A Look Behind the Curtain

Today I want to lift the curtain back a little bit on the school district “inner workings” and share with you what our instructional leadership team discussed at our last meeting.  First I will give you some background.  The instructional leadership team consists of me, all principals, Dr. Harris, Mr. Karaszia.  The team meets once a month with the sole focus of discussing instructional and curricular issues.  There are times when some managerial items are discussed, but they are minimized because we have a separate meeting to review the important managerial items that help the district run efficiently and effectively. The instructional leadership meetings are a chance for all of us to intently focus on what is (and should be) occurring in the classrooms across the school district.  It is also a time for all of us to learn from each other. 

This Tuesday one of the items the instructional leadership team discussed was the book The Moral Imperative of School Leadership by Michael Fullan.  Teams of two administrators were assigned a chapter one month ago and told to report to the rest of the group what was meaningful to them in the chapter at this meeting.  You can find their PowerPoint presentations here.  I was so excited after this meeting.  The book discusses how important it is for all educators to look into themselves and understand that the work we do has a moral purpose.  As a matter of fact, educators should not shy away from the fact that we are involved in a moral undertaking in public education.  School leaders must be great managers but more importantly outstanding instructional leaders.  By following this model, the school leader’s time and effort are more focused on what is truly important in the school system…student learning.  We have a great staff here at PT.  The passion the principals have for our students is great and is a reflection of the passion they see every day in their buildings when the staff is interacting with students.  I hope you enjoy looking through the PowerPoint presentation and learn a little about the book.