Action Overview: Leadership Team Functions

Action: Examine the standards-based education (SBE) functions of leadership teams.

The Portal provides resources to help educators examine the SBE functions of leadership teams. The overarching SBE function of leadership teams is to build the organization’s capacity to establish and sustain educators’ use of effective instructional practices.

What are the SBE functions of leadership teams?

The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) identifies three critical SBE functions of leadership teams as shown below.

1. Ensure implementation of effective instructional practices

2. Engage the community and stakeholders (internal and external)

3. Foster an environment that supports adults to make changes in instructional practices

Each of these functions is briefly described below.

1. Ensure Implementation of effective instructional practices - The implementation of effective instructional practices requires intentional efforts at many levels of the system. These efforts include:

· Shared understanding of SBE

· Shared understanding of Academics Standards

· Readiness and buy-in of staff

· Infrastructure and Policies needed to support educators’ use of evidence-based practices

o Professional Learning System

o Multi-tiered System of Support

o Decision Support Data System

o Curriculum aligned to standards and to the EBPs

· Monitoring implementation fidelity of EBPs

· Action plans that articulate implementation efforts

· Continuous improvement process

2. Engage the Community and Stakeholders - Authentic collaborations that are reflective of all learners require that stakeholders (such as families, educators, board members, community health partners, businesses, civic organizations, etc.) are engaged through:

· Effective methods for sharing information

· Transparent decision-making processes

o Efforts that utilize community expertise and perspectives in

o Asset-based problem solving

o Assessing the quality of the data being collected

o Evaluating the evidence related to the effectiveness of the EBPs

3. Foster an environment and culture that supports adults to make and sustain changes in instructional practices - Status quo can be unrelenting and the result may be unwitting changes or adaptations to an instructional practice so it fits the existing system. The third and final SBE function of the leadership team ensures that the existing system is changed to support high fidelity and sustained use of effective instructional practices through efforts including:

· Creating a culture of adult learning where continuous improvement is the norm

· Understanding adaptive versus technical challenges

· Policies that ensure barriers to effective use of instructional practices are addressed

· Communication practices that ensure a bi-directional flow of information between linked teams to address implementation barriers.