The central offices matters substantially The central offices matters substantially to district-wide teaching and learning to district-wide teaching and learning improvementimprovement

Structural reforms alone Structural reforms alone generally have not been generally have not been sufficient for district-wide sufficient for district-wide teaching and learning teaching and learning improvementsimprovements Deep changes in teaching and learning district wide Deep changes in teaching and learning district wide

did not materialize, in part, because the reform effort did not materialize, in part, because the reform effort did not adequately support fundamental shifts in did not adequately support fundamental shifts in what people in central offices knew and could do what people in central offices knew and could do (Hubbard, Mehan, & Stein 2006)(Hubbard, Mehan, & Stein 2006)

High-performance depends not only on formal High-performance depends not only on formal structures but also fundamentally on the structures but also fundamentally on the practice of people—how central office practice of people—how central office administrators understand and go about their administrators understand and go about their work day-to-day in leading for teaching and work day-to-day in leading for teaching and learning improvementlearning improvement

Teaching and learning improvements Teaching and learning improvements in schools depend not only on what in schools depend not only on what happens in schools but how school happens in schools but how school district central offices create and district central offices create and implement supports for changeimplement supports for change Central office administrators’ knowledge of high-quality Central office administrators’ knowledge of high-quality

instruction has been emerging as fundamental to instruction has been emerging as fundamental to implementing ambitious standards-based curricular implementing ambitious standards-based curricular reformsreforms

Improvements depend heavily on the ready capacity of Improvements depend heavily on the ready capacity of central office administrators to engage in new work central office administrators to engage in new work practices supportive of district-wide teaching and practices supportive of district-wide teaching and learning improvementslearning improvements

Implementation of reforms hinges on Implementation of reforms hinges on central office administrators engaging central office administrators engaging in new partnership relationships with in new partnership relationships with schools and community agencies to schools and community agencies to build the central offices’ and schools’ build the central offices’ and schools’ collective capacity for implementationcollective capacity for implementation Central office leadership for teaching and Central office leadership for teaching and

learning demands ongoing learning on the part learning demands ongoing learning on the part of central office administrators - ongoing of central office administrators - ongoing learning about the kinds of capacity, work learning about the kinds of capacity, work practices, and relationships that might enable practices, and relationships that might enable demonstrable improvements in teaching and demonstrable improvements in teaching and learning.learning.

The reform effort must focus The reform effort must focus centrally and meaningfully on centrally and meaningfully on teaching and learning teaching and learning improvementimprovement Central offices should be able to demonstrate Central offices should be able to demonstrate

how their work matters in concrete terms to how their work matters in concrete terms to teaching and learning improvementteaching and learning improvement

Central office transformation involves Central office transformation involves remaking how ALL central office remaking how ALL central office administrators work with schoolsadministrators work with schools

Central office administrators’ fundamentally Central office administrators’ fundamentally remake their work practices and their remake their work practices and their relationships with schools in support of relationships with schools in support of teaching and learning improvements for all teaching and learning improvements for all students.students.

The Five Dimensions of The Five Dimensions of Central Office Central Office

TransformationTransformation Dimension 1Dimension 1:: Learning-focused partnerships with Learning-focused partnerships with school principals to deepen principals’ instructional school principals to deepen principals’ instructional leadership practice.leadership practice.Create direct, personal relationships between individual

central office administrators and school principals focused on helping every school principal become a stronger instructional leader.

Provide Instructional Leadership Directors (ILDs) who focused most of their time on helping school principals improve their practice.

ILDs differentiated supports for principals’ instructional leadership consistently over the entire academic year.

ILDs model for principals how to think and act like an instructional leader; develop and use tools that supported principals’ engagement in instructional leadership, and broker external resources to help principals become more powerful instructional leaders.

The Five Dimensions of The Five Dimensions of Central Office Central Office

TransformationTransformation Dimension 2Dimension 2: : Assistance to the central Assistance to the central office–principal partnerships.office–principal partnerships.Provide professional development to the Provide professional development to the

ILDs that engaged them in ongoing ILDs that engaged them in ongoing challenging conversations about their work challenging conversations about their work with principals and how to strengthen it.with principals and how to strengthen it.

Others in the central office reinforce the Others in the central office reinforce the importance of ILD leadership to the overall importance of ILD leadership to the overall teaching and learning improvement effort.teaching and learning improvement effort.

The entire system holding principals The entire system holding principals accountable for improvingaccountable for improving

The Five Dimensions of The Five Dimensions of Central Office Central Office

TransformationTransformation Dimension 3Dimension 3:: Reorganize and reculture each Reorganize and reculture each

central office unit to support the central office–central office unit to support the central office–principal partnerships and teaching and principal partnerships and teaching and learning improvement.learning improvement.Everyone Everyone shifted the focus from primarily delivering shifted the focus from primarily delivering

the services that they controlled to taking the services that they controlled to taking responsibility for solving problems that promised to responsibility for solving problems that promised to help schools improve teaching and learninghelp schools improve teaching and learning

intentional efforts to develop the capacity of people intentional efforts to develop the capacity of people throughout the central office to support teaching and throughout the central office to support teaching and learning improvement.learning improvement.

created and used new ways to hold central office created and used new ways to hold central office administrators accountable for high-quality administrators accountable for high-quality performance. performance.

The Five Dimensions of The Five Dimensions of Central Office Central Office

TransformationTransformation

Dimension 4Dimension 4:: Stewardship of the overall Stewardship of the overall central office transformation process.central office transformation process.central office administrators engaged in central office administrators engaged in

continuously developing the “theory of action” continuously developing the “theory of action” underlying central office transformation, while underlying central office transformation, while communicating it and engaging others in communicating it and engaging others in understanding it. understanding it.

strategically brokered external resources and strategically brokered external resources and relationships to support the overall central office relationships to support the overall central office transformation efforts.transformation efforts.

The Five Dimensions of The Five Dimensions of Central Office Central Office

TransformationTransformation

Dimension 5Dimension 5: : Use of evidence Use of evidence throughout the central office to support throughout the central office to support continual improvement of work practices continual improvement of work practices and relationships with schools.and relationships with schools.engaged in the ongoing collection of engaged in the ongoing collection of

evidence from their own experience with the evidence from their own experience with the transformation process and attempted to transformation process and attempted to use lessons from experience to inform how use lessons from experience to inform how they engaged in the other four dimensions of they engaged in the other four dimensions of central office transformation.central office transformation.

Central Office Central Office Transformation Transformation

Focuses centrally and meaningfully on Focuses centrally and meaningfully on teaching and learning improvement.teaching and learning improvement.

Central office staff are able to demonstrate Central office staff are able to demonstrate how their work matters in concrete terms to how their work matters in concrete terms to teaching and learning improvement. They teaching and learning improvement. They actually change their work to leverage actually change their work to leverage specific supports for teaching and learning specific supports for teaching and learning improvement.improvement.

Central Office Central Office Transformation Transformation Engages the entire central office in Engages the entire central office in

reform.reform.involves remaking how all central office involves remaking how all central office

administrators work with schools and with administrators work with schools and with each other—everyone from the entire central each other—everyone from the entire central office, no matter what department, unit, or office, no matter what department, unit, or function. function.

Central Office Central Office Transformation Transformation Calls on central office administrators Calls on central office administrators

to fundamentally remake their work to fundamentally remake their work practices and their relationships with practices and their relationships with schools to support teaching and schools to support teaching and learning improvements for all schools.learning improvements for all schools.a transformation strategy is a transformation strategy is

fundamentally about remaking what the fundamentally about remaking what the people in central offices do—their daily people in central offices do—their daily work and relationships with schools.work and relationships with schools.

Central Office Central Office Transformation Transformation Constitutes an important focus for Constitutes an important focus for

reform in its own rightreform in its own righttransformation involves ongoing work on transformation involves ongoing work on

central office practice that supports central office practice that supports teaching and learning improvement that teaching and learning improvement that transcends particular programs or transcends particular programs or initiatives.initiatives.