In this comparative study, I examine principal data use in two sets of districts. One set of three districts has a district-wide focus on using data to improve instruction, and the other set, also with three districts, has a district-wide focus on analyzing disaggregated data by student demographic groups. Data sources include interviews with…

This case study explores the strategic plan of Janice Jackson, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, along with the central office leadership team she assembled over a five-year period. In July 2015 Dr. Jackson was tapped by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel to become Chief Education Officer (CEdO) in partnership with CEO Forrest Claypool, a veteran public…

This is the Executive Summary for the report, "Transforming Central Office Practices for Equity, Coherence, and Continuous Improvement: Chicago Public Schools under the Leadership of Dr. Janice K. Jackson." This case study explores the strategic plan of Janice Jackson, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, along with the central office…

This study investigates the leadership practices associated with, impacts of, and challenges encountered from a "big city" Chief Executive Officer's continuous improvement approach to system-level leadership. Undertaken from Summer 2019 to early Fall 2020, this study used organizational learning and continuous improvement as tools to…

This single case study examines how stakeholders of a local education agency (LEA) understand and implement state turnaround policy for its chronically underperforming schools. While there is ample research on how to improve chronically underperforming schools, a research gap exists specifically around addressing implementation of mandated…

In this article, the author describes how an Oregon district redefines coaching roles to find a balance between school and district goals. As director of improvement for North Clackamas School District in Milwaukie, Oregon, near Portland, the author's role of coaching the coach was new, and the coaches welcomed the immediate feedback. Through the…

Recent studies have suggested that educational leaders enacting a balance of technical and adaptive leadership have an effect on increasing student achievement. Technical leadership focuses on problem-solving or first-order changes within existing structures and paradigms. Adaptive leadership involves deep or second-order changes that alter…

THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBLE INFLUENCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND ITS ELEMENTS (AS DEPICTED BY THE CENTRAL OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE PERFORMANCE TEAMS IN SELECTED SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF THE STATE OF OHIO) ON THE INNOVATIVENESS OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE "ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE," WHICH SERVED AS THE…

This report describes a study of the perceptions of central-office supervisors. The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of central-office supervisors regarding emerging supervisory practices within a decentralized context. The study further sought to determine the role central-office supervisors perform in exemplary school…

As traditionally structured, American schools, in general, have found it more difficult to educate some students than others. In Washington State, as in most other states, the single best predictor of student achievement at the school level is the percentage of students on free or reduced (f/r) lunch status (Abbott & Joireman, 2001). This fact…