Change LeadershipInnovation in State Education Agencies

Sam ReddingFor the Wing Institute

April 26, 2012

Woe, the poor SEA

• Overly focused on compliance

• Lacking in transparency

• Hindered by federal restrictions

• Bogged down in bureaucratic practices(Brown, Hess, Lautzenheiser, & Owen, 2011)

If you think that is bad . . .

. . . how about

•the Governor’s political pawn

•the district Supt’s scapegoat

•the Legislator’s idea of a money pit

Defanged, abused, neglected . . .

Woe, the poor SEA

Or, if you see the glass half full . . .

. . . the SEA is•A fulcrum of change•The impetus for reform•The standard setter•The innovation stimulator•Our last best hope(Rhim & Redding, 2011)

Competing or complementary forces?

Systemsworld and lifeworld

“Both worlds are needed for schools to be effective. But… it is the lifeworld that must drive the systemsworld. It is the stuff of culture, the essence of values and beliefs, the expression of needs, purposes, and desires of people and the sources of deep satisfaction in the form of meaning and significance that are experienced by parents, teachers, and students that define the lifeworld of schools.”

Thomas Sergiovanni

Execution

• Leadership Team – leader and cabinet

• Commanding the flow of information

• Communicating the mission, values, goals, strategies

• Making key decisions

Capacity

Implementation

• Planning the initiative

• Defining practice and process

• Managing the implementation

• Monitoring the progress

• Adjusting the course

Productivity

• Effectiveness – goal attainment

• Standards of practice—role expectations (individuals, groups, organization)

• Productivity Enhancement—Standards of practice to cost

• Actual Productivity—Effectiveness to cost

First change self

1. SEA process for internal change

2. SEA assists districts and schools with change processes

Metrics

1. Student outcomes

2. Professional practice

3. Efficacy of the improvement process