Welcome Message From Paula Vincent, Chief Administrator of Heartland AEA

A new school year is here and we know we will once again be faced with the unique challenges and opportunities that come with the responsibilities of school leadership roles. We also know that leadership matters as documented in the work of Marzano, Waters, McNulty, Cameron and others too numerous to list. In fact, the meta-analysis conducted over a decade ago by McRel and the additional work in this decade continues to show the direct connection between high-quality leadership and student learning (second only to the effect of high-quality instruction-Goodwin, Cameron and Hein, 2015).

Three overarching responsibilities of effective school leaders that are tied to student learning as summarized in the McREL research are listed below along with some reflective questions for your consideration.

Establish a clear focus.

• Can you identify one or two areas of emphasis that will be your absolute focus this year?
• What communication strategies are you using with key stakeholders, board members, staff and students to support this focus in your school or district?

Manage changes (large and small) that come with making improvements.

• Do you have lead and lag measures identified?
• What formative assessment data is available for students, family members and school staff use to inform progress and make necessary adjustments over time?
• How are teacher leaders, learning community teams and advisory groups engaged to help guide change processes?

Create a purposeful community in your schools or district that contributes to all teachers and staff developing a belief that what they do does make a difference.

• Is a learning plan in place that will support staff capacity?
• How could you display/communicate learning results to help build staff efficacy?
• As you work to demonstrate the actions and behaviors that have a positive effect on student achievement in your schools, I hope you utilize the resources and supports that are available from Heartland AEA. We look forward to your requests for assistance, appreciate your suggestions for ways we can improve and look forward to partnering with you.

Best wishes for an outstanding school year,

Paula Vincent