Project Description

Online Modules for Principal Effectiveness

Project Details

Agency name: George W. Bush Institute

Agency Type: Non-Profit and Foundation

Services: Strategic Communications

Client Goals

The George W. Bush Institute (GWBI), through a planning grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, worked with the Alliance to Reform Education Leadership (AREL), a network of nineteen innovative principal preparation programs operated by school districts, nonprofit organizations and universities to explore ways to select and produce a higher quality instructional school leader able to improve student achievement.

Safal Approach

The George W. Bush institute engaged Safal to create a roadmap to develop online training modules aimed at building principals’ skills as school leaders and managers of talent. The following project outcomes were achieved:

  1. Establishing a strong need for online training modules to improve principals’ capacity as instructional leaders and talent managers of teachers
  2. Creating a community of some of the best minds in principal leadership development and technology, including
    • Paul Bambrick-Santoyo, author of Leverage Leadership and Driven by Data and Managing Director of Uncommon Schools North Star Network;
    • Mark Murphy, Education Commission of Delaware and former Executive Director of Leadership Development at New Leaders;
    • Kim Marshall, author of Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation and national school leadership coach;
    • John Bailey, director of Digital Learning Now!, and former Director of Educational Technology at the US Department of Education;
    • Pam Ferner, National Program Director of New York City Leadership Academy;
    • Melissa Kim, New Schools Venture Fund School Leadership Coach and a former award-winning principal;
    • Thaly Germain, Executive Director of the Lynch Leadership Program at Boston College and former curriculum developer at New Leaders;
    • Mark Medema, Co-CEO of EdVillage, an international school leadership organization;
    • Robert Stein, Consultant to AREL and curriculum designer of Get Smart Schools program; and
    •  Jacquelyn Davis, Consultant to AREL and co-author of Rainwater Leadership Alliance’s A New Approach to School Leadership
  3. Developing an instructional framework around performance management that addresses the question: How do principals build an effective teaching team?
  4. Developing an initial plan, including content areas and delivery mechanisms, and budget for the modules