[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on School Leader Standards
The school administrators' role has never been more challenging. They oversee increasingly complex, high-tech facilities while serving more and more diverse communities. But the central task remains the same: improving teaching and learning within a school or a district.
Over the past few decades, educators' understanding of instructional leadership has deepened considerably. The last 20 years of research in cognitive sciences, education, mathematics instruction, and school reform reveal a new truth that educators are still getting used to: "Learning is subject-specific." And so is teaching; teachers lead their mathematics class differently than they guide an English class. While their principals do not need the depth of knowledge of a classroom teacher to be effective leaders, they do need to appreciate and support complexity and depth in all the subject areas .
Quality teaching in all classrooms necessitates skillful leadership at the community, district, school, and classroom levels. Ambitious learning goals for students and educators require significant changes in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and leadership practices. Leaders at all levels recognize quality professional development as the key strategy for supporting significant improvements. They are able to articulate the critical link between improved student learning and the professional learning of teachers. They ensure that all stakeholders - including the school board, parent teacher organizations, and the business community - understand the link and develop the knowledge necessary to serve as advocates for high quality professional development for all staff. Staff development leaders come from all ranks of the organization. They include community representatives, school board trustees, administrators, teachers, and support staff .
Principals and other school leaders have the opportunity to bring about lasting school improvement through instructional leadership. School leaders play a critical role in both providing opportunities for, and engaging in, discourse and continuous learning..............
