Building a New Structure for School Leadership

Author: Elmore, R.F.
Publisher: The Albert Shanker Institute
Publication Date: 2000, Winter
Full text available online at: http://www.shankerinstitute.org/Downloads/building.pdf

Abstract (written by WestEd)

Elmore found that superintendents in districts with high student achievement were knowledgeable about and had an active role in monitoring curriculum and instruction, and were key initiators of changes in these areas. They had clear, measurable goals about instruction and student achievement. They were more willing to let the schools decide how to implement an instructional program and tended to rely more on common values focused on improvement of student learning.

Principles of the suggested distributed leadership model for large-scale improvement include the following:

• The purpose of leadership is to improve practice and performance.
  
• Improvement requires continuous learning by individuals and groups.
  
• Leaders lead by modeling values and behaviors.
  
• People cooperate by recognizing each other's expertise, and learning grows out of differences.
  
• A leader makes resources available.

Elmore states, “A major principle in large-scale improvement is getting people at all levels of the system focused on some aspect of instruction.” He further asserts that schools do not get to choose whether or not to participate in system wide improvement, but they do get to choose how to go about it in their local context.