Core Value: The Principal's Role as a Leader of Learning

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Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa

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In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Advanced Studies Certificate

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by
Matthew I. Jenkins
Thomas Jefferson High School
Cedar Rapids, IA
November 20th, 2016

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Dr. Sharon Ingebrand

The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 2

Introduction
A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his

life (Muhammad Ali Quotes, (n.d.). This is a quote from one of the greatest boxer ever,

Muhammad Ali. This quote speaks to the ability of a person that has not taken advantage of the

opportunities of learning. Alis words can echo to the many leaders that capitalized on their

willingness to unpack what is outdated or no longer relevant; and fill it with an innovative

freshness that will make a lasting effect. The ability to reflect is an essential attribute that a

leader of learning should be able to model. As a principal, it is imperative that he or she embody

the role of a leader of learning consistently and courageously.

Principals have many different leadership responsibilities that they are expected to

demonstrate to their school and community. One of the critical responsibilities that they have is

to lead by being the example of continuous learning in their building. When displaying the

actions that exemplify the role of a school leader of learning, a principal must be engaged with

the students, staff, the community, and all the various stakeholders that invest in education. There

are many challenges when assuming the role of a leader of learning. In the form of these

challenges come responsibility are a principal must be the source and maybe unfairly touted, as

the solution to learning barriers. To be an effective and impactful leader of learning, a principal

must be an instructional leader with the influential piece established in the development of

teachers advancing their learning, additionally the principal must positively frame control the

academic climate and culture in their building.

The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 3

Define the Role of Instructional Leadership

An effective leader of learning must be skilled in the area of instructional leadership. The

challenge is appraising what instructional leadership is and what it looks like. It does and could

mean many different things to different people. Effective instructional leaders are intensely

involved in curricular and instructional issues that directly affect student achievement (Cotton,

2003). Anything that directly affects student achievement, the principal must have the

discernment of what the potential needs their, students and teachers for continuous improved

learning.

According to Hallinger (2015), The principals role comprises three dimensions of

instructional leadership activity defining the school mission, managing the instructional program,

and promoting the school learning climate. Defining the school mission is the driving force

when creating the vision of what the academic philosophy that school will embody. Defining the

mission is something that is necessary and valuable when communicating with all stakeholders

to get behind it and feel as though they are a catalyst to be a direct result of student achievement.

Managing the instructional program or the curriculum in a principals building is a special

piece when focused on student achievement. Curriculum can become the academic road map to

postsecondary high school aspirations and opportunities, and it is definitely necessary for grade

level achievement. Being involved in curriculum decisions, innovative programs, and the

integration of 21st Century skills are opportunities that a principal can use to lead the

organizations mark on. Working in collaboration with the school staff can create a concentrated

culture of learning, that will promote challenging atmosphere for and to each other in the form of

accountability for maximum student achievement in the building.

The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 4

The principals ability to promote the schools learning climate is essential in receiving a

full investment from the community in which that school serves. The ability to promote develops

the academic pulse of the community. Stakeholders are always looking for ways to promote why

learning in a particular building is the best. If the student, staff, and community do not have the

academic milestones to consistently celebrate, it will make it difficult to have a full buy in by all

parties that are invested. The ability to clearly communicate the expectations and standards of the

school gives voice to the community so they are engaged. This ensures that the community are

involved with mirroring their support for the school.

Lastly, an instructional leader must be actively engaged with the professional growth of

their teachers and staff. To be an essential component of the staff growth, the principal must be

the leader in all evaluations, walkthroughs, resource findings, reflective learning and visible in

classrooms and professional learning communities (PLC). According to Whitaker (2014), There

are really two ways to improve a school significantly: Get better teachers or improve the teachers

you already have. This is a great reminder that instructional leaders can also be an influencer in

the classroom if they are actively engage with their teachers professional growth. Simply stated

improve the teaching staff that the school has and create the learning environment that promotes

student achievement. It sounds simple but it is very challenging process.

Disposition of Instructional Leadership

When identifying what characteristics and disposition of a leader of learning should

have, some can conclude that leaders must exhibit the ability to deal with doubt, foster

engagement with in their building, have the capacity to learn, and the ability to give vision to

academic structures. Dealing with the ambiguity of instructional leadership can be a task. The

school staff may have a hard time with change. Whitaker (2014) says, Rather than hunkering
The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 5

down when dramatic change is afoot, the very best leaders take a much more forward-thinking

approach. This optimistic outlook can be modeled by the principal, and if showing confidence,

the staff that are reluctant to change will follow the lead of that school leader.

The second characteristic of a leader of learning is fostering engagement with their

building. Transformational leadership represents this characteristic, as it speaks to the heart of

motivation. As a leader in a building, a charismatic approach is necessary when understanding

with your staff. When the staff are in need of direction and clear communication, it is the leader

of learning that has to have the unquestionable message that can move the faculty in the right

direction.

A principals capacity to learn researched based information and have a network of

resources that can assist in fostering a collaborative learning environment is crucial to the culture

of learning in a school. Supporting and developing teachers is a direct result of the ability of the

principal to learn valuable information to help with the changing technologies and delivery of

instruction in education with respect to students and staff. When a principal makes the

commitment to be a part of teachers professional growth and improvement of instructional

practices, this can quickly build an efficacy of leadership within the academic building.

The second directive can be difficult for a school building, especially when that change is

delivery of instruction. A principals ability to develop systems that fosters participative

collaboration can help with the dramatic change that a school building will evolve. Developing

systems that include equity of instruction and opportunity in a school building are difficult to

adopt if we have reluctant teacher buy in. To me content and process instruction has become a

continuous change in education. However, with transformational leadership skills, the

educational continuous improvement towards change can be possible.

The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 6

Student achievement is always in the forefront of education. A principals responsibility

is to ensure that the environment fosters student achievement and provide an unconditional safe

environment for achievement to happen for every student. To ensure student achievement one of

the most important decisions that a principal has to make is hiring a teacher. According to Eisner

(2002), how one teaches and what one teaches are inseparable. This quote from Eisner speaks

to the development of teachers and what opportunities that a principal can give to a teacher. How

and what a teacher teaches is a direct reflection of what student achievement will look like in that

school for every student.

Connections to Iowa Standards for School Leaders

The Iowa Standards for School Leadership (ISSL) is the blueprint in which principals are

provided the fundamental framework for successful school leadership. These standards are a

working document that stipulates the necessary skill set that principals are to reflect as they lead

in Iowa schools. These standards are applicable for almost any organization that models how to

be successful in a community.

The Iowa Standards for School Leadership, Standard 2 states, An educational leader

promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing and sustaining a school culture and

instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional development (School

Administrators of Iowa 2007). As a leader of learning Standard 2 reflects how important a

culture of learning is to a principal as well as to a school.

Taking on the role of a leader of learning, can be demonstrated in many methods from the

Iowa Standards for School Leadership. Each standard in its own right, embodies the practice of

learning in different facets of leadership. Every standard reflects an area, if done effectively, the
The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 7

students and all stakeholders invested in that school can harvest the benefits of this culture of

learning.

Contributions to Leadership

The first action that I have taken as an aspiring leader that demonstrates my functioning

as a leader of learning is taking a leap of faith entering in the UNI Principal Leadership Program.

I have always loved teaching and I find great joy and pleasure with this opportunity. Recently, I

have found that I have a gift and passion in leading people. The process of researching,

challenging myself, and learning new philosophies of education has lead me to sharpen my own

ideas and refining my own talents in education.

I have had many opportunities to exhibit behaviors of an effective leader of learning. The

first opportunity was becoming a member of Jefferson High Schools Building Leadership Team.

This was a great opportunity for me to step outside of my comfort zone and work collectively

with my colleagues on developing the next steps in improving and developing our instructional

practices in our building through the Instructional Practices Inventory (IPI). Through this work I

have been able to go into classrooms that I would never have a chance to go in and observe the

learning.

In addition to working in the Instructional Practices Inventory, I have also had the

challenge of changing the delivery of instruction of our special education curriculum. This is

something that I am also passionate about because we are able to look at the data from our

student progress monitoring and use it to create variety of researched based intervention

strategies. It is my goal, that this could be used district wide if we can show significant growth

with many if not all of our students.

The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 8

Another action that I have taken towards becoming a leader of learning is finding ways

for some of our at-risk students to receive additional help through an after school intervention.

During this intervention program, students can receive help from various teachers in different

subject areas from 3:00pm 4:00pm. In the past we have had 30 to 40 students that showed up

for additional learning and subject specific mini skill enhancement.

Through the Jefferson Building Leadership Team, I have been able to assist our building

principal. In this leadership opportunity, I have been able to present to our staff on the

instructional practices that we want to improve on. This opportunity has also let me be a part of

identifying some of our students of color and different minority groups in our school to receive

additional help with college readiness skills. By identifying these students, we connect them to

opportunities within our school district and in our community, to help with preparing them for

post-secondary achievement.

Finally, I am also a part of our principals New York Leadership Academy Team. With

this team I am able to help set goals on what would be best for our school looking forward. This

team also presents to our building leadership team on the different ways we can maximize our

time specific to assisting our instructional practices. The Cedar Rapids Community School

District has begun using this New York Leadership Academy to move forward for student

development in almost every building.

As I move forward in my passions in education, I will have a continued effort to maintain

the work that I do through Professional Learning Communities, Building Leadership Team, and

the New York Leadership Academy. I believe this will not only expose me to new challenges but

also continuously, enhance my learning, so I can use best practices in the future as an aspiring

leader of a school. It is significant that I continue to learn so I will be able to be an impactful and
The Principals Role as a Leader of Learning 9

effective school leader. It is my goal to be an effective building principal that focuses on

continuous learning for student and staff.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that the most essential role for a school leader is being the leader

of learning. Principals have many different responsibilities, however, a leader in instructional

practices and learning can allow stakeholders to get behind the vision and goal of that school. In

many countries around the world people would do anything to learn or receive an education. As

an aspiring leader I will make learning a priority and protect instructional time. Principals have

responsibilities that may take precedence over other task but it will be my goal to never let my

learning stop. Mahatma Gandhi once said, Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you

were to live forever (Mahatma Gandhi Quotes, (n.d.). I believe this quote speaks to the leader

inside me that I understand the importance of being a leader of learning and how it is a

continuous cycle.
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Works Cited

Cotton, K. (n.d.). ERIC - The Schooling Practices That Matter Most., 2000. Retrieved November

11, 2016, from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED469234

Eisner, Elliot W. The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School

Programs. Third ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. Print.

Hallinger, P. (2015). Developing the PIMRS Instrument. Assessing Instructional Leadership with

the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale, 47-61. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-

15533-3_3

Muhammad Ali Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2016, from

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhammad_ali.html

Mahatma Gandhi Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2016, from

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhatma_gandhi.html

School Administrators of Iowa. (2007). Iowas school leadership standards and

criteria. Retrieved from http://www.sai-iowa.org/iowa-standards.cfm.

Whitaker, T. (2012). What great principals do differently: Eighteen things that matter

most (2nd ed). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis