Key Traits of a Successful School Leader

Committed to Equity and High Expectations for All.
Leaders expect all students to learn at high levels, and strive to close achievement gaps.


Results-Oriented.
Leaders focus relentlessly on student learning, regularly measure student progress, and consistently use data to inform practice at the school.


A Keeper of the Vision.
Leaders develop a sound vision, implement and sustain the vision, and inspire others to pursue the vision.


An Instructional Expert.
Leaders continually build their instructional knowledge and contribute to the instructional knowledge of others.


Culturally Competent.
Leaders see diversity as an asset and work with members of their community to meet the needs of individuals from all cultures.


Emotionally Intelligent.
Leaders identify, assess, and attend to the emotions of self and others.


A Model of Integrity.
Leaders act with integrity and honesty and expect the same from all members of their school community.


A Systems Thinker.
Leaders develop quality systems, solve problems within systems, and adjust systems when necessary.


A Professional Developer.
Leaders apply adult learning theory and model quality instructional practice as they develop their staff.


Reflective.
Leaders regularly reflect on their beliefs and actions, seeking feedback from others, and learning from their mistakes, as their practice evolves.


Decisive.
Leaders make wise, prudent, and timely decisions.

*adapted from OUSD website

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WEE, LLC Critical Thinking Initiative 2011- 2021 Mission & Logo

Wholistic Education Enterprises LLC –Critical Thinking Initiative 2011-2021

Our mission is to use the components of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to engage educators, learners, and parents toward closing the academic achievement gap from the inside out.

 






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A Plan to Close The Achievement Gap for African American Students

Wholistic Education Enterprises LLC –Critical Thinking Initiative 2011-2021

Our mission is to use the components of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to engage educators, learners, and parents toward closing the academic achievement gap from the inside out.

Information from A PLAN TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS (December 2008)

Closing the gap takes intentionality

State, school district, and school building leadership can help perpetuate the

achievement gap, or it can be a powerful force for eliminating it. When school

boards, superintendents and principals make closing the gap a top priority

– and when they plan, allocate resources, and design accountability measures

to do so – they make progress.

Developing real relationships is critical

To be effective, leaders must have high expectations of all students and

teachers, and a high degree of awareness of their own culture and the culture

of others. These leaders must be able to mobilize students’ cultures as a force

for learning, and they must reach out to engage parents and communities to

support educational excellence. Strong leadership helps embed these attributes

in the school or school district.

Leaders who close gaps see it as a moral imperative

Perhaps most important, education leaders who have made progress in

narrowing the education gap are those who have a sense of urgency and a

deep moral conviction that this work is central to their purpose as educators.

These are the educators who have the courage to challenge the status quo, to

build the political will for change, and to inspire their communities to sustain

the work of making schools work for everyone.

Success in school requires supporting the whole child

To succeed in school, students need strong leadership, effective instruction,

high expectations, and more. They need a comprehensive program of

academic and social support. This program should include academic and

professional career advising, psychological wellness counseling, and elements

that build trusting relationships. Such support will ensure that African

American students experience schools as supporting communities enabling

their success and not as environments of alienation and hostility. For far too

many African American children, this necessary support system and basic

prerequisite to educational success is missing.

Academic success requires guidance and planning

Students need consistent academic guidance – beginning in elementary school

– to help them think about their own aptitudes and interests, and to plan for

their adult lives. This guidance should continue through college and should

include career advising. Especially for students whose parents did not attend

college or post-secondary job training, learning how to navigate the education

system is a critical skill. Additionally, the move from high school or college

to the world of work is for many students the final in a series of critical

transitions for which they need professional guidance.

http://www.k12.wa.us/cisl/pubdocs/AfrAmer%20AchGap%20Rpt%20FINAL.pdf

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THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF EDUCATION

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think—rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men.”
--John Dewey
Educational researcher and school reform advocate, Phil Schlechty believes that “the future of America depends on the ability of the current generation of American educators to find new ways of linking the cause of public education to the building of democratic communities where they live” (Preface Leading for Learning. 2009). This task will require visionary leaders with a deep understanding of students, teachers, schools and the school community; content, outcomes and assessment;--and how the culture and socio-political landscape influences teaching and learning.

Focus Questions:
What do we want the future citizens of America to be able to know and do?
What do you bring to your role as leader for learning that will allow you to have a positive impact on our future?




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Student Achievement

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
--Albert Einstein

"How’d ya do?" "What did you get?" are words spoken by students every minute of every school day. Student achievement is the goal of educational endeavors and is on the minds of everyone associated with schools and schooling. Teachers come to school every day to facilitate instruction that ensures student success. Parents send their children to school so that they might learn and develop into successful adults. Tax payers support good schools because they know they bring other positive influences into the community. Legislators fund schools and develop and support programs that aim to give all students the opportunity for success.

As an educational leader, you will be responsible for the success of the students in your district, region, or state—and all things that lead to that success: well-trained teachers using effective and cutting edge instructional strategies, data collection that informs instruction, collaborative relationships with parents and the community, and high expectations for all stakeholders.
Focus Questions:
Do high test scores equal student learning?
How does inequity impact student achievement?
What things are barriers to student success?
Does achievement include areas of development other than academic?




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The Many Faces of Deep Thinking

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Wholistic Education is the Key!

Towards an Understanding of Wholistic Education™

Wholistic Education^™ is rooted in the original definition of the word education derived from the Latin word “educere” < e- out + ducere, to lead, draw, bring out, to denote the process of education as a process of bringing out knowledge which is already inside of the learner. This is in direct conflict with the traditional concept of education.  Wholistic Education^™ is a framework based on applying critical thinking skills to problem solving and decision making in every domain of learning to affect a positive change on individuals, communities, and the world. This framework is visually represented with one triangle (a pyramid) and three interconnected circles. These symbols, and the principles underlying each, can be applied to any situation where thinking is required and render a desirable outcome.  This triangle is called The Magic Triangle^™. It is called this because it contains the three core building blocks (3CB’s) for Wholistic Education^™.

The Wholistic Education (WE) Critical Thinking Initiative 2011-2021

The WE- CTI 2011-2021

This ten (10) year initiative is aimed at using the practical application of  critical thinking skills to address and correct the gaps in achievement which exist and persist in our public schools and are at crises levels for African American students.

The mission of the WE- CTI 2011-2021 is to use the triad of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to engage educators, learners, and parents toward closing the academic achievement gap from the inside out.

The CTI seeks to actualize the three (3) goal and expected outcomes of Wholistic Education:

1. To produce a thinker with the ability to recognize all aspects of self as being healthy, positive, and relevant.

2. To cultivate a conscientious life long learner who is cognizant of the connections that center on change.

3. To establish a foundation to be nurtured and sustained in order to serve as the core building blocks for transformative engagement.

The WE-Critical Thinking Initiative has a Three- Fold Target Group: Educators, Learners/ Students and Parents

Educators are defined as those who act as facilitators of learning who regard themselves as both  a learner and a leader and who are committed to fostering and modeling an example of intellectual curiosity.

Learners is the term Wholistic Education^™ uses to refer to the student or the individual who is actively engaged in a particular domain of learning. The two words are used interchangeably.

Parents are those regarded as primary care givers i.e. blood relatives, legal guardian, etc. for age appropriate Learners and participants in WEE, LLC programs.

The Critical Thinking Initiative is wholly learner- centered; but the undeniable truth is that students need the support of their family and community to reach their full potential. Based on this understanding, the programs associated with The Critical Thinking Initiative were designed to serve the student, their parents and/ or guardian, and the educators who teach them. Wholistic Education uses this model as the framework to ensure the maximal development of the learner, while simultaneously supporting those key individuals (parents and educators) who have the greatest impact on student success.

Critical Thinking Initiative Programs

1) The Sankofa Butterfly Project- Phase One: Fall 2011

2) M- Power The Parent^™  -3P (Parent Partner Program) Workshops

3) M- Power The Educator^™ - Action Research: A Call for Critical Thinking Across Content Areas

4) Wholistic Education (WE) Scholar Series

5) Wholistic Education (WE) Literary Society

Contact Wholistic Education Enterprises LLC for program details