While personalization is encouraged with the tools, the principles of these practices remain consistent. Think of them as both guideposts and a roadmap on your journey to excellence.

Effective instructional leaders:

• Create confidence by demonstrating trust in faculty to be adaptive and responsive to students’ needs.
• Organize around priority goals through clear communication of the beliefs and values of a school.
• Affirm what is going well with instruction, using teachers’ strengths as entry points for growth.
• Communicate feedback that builds teachers’ capacity for becoming self-determining learners.
• Help teachers and students become self-directed leaders, influencers, and change agents.

Positioning teachers and students as agents of change doesn’t lessen our authority as school leaders. Rather, it enhances and expands it. They become extensions of your leadership, making decisions as a team.