Over this past year, I have learned with central office leaders across the country. As with many leaders we hear from, one particular network of experienced central office leaders was feeling challenged by all of the important issues and decisions coming their way, including artificial intelligence, smartphones, social-emotional learning, contentious curriculum adoptions, and implementing new ..read more

Working as a public school educator is both rewarding and challenging, especially in today’s complex educational landscape. To be successful, school leaders need supportive district leaders. They need a central office team that creates the conditions for equity-driven leadership, which continuously centers students and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. I am privileged to work alongside the dedicated central office leaders at Springfield Public Schools (SPS) in Oregon who are committed to doing just that. SPS is a school district of 9,664 students in Oregon’s Willamette Valley that i ..read more

Each year the University of Washington College of Education convenes a series of webinars with education thought leaders to explore how we can center equity and leverage community voice to create more inclusive school environments and communities. In April the Center for Educational Leadership Executive Director, Max Silverman, hosted a conversation with two central office leaders, Dr. Ivan Duran, Superintendent at Highline School District, and Dr. Kelly An, Assistant Superintendent at Long Beach Unified School District. These forward-thinking educational leaders dove into the concrete steps t ..read more

In March 2024, we hosted a webinar highlighting the journey of two educational leaders in co-creating and leading through a vision for student experience and learning. Superintendent Matt Galley and middle school Assistant Principal Cristal Campos are partners from the Nooksack Valley School District (NVSD), a school district of about 1,900 students located in a growing rural community in northwest Washington state. The first step for these leaders in co-creating a vision was to host listening sessions with students. NVSD School leaders used CEL’s Student Experience Story Guide to guide the ..read more

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), led by Dr. Adrienne Battle, is one of the nation’s largest school districts—serving more than 80,000 students across 158 schools. MNPS’s central office–called the Support Hub in recognition of the office’s role in supporting and empowering students, staff, and schools–serves as a crucial link to student success through their direct work with school leaders. MNPS central office leaders understand the crucial role school leaders play. The district’s Executive Director of Schools Playbook, which guides principal support, states, “How we agree to spend our ti ..read more

Over my years working with instructional coaches and principals in school districts across the country, I have learned that the role of the instructional coach changes from district to district and even from school to school. I’ve observed coaches address practices from student engagement to classroom management and even curriculum implementation with varying degrees of success. When the role of the instructional coach is undefined–in my experience, the coach’s impact is at best unnoticed or at worst not happening. One process that can help pave the way for improving impact is to map out a vis ..read more

The Medford School District, in Southern Oregon, began their partnership with CEL in 2022-23 by bringing the Instructional Leadership Academy (ILA) to school principals and central office leaders. This year, they have expanded the ILA partnership to include assistant principals and new district leaders in Medford. I have been working with the Medford Teaching and Learning team for the past few months to build a clear “throughline” from students who have had the fewest experiences of happiness and pride at school, to teachers, and school leaders in order to, according to the Medford Office of T ..read more

CEL’s yearlong, contextualized Leading for Teacher Learning helps leaders assess their current state of student and teacher learning and better understand the ideal teacher supports needed to improve students’ experiences. Throughout the program, CEL team members partner with school leaders to examine the role of a clear student experience vision, a culture of collective efficacy among adults, and systems and routines that allow teachers to study problems of student learning to take action together. Leaders engage in a series of content sessions and job-embedded “learning labs.” As part of the ..read more

In the rapidly evolving landscape of education, the role of school leaders has moved well beyond administrative tasks. They are now key figures in fostering an inclusive and student-centered learning environment. This paradigm shift is moving towards educational equity, amplifying students’ perspectives, and giving students more space to shape the conversations that influence their education. In Leading Equitable Schools (LES), school leaders actively listen to the stories of students furthest from justice in their schools and districts. Engaging in listening sessions, school leaders listen to ..read more

As the academic year draws to a close, the arrival of summer offers us the opportunity to breathe and reflect. It has been a year filled with unprecedented hardships for school communities nationwide, leaving educators, administrators, and leaders feeling drained and exhausted. However, amidst the challenges, we have begun to see the impact of courageous leaders earnestly listening to students. Here are just a few stories that exemplify the power of centering students’ voices. In April I joined the closing Leading Equitable Schools institute where I asked Seattle assistant principals to share ..read more