MY INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PLATFORM AND VISION

1 of 4

Page

Instructional Leadership Platform and Vision

Daniel I. Snchez

Prior to declaring my definition of instructional leadership and expounding

upon its subsequent platform and vision, and in order to succeed in our efforts to
equip young learners for their own sustained successes, we must first un-wrap the
multiple meanings of the term Instructional Leadership based on its historical
origin and functions. Instructional Leadership in the form of supervision has
progressed since initial laws were passed in the 1600s that sought to standardize
and authenticate satisfactory educational practices. Under this definition,
instructional leaders were sole responsible for ensuring baseline adherence to legal
qualifications for instructional practice. Since the early 1900s, when scientific
management was introduced as an effective supervisory strategy and curriculum
development was just beginning to form as a field of study, Instructional Leaders
role expanded to also include the responsibility of monitoring worker performance
and productivity, with no expected attention to student performance outcomes.
Indeed, for decades, Instructional leaders were primarily supervisors who managed
the status quo. Increased access to and communication of student and school
performance data and subsequent increases in accountability have influenced more
recent changes to the role and definition of instructional leadership.
The greatest shifts in this centuries old role occurred following increased
pedagogical research, as well as litigation and initiatives stemming from the civil
rights movement and mounted with the technology and information boom during
the 1990s. During this time, particularly within the past twenty-five years,
instructional leaders have been tasked to become savvy regarding contemporary
instructional practices, data use, and collaboration, all with the purpose of
improving student and school performance. These shifts are succinctly summarized
by Sally Zepeda, who states Instructional supervision is more than learning how to
conduct classroom observationsinstructional supervision is about building
relationships with teachers and providing the conditions for them to flourish as
leaders in and out of their classrooms (Zepeda, 2012, p. xix). Given this
perspective, instructional leaders must be highly knowledgeable in instructional
content, processes and products, and they must be able to collaborate with
educators, as well as other stakeholders, in their continual professional growth in
support of student growth and school improvement. In consideration of the

MY INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PLATFORM AND VISION

2 of 4

Page

historical perspective and current state of education, a progressive definition of

instructional leadership must reflect this shift from a fixed to a growth mindset.
Instructional leadership is the continual practice of ensuring strong
instruction using current and relevant data that is collaboratively communicated,
analyzed and synthesized into future instruction. Why ensure strong instruction, and
what is strong instruction? Strong instruction skillfully communicates essential
knowledge, understanding and doing (KUDs) inherent in a given desired learning
target, while utilizing data both to inform present levels of student KUDs and to
assess their progress and achievement. Strong instruction breeds strong
performance by utilizing student strengths while addressing their challenges,
optimizes engagement and effort via differentiated or tiered lessons, and ensures
high levels of learning by keeping and communicating the end in mind while
gauging progress using common formative assessments. Key to ensuring success
for all young learners is working together with experienced learners to equip our
students for the aforementioned undertakings. This attitude is congruent with my
pedagogical philosophy on learning.
My personal belief is that we are all living learners, and that we are learning
every moment of our lives. Given our attentional capacities, we focus our attention
to aspects of our multi-faceted learning from moment to moment; thus, our learning
is overtly or covertly reinforcing our habits of thinking and doing. Education has the
potential to focus our learning for intentional and purposeful growth. Formal
learning within cohorts is a means by which we can enhance our thinking and doing
to overcome and adapt to life challenges as individuals and community members.
This sentiment holds true for our young learners- our students- as well as for our
experienced learners- our teachers, administrators, parents, and other adult
stakeholders. My responsibility as an Instructional leader, which aligns to
Educational Leadership Policy Standards for School Leaders, known broadly as
ISLLC, standard 2, is to ensure that each of the following actions have taken or are
taking place: setting the direction, developing people, redesign the organization
and managing the instructional program (2008).
First and foremost, shared, data-driven decision making must be established
and expected as a non-negotiable norm. This is prerequisite to a team-designed
vision and mission. Otherwise, effective collaboration working towards this vision is
more likely to be compromised at the onset by contrived equity. Therefore, building
trusting relationships will be a critical initial step. Consequently, I shall not wait to
formally begin my designated post as an educational, instructional leader. I shall
instead proactively visit with staff, students and families, and community-based
stakeholders to learn about their respective funds of knowledge. I shall intentionally
look for strengths and challenges and overtly reference the former when inviting
and involving diverse representation for the purpose of designing a common vision

MY INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PLATFORM AND VISION

3 of 4

Page

that inspires us towards facing and overcoming communal challenges in support of

our young learners. Our mission will be framed and informed by collaborative, datadriven SMART goal setting and action steps with scheduled progress monitoring
reviews. Developing people by focusing on and honoring professional learning
opportunities and needs will be another facet of my role as an instructional leader.
In recognition that a collaborative culture will not be created by chance, or
even by invitation [we] must embed collaborative processes into the routine
practices of the school (DuFour 2006), I shall recruit community- and school-based
experts and colleagues to train our faculty using differentiated and tiered
professional development. Thus, PD will be aligned to our vision and mission, and
our facultys skillset strengths and challenges will be accounted for, with activities
differentiated by content, process or product, and PD assessment data used to
check for either understanding or follow up needs. Additionally, professional
learning community time will be established, honored and framed by common
practices based on DuFours tenets and described in his 2006 book, Learning by
Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work. Finally, Peer
support partnerships will be utilized, with strategic pairing of novice and
experienced educators. These partnerships will serve as an extension or
reinforcement of PD and PLC action steps, and interactions will likewise be framed
by common professional growth guiding questions, adapted from (Hoerr 2007):
How might this professional learning experience help me address the needs of your
three strongest and three weakest students? Based on this professional learning
experience, what might we do differently instructionally? Why? How might this
professional learning experience help me know what our students know? How might
this professional learning experience help us create an assessment tool that would
help us teach these concepts? I shall overtly reference our multi-tiered and
collaborative approach to shared instructional leadership to influence and exemplify
the intentional, vision-directed and data and goal-driven use of our instructional
time.
Data team meetings, where facts are communicated, analyzed and utilized to
determine next steps of support for specific students in alignment with common
vision and goals, will be promoted at all levels of dialoguing at or about our school.
Thus, student-parent-teacher conferences, parent-administrator meetings, and
school-home/community meetings will adhere to common norms and practices
congruent with our collective professional practices. These practices will likewise
have to be founded upon previously established and sustained relationships with
high levels of trust. To this end, I shall collaboratively model and help our school
maintain consistent, comprehensive and clear communication with parents and
stakeholders, especially regarding our instructional practices.

MY INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PLATFORM AND VISION

4 of 4

Page

In accordance with our schools vision, goals and strategic action steps, our
instructional program will be collectively and collaborative designed, implemented
and supported through Professional Development, with PLCs and Professional Peer
Partnerships used to design and revise common formative assessments based on
shared student data, and Data meetings with parents and stakeholders used to
communicate and inform our progress and practices in support of student academic
growth and subsequent continual school improvement. I shall conduct formal and
informal observations at all tiers, including educators instructional practices, to
ensure and support alignment to our shared vision, school improvement goals and
strategic actions. As an instructional leader, I shall be responsible to our collective
endeavors and collaborate in setting direction, developing people, redesigning the
organization and managing the instructional program in support of our youths
learning and our continual school improvement.

References
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010) Learning By Doing A Handbook
for Professional Learning Communities at Work. Solution Tree.
Hoerr, T. (2007-2008). The Principal Connection / What Is Instructional Leadership?
December 2007/January 2008 | Volume 65 | Number 4 Informative Assessment
Pages 84-85
Council of Chief State School Officers (2008). Educational Leadership Policy
Standards: ISLLC 2008 as Adopted by the National Policy Board for Educational
Administration. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
Zepeda, J. S. (2012). Instructional Supervision Applying Tools and Concepts.
Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education, Inc.