CAPE - Instructional Leadership

The principal is knowledgeable about all of the K-12 student academic content standards and the appropriate pedagogical skills for teaching the content of the standards to K-12 students. As the instructional leader of the school, the principal promotes the use of the state-adopted K-12 standards as the primary basis for classroom instruction and for student assessments. The principal helps teachers, students, parents, and community members understand the K-12 standards and their relationship to accomplishing the school’s vision and goals. The principal understands and can articulate principles of effective instruction and appropriate student assessment processes. The principal is also knowledgeable about the state’s student assessment program and can explain the assessment program and its intended outcomes to staff, students, parents and the community. The principal identifies and takes action to mitigate potential and actual barriers to student learning.

The principal uses his/her knowledge of the K-12 student academic content standards and appropriate instructional practices to observe and evaluate classroom planning and instruction in accordance with LEA policy and practices. As part of the evaluation process, the principal analyzes evidence of teacher effectiveness based on student work and student learning outcomes. The principal communicates evaluative feedback effectively, equitably, and on a timely basis to help teachers improve instructional practices. The principal models self-reflection and use of evidence to help teachers develop these skills and practices as part of their daily planning, instruction, and assessment activities with students. The principal uses his/her knowledge of available instructional resources and technologies to help provide support for improvements in teaching and learning based on teacher and student needs. The principal is knowledgeable about valid student assessment processes and the development and use of appropriate classroom assessment measures within a multiple measures, data-driven decision making process.

The principal understands the demographics of the school community, including socioeconomic context, students and family characteristics, cultural and linguistic diversity, and political issues and uses this knowledge to help improve teaching and learning. The principal is knowledgeable about both culturally-relevant instructional practices and instructional practices grounded in first and second language acquisition theories to support effective instruction for English learners, economically, culturally, and/or linguistically diverse students, and students with special needs, and others. The principal helps teachers and staff access community resources, including parents and other community members, to promote learning about students and families, and to promote culturally and linguistically inclusive instructional practices. The principal helps teachers, staff, and others understand the political factors within the community that may affect the school’s instructional program, and is proactive in providing information about the schools, its needs and accomplishments, within the larger political environment. The principal understands how classroom structures, school and class scheduling, and grouping practices affect student learning.

The principal communicates the school’s improvement goals to students, teachers, parents, and the community and engages in ongoing dialogue with all members of the school community about progress towards meeting the goals. The principal identifies, collects, analyzes, and uses multiple sources of data to provide information for decision making in a variety of contexts, including but not limited to student achievement, teacher professional learning, the school climate, and the school’s progress in achieving its goals. The principal organizes data relating to achieving schoolwide goals and outcomes in a manner understandable to students, teachers, parents and the community, and analyzes the data to indicate the degree of progress being made towards the school’s goals. The principal presents and discusses these data, including but not limited to standardized achievement data, classroom and other local assessments, with all members of the school community. The principal helps all members of the school community articulate revised school improvement goals based on continuous data analysis and reporting.