This module is designed for DCSD building instructional leaders only.

McREL’s Balanced Leadership

Learning Services has adopted McREL’s Balanced Leadership as the primary framework for leadership development for building leaders.  McREL’s Balanced Leadership is a series of four two-day professional development sessions designed specifically for building leaders.  It is based on McREL’s research on the effects of principal leadership on student achievement.  The sessions will be offered throughout the year for all building leaders to participate in as part of their essential development. 

The rationale for adopting a common framework for leadership is guided by the following notion:  “Lateral capacity building involves strategies in which schools and community learn from each other within a given district or region or beyond.  Learning from others widens the pool of ideas and also enhances a greater “we-we” identity beyond one school.” (Fullan 2005)

The intended outcomes for Douglas County building leaders are to:

• Facilitate the use of research-based practices to determine focus, lead change, and develop purposeful communities in order to improve student achievement; and

• Increase personal and collective capacity to sustain continuous improvement efforts.

The measurements for these intended outcomes can include:

• Identified district and site-level student assessments relative to the DCSD Student Learning goals

• Stakeholder feedback results relative to leadership performance

Focus of Leadership
This session focuses on choosing the right focus for leadership.  Leaders will learn about research-based school and classroom practices and student characteristics that are positively associated with student achievement.  Leaders will engage in interactive and reflective activities that promote understanding of these practices as well as use of associated research-based leadership practices.  The major learning outcomes of this session are:

• Increased understanding of the relationship between choosing the right focus and student achievement
• Increased understanding of research-based school and classroom practices and student-level characteristics and how they relate
• Increased knowledge about research-based leadership responsibilities associated with choosing the right focus
• Increased understanding of the importance of alignment