Leadership Program

“Scratch the surface of an excellent school and you are likely to find an excellent principal.”*

The Leadership Program

Leadership Matters recognizes that developing leadership capacity is essential to the success of urban schools.  “Approximately half of the school districts surveyed reported a shortage in the labor pool for K-12 principal positions that they were trying to fill.”** Our leadership development program is designed to focus on the instructional core, moving student achievement.  We support the establishment of a culture of continuous learning and two-way accountability.  Our program helps districts recruit, sustain and retain great school leaders.

The Leadership Program includes the following services:

I.                    School Planning

  • Assist in establishing data driven goals and objectives for student achievement aligned with district goals.
  • Assist in communicating foals to constituents and planning for school wide implementation.

II.                 Capacity Building

  • Support the development of an instructional agenda reflecting best practices.
  • Help to establish school structures to permit adult conversations focused on student achievement.
  • Provide look for documents aligned to school curriculum and model the feedback necessary to improve teacher practice.
  • Coach school leadership in supervision of the instructional initiatives.

III.               Administrative Support

  • Provide support and guidance for general activities such as budgeting and scheduling.
  • Provide strategies for dealing with problem situations with staff or parents.

IV.              Curriculum and Instruction Development

  • Assist in establishing a plan for curriculum implementation.
  • Assist in developing of grade/team/subject conferences to discuss curriculum development.
  • Provide “look for” tools to evaluate the implementation of the curriculum.
  • Assist in designing a plan to implement and sustain the use of instructional strategies that help students access the curriculum content and develop skills.

V.                 Data Driven Decision Making

  • Assist in establishing a school student achievement team that reviews student progress and develop plans for the lowest performing students.
  • Assist in using data to discuss student progress and establish goals for students in each classroom.
  • Assis in monitoring the effectiveness of classroom interventions in supporting student achievement.
* What We Know About Successful School Leadership, Task Force on Developing Research in Educational Leadership, AERA, 2003
** National Assoc, Of Elem. School Principals, Nat. Ass. Of Secondary School Principals, Joint Survey, 2007
  • "The coach has expertise across the spectrum. I feel I can get real honesty from the coach and real solid constructive feedback."
  • "The coach had more experience than anyone from my district."
  • "The coach earned the admiration of project and school staffs from the moment that he began working. He is praised for his deep expertise and ability to analyze schools and classrooms with speed and acuity."
  • "The coach provided valuable insight about how to maximize resources in the building. To support my goals and my vision."
  • "The leadership coach was respected for bringing his teaching experience to bear on his interactions with the principals"
  • "After one year of working closely with the Leadership Matters team my student's English scores increased 12%, an increase that I contribute completely to the work we did.."
  • "The Leadership Matters coach worked with the entire instructional leadership team to help us focus our energies. Now, for the first time, 100% of Fifth grade students are on level in Math."