School Leader Programs

Breaking Ranks Validity Study
The White House and the Department of Education have made education reform a top priority and have allocated $4 billion in funding through the Race to the Top Fund.  Grants allocated through this Fund provide financial incentives and goals for school improvement.  However, the grants do not provide a proven framework for implementing and institutionalizing change: NASSP’s framework for school improvement, Breaking Ranks, does.  

NASSP’s Breaking Ranks framework provides assessment tools to focus reform efforts, as well as specific direction to make lasting changes in diverse circumstances.  It is flexible enough to be tailored to a myriad of situations: from turning around a failing school, to improving aspects of an already high-achieving academic environment, Breaking Ranks is a proven reform framework.  Since its development over 15 years ago, over 7,700 practitioners have employed Breaking Ranks to enact change in their schools. 

NASSP seeks to generate an academic investigation of the outcomes of the Breaking Ranks framework.  Anecdotally, we know that the Breaking Ranks framework, when implemented with fidelity, is a proven means to improve school and student performance.  We believe that it is the most effective turnaround program in the country.  We know that it has been used successfully by more than 50 schools identified as MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough Schools.  These schools serve large numbers of students living in poverty and have dramatically improved student achievement through the Breaking Ranks program. 

The Breaking Ranks validity study will provide statistically significant, quantitative data to measurably demonstrate the results of the framework on the Breakthrough Schools.  In turn, the research will provide the basis for seeking additional funding to scale up the Breaking Ranks framework, thus expanding its reach and fostering true reform in the school system.

NASSP seeks a strategic partner interested in supporting this validity study to impact school reform policy for years to come.

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Literacy Guide
The White House and the Department of Education’s reform initiatives, as well as the Common Core State Standards, identify adolescent literacy as a cornerstone to college and career readiness. 

The Common Core State Standards expand the definition of literacy to include reading for comprehension, writing, listening, and speaking. Moreover, the Standards require an integrated, school-wide approach to literacy that spans across grade level and subject matter and includes a shift from narrative to informational text as well as a dramatic increase in writing, particularly argumentative and persuasive writing. This approach will refocus literacy programs on building-wide initiatives across subject areas to ensure college and career-readiness for all beginning in the elementary school years.

This comprehensive approach to school-wide literacy will require a change in school culture, complete re-training of our current teachers  at some levels  and significant investments in resources and infrastructure for all. The daunting task of implementing these sweeping changes will fall on the school leader. NASSP understands school leadership and is uniquely positioned to reach school leaders--principals and assistant principals--and to provide the tools needed to successfully implement school-wide literacy programs. 

NASSP seeks to develop a guidebook that will provide a framework for school leaders to implement a comprehensive school-wide literacy initiative designed to prepare all students to be college and career-ready.  This guide will employ the proven principles in NASSP’s Breaking Ranks K–12 school improvement framework. It will provide the structure needed to address school-wide and cross-content literacy initiatives. 

NASSP seeks a strategic partner to support this guidebook.  Participating in this project will allow a partner to:

• Support the creation of key building-level professional development needed to implement the Common Core State Standards;
• Advance literacy for all students in pursuit of college and career readiness;
• Impact federal, state, and local policy agendas and advocacy efforts for years to come.

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Leading Diverse Schools Toolkit
The changing demographics of our country and our workforce are reflected in dramatically changing demographics in our classrooms: census data projects that minority children will constitute a majority of school populations by 2023. The number of children who don’t speak English as a primary language is increasing exponentially in many of our schools. In addition, in the current economic climate, the number of children living in poverty is also increasing.  Compounding issues around diversity and student achievement is the fact that our school leadership does not adequately reflect the language, ethnic, and financial diversity of the student populations. 

Assessment data shows an achievement gap persists between white and minority students, between middle class and poor students, and between majority and minority language students. Closing achievement gaps means crossing the cultural divide to reach the children that are most at risk of dropping out, and better preparing those who remain to graduate college- and work-ready. As demographics change, it becomes even more essential to establish school cultures that ensure the potential for success of each student. 

School principals are known to hold the greatest influence, behind only teachers, on student achievement. Through the Leading Diverse Schools initiative, NASSP will leverage its unique position to reach more than 25,000 school leaders and aspiring leaders with professional development programming designed to:

• Improve existing school cultures through capacity-building efforts with current leaders;
• Encourage and support aspiring leaders from diverse backgrounds to assume leadership positions, thus changing the demographics of the principalship in years to come. 

NASSP seeks a strategic partner to support several components that will address these two opportunities for change around diversity issues and student achievement.

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Leading Mobile and Social Technology in Schools
Creating learning environments where students will be equipped with skills critical for success in college and careers is a priority for education reform.  This includes developing the “Four C’s:” communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, as well as harnessing technology, mobile devices, and social media to support the development of these skills.  Principals are the gate-keepers, key influencers, and often the leaders for this process.  NASSP seeks to develop a series of programs to guide principals through the new territory of technology, mobile devices, and social media in schools.  This programming will prepare principals to be strong advocates for collaborative learning through technology to improve student performance. 

The US Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan calls for the application of advanced technologies to the entire education system.  NASSP can play a pivotal role in the implementation of this plan by informing, training, and creating advocates in its substantial national membership base.  Rather than being on the sideline of this dramatic change in the learning environment, principals can lead the way by becoming champions of technology in support of 21^st century skills development.  NASSP’s proposed programming will give a voice to its members – the front line school leaders on this issue -- and support principals in designing new learning environments that leverage technology to reach overarching goals around improving student outcomes. 

NASSP seeks a strategic partner to support initiatives that will cover broad, high-level, high-profile policy issues related to technology in schools, and provide school-level, tactical resources for principals to move more decisively in developing technology plans for their schools. 

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For more information, contact Leslie Distler, Director, Strategic Alliances at distlerl@nassp.org.