 weeks); and (d) require teachers to complete self-assessments of their instructional practices in the classroom utilizing a rubric based document known as the quality instruction rubric (QIR).