"One of the most reliable factors associated with world-class schools is sustained, insightful, and highly capable leadership - in essence, world-class leaders.

Highly effective principals and other school leaders are the keys that unlock school improvement and success, as well as increased student learning.

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James Stronge 

Target Audience

Leaders in international schools (e.g., principals, assistant principals, and instructional coaches) and aspiring school leaders/principals in international schools

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Workshop Goals
Each of the four 2-hour sessions is based on the latest evidence regarding what the best school
leaders do and how they impact student and school success. Additionally, the sessions will focus
on supporting, assessing, and sustaining high quality school leadership and address the following
guiding questions:

• What do we know about world class schools and their leadership focus?
• What are the defining qualities of effective principals?
• What are high quality teacher selection and instructional leadership practices?
• How can principal professional growth and success be supported and sustained?
 
Implementable Skills
1. Qualities of effective principals

a. Knowing and applying skills for principal effectiveness
b. Understanding the role principals play in school and student success

2. Hiring the best teachers
a. Using quality hiring processes and protocols
b. Providing professional development paths for newly hired teachers

3. Instructional supervision skills and practices of effective principals
a. Using quality observation tools: look-fors and red flags
b. Providing evidence-based feedback to support teachers’ professional growth and improvement
c. Monitoring and supporting teacher improvement 

4. Assessing and supporting principal effectiveness: What works and what doesn't
a. Standards for principal performance assessment
b. Tools and techniques for supporting and sustaining the best principals

 
Topics Covered
Session 1. What do the best principals do?
a. What does the research say regarding the impact of effective principals on school
    improvement and student success?
b. What are the evidence-based qualities of effective principals and other school leaders?
    What do the best principals do?
 
Session 2. How do principals select and support the best teachers?
a. What does research say makes a difference in hiring processes and protocols that yield
    the best teachers?
b. What are evidence-based designs and practices in the hiring process?
 

Session 3. How do principals support teacher success?
a. What to look for in classroom observations and other data collection: "What did you see?"
b. How to provide effective feedback for teacher professional growth and improvement:

    "What would you say?"
c. How to overcome factors that interfere with reliability in providing quality feedback?
 
Session 4. What works and what doesn’t in principal assessment, professional growth and professional development?
a. What works and what doesn't work in assessing principal effectiveness
b. How do we help principals stop waking up at 3:00 in the morning?

    Dealing with stress and success in the principalship
c. Tools and techniques to support and sustain principal leadership
 
Workshop Materials (included in workshop fee)

•  E-copy of Qualities of Effective Principals (2nd Edition) – James Stronge and Xianxuan Xu, 2021   ASCD

• Course pack with workshop activities and supplemental material provided