B6.13 - Approve the Agreement for Technical Services 20160-ATS-IV with New Leaders, Inc. (New Leaders) (Chief of Schools, Administration and Leadership Development)
Over the program year, New Leaders will monitor and track changes in participant leadership development that will lead to stronger student achievement outcomes over time. Table 2 outlines end-of-year program outcomes.
Table 1. Participant Outcomes at the End of the Program Year
Regional Superintendents and Chiefs will be able to:
● Create a culture of collective efficacy across the system that drives equitable and excellent student achievement
● Create, implement, and monitor systems and structures that support capacity-building in principal development and provide evidence to assess performance of principals in driving school-wide improvement and student achievement, through:
o Collaborative Planning
o Observation & Feedback
o Professional Learning
● Continuously reflect on personal leadership, instructional leadership practices, and system-wide data to identify highest-leverage priorities, monitor and adjust strategy so that principals receive what they need to reach their full potential, and manage the change process
● Use various data points to drive staffing, resource, and master scheduling decisions
Program Components
The following program components provide an overview of the content and delivery for all participants. The components describe job-embedded services to be delivered either on-site and/or virtually.
Program Launch (up to two days). Our two-day program launch will provide participants with a deep dive into the essential elements of breakthrough leadership practices that have been shown to dramatically improve student learning outcomes. Using the Transformational Leadership Framework (TLF), participants will redefine the work of senior leaders and identify how efficacy and personal leadership—including race, bias, and equity-focused practices—impact school and system cultures.
Participants will engage in a four-part action-planning process that will drive their year-long work: 1) diagnose; 2) prioritize; 3) set goals, strategy, and action plan; and 4) manage, evaluate, and adjust the plan. By engaging in this work, ideally over the summer, we prepare senior leaders with a new mental model for what success looks like in their roles across Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS).
Community of Practice (up to seven one-day sessions). Up to seven, day-long community of practice sessions will enable participants to learn, practice, and demonstrate proficiency in critical leadership skills that will prepare them to be effective leaders of schools and systems. Using the TFL as a guide, participants will develop systems-thinking, strengthen decision-making processes, and build new systems and structures to drive impact. Sessions will focus on goal setting and action-planning; college and career readiness standards; and coaching to improve principal practice.
HCPS is deeply committed to ensuring all students have access to high-quality schools. The task of developing and retaining leaders at all levels who are well-positioned to achieve the district’s vision is a key focus for the superintendent and his cabinet. In order, “to provide an education and the supports that enable each student to excel as a successful and responsible citizen,” leadership development must remain a key priority.
Over the past few months, HCPS has experienced significant leadership changes at multiple levels across the district. Most notably, nine of eleven regional superintendents are new to the task of directly managing principals. Additionally, all leaders are being asked to think differently about their role and impact on students given the ever-changing global pandemic. The opportunity to increase senior leaders’ capacity to support principals and improve student achievement has never been greater.
Several important themes emerged during our partnership conversations. First, HCPS intends to strengthen the leadership capacity of regional superintendents and chiefs by developing and supporting these senior leaders to lead at the system level. The evolution from “leader of school” to “leader of system” is paramount to achieving success.
Second, the ideal professional development will be in alignment with HCPS' overall vision and strategic plan. Leaders will learn the skills needed to put the plan into practice, measure progress and course correct when needed. Additionally, participants will develop the full array of leadership competencies and systems-thinking skills that fuel safe, collaborative learning cultures for adults and students.
Lastly, all participants will have opportunities to participate in on-site and/or virtual training as well as engage in job-embedded learning that allows them to practice their newly acquired skills and benefit from timely, actionable feedback.
Led by practitioners, New Leaders draws on decades of distinguished success. We are former classroom instructors, principals, and school system leaders who have deep experience in the field—on average, 24 years in education and six years of principal experience. We also have deep roots in the communities in which we work and reflect the diversity in the schools that we serve. Close to 60 percent of our staff identify as people of color. This is well above the national average of 20 percent for principals and teachers.
Given their first-hand experiences in the same roles of participants, New Leaders facilitators build trust quickly and address the unique needs of participants across the leadership continuum. They use their deep knowledge and skills to provide participants with timely and actionable feedback. Our facilitators also engage in continuous learning and professional development to remain relevant in an ever-changing education landscape.
District leaders interviewed by third-party researchers describe New Leaders as a valuable thought partner and noted how our partnership positively influenced overall district leadership standards, hiring, and evaluation. Partners noted that New Leaders helped build their internal capacity to implement and sustain research-based leadership practices.
Over the course of each program year, New Leaders will use multiple proprietary tools to gather data to:
1) Monitor, support, and ensure that participants implement with fidelity;
2) Inform program content and drive participant goals, action steps, and foci; and
3) Assess program impact on participants, students, and/or schools.
Aggregated data will be shared with district senior leaders over the course of our partnership.
Specifically, New Leaders will actively monitor and support ongoing fidelity of implementation and impact through the following assessments and avenues for communication:
Implementation Data. New Leaders will gather observation data via the program components that require participants to apply their new learning. During reflective learning exercises (i.e., job-embedded tasks) and one-on-one coaching, participants will share evidence of ongoing implementation and receive targeted feedback from the New Leaders facilitator. These reflective conversations provide opportunities to monitor and course-correct participant progress toward goals.
In addition, we will collect school-level outcome data (e.g., interim assessment data and/or publicly available student achievement data) to measure changes in student achievement outcomes.
Participant Surveys. New Leaders will conduct regular participant surveys after each session and at the mid- and end-of-year points. We will use this year-long data to monitor and support participant growth, including their improvement in skills and knowledge, application of program content, and impact on school improvement.
Monthly Check-ins. New Leaders will also host monthly check-ins with HCPS to provide updates on participant progress, fidelity of implementation, and identified areas of opportunity. These collaborative conversations will inform our differentiated support for participants and provide HCPS with insights toward supporting and sustaining transformational leadership practices across school sectors.
Formal Step-back Meetings. New Leaders will host formal “step-back” meetings with senior leaders at the mid- and end-of-year. The purpose of the step-back is to understand: 1) satisfaction across all facets of the program; 2) participant perceptions and effect of programming on participant growth; and 3) needs for the next program year based on feedback and lessons learned.
* Recruit, support, and retain a highly effective and diverse workforce
That the Board approve agreement 20160-ATS-IV with New Leaders, Inc. for professional development under the Title II grant.
J. Kim Bays, Chief of Schools, Leadership Development and Administration, kim.bays@hcps.net, (813) 272-4071
Funds in the amount of $140,000 will be paid by the Title II grant.
See Statement of Work