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CROSSROADS PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Client Project:
Leader Development & Capacity Building + Instructional Strategies & Best Practices
Unlocking teachers' abilities to implement research based instructional strategies was critical for Crossroads Preparatory Academy. Not only did this high school leadership team need support in identifying and implementing effective instructional strategies in their classrooms, but they were also searching for support in how to best coach these skills as leaders. An approach that paired strong leadership development and coaching alongside best practices for teachers was essential.
Solution:
Dana Coleman outlined an approach consisting of vision setting best practices as a leadership team and incorporating observation feedback cycles for teachers and leaders. This plan provided the school leader with options for how to modify the best practices based on the needs of her school, ready-to-go leader development sessions she could deliver to her staff with minimal preparation required, and a replicable process for how to collect data, analyze, and respond to trends seen in teacher observations. With this turn-key approach, the school principal's time was freed up to focus on the roll out and implementation of these best practices, rather than the burdensome logistics of the process.
OUTCOME
The impact of this project was felt in three distinct ways: 1) teacher effectiveness increased across the board, 2) leader investment increased, and 3) the leader's time was greatly maximized. Because the teacher sessions clearly modeled the effective elements of these instructional strategies, instructors were able to immediately implement new practices into their classrooms. Secondly, leader satisfaction increased due to the heightened focus on coaching development and participation in the observation and feedback cycles. And finally, the high school principal was able to accomplish all of this in a fraction of the time she would typically spend on a strategic priority like this. Because Dana Coleman intentionally focused the leader's time on confirming the strategy and practicing the leader best practices, the vast majority of the work was done behind the scenes and delivered directly to the school leader, ready to fully implement with minimal time and preparation.
