Purposeful Planning and Intentional Practice in Literacy Leadership: The Making of an Urban Principal

ABSTRACT Audubon Elementary is an urban elementary school that is the setting for this proposed study. It is a high-achieving, high-performing school where achievement goals are always centered on literacy learning, especially within the context of accountability wherein faculty and school leadership acknowledge the importance that the school district has placed on standardized testing. Pre-K through fifth grades are housed at the school. In 2018, there are approximately 554 students who are guided by 65 faculty and staff members. Participants were purposely selected based on both convenience and criteria sampling (Collins, Onwuegbuzie, & Jiao, 2007). Initially, six participants, or classroom teachers, were selected to participate in the LSU’s Writing Project’s Invitational Summer Institute in the summer of 2015; other participants that have played a part in this study are primarily 23 classroom teachers whose employment has remained stable for a three-year period, from 2015 through 2018. Additional participants included in this research journey were school leadership and those ancillary staff members that demonstrated “buy-in” into this study. The current study focused on examining the relationships and interplay between school leadership, job-embedded professional development, and building teacher capacity. Through qualitative research practices, data was generated through observations, journals, and a selection of specific data sets. These results indicate the impact school leadership and professional development had on teacher capacity through reflective practice and continuous improved actions