Building capacity in urban schools by coaching principal practice toward greater student achievement

UnrestrictedThe No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 challenged educational leadership across the nation to ensure that every student either met or exceeded standards by the year 2014. The call to realize world class standards was inspiring on one hand and daunting on the other, especially for urban school leaders who were under prepared for the challenges they faced on a day to day basis. Increasing the capacity of everyone in the system, including the principal, was a top priority. One way some districts increased their principal’s capacity was through coaching.; The purpose of this mix-ed methods case study was to examine the impact that coaching had on a high school principal’s professional behaviors as defined by the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, and to investigate the principal’s influence on teacher practices. The three research questions developed for the study were: (1) How did working with a CLASS leadership coach influence the leadership practices of an urban school principal? (2) In what ways did leadership practice influence the professional practice of teachers? (3) What organizational structures supported the implementation of the coaching model?; Although the research on coaching principals is in its infancy, this study demonstrated that coaching provided the kind of support to an urban principal that can help ensure they implement research-based practices in order to improve student outcomes. Implementing research-based staff development strategies such as professional learning communities and research-based instructional strategies such as SDAIE and differentiated instruction can be done more successfully when the principal is supported by a coach who has experience in leading such initiatives. CLASS coaching helps to transform the principal’s awareness and cognition around implementation of reform initiatives. If reform and the constant improvement of our educational system are going to become a reality, then policy makers must seriously consider how they invest in their school leaders’ capacity to handle the dynamics of the change process