Leadership and Literacy Processes in School Improvement Creating and Supporting a Community of Success: A Case Study Examining the Principal’s Role in the Reconstitution of a Campus to Transform Literacy and Learning

摘要

Any number of school districts in the U.S. are having toimprove schools that have been underperforming by state andfederal measures. Research has indicated that one of the ways toeffectively improve school performance is by reconstituting theschool (i.e. change the principal and the teachers in the particularschool organization). This case study investigates theimprovement effort of an urban elementary school in the greaterHouston, Texas area. A principal with a track record ofimproving student achievement was brought in to change theperformance of an elementary school that had spent several yearson the federal improvement needed list and the state list ofschools that had not met standard. The study investigates theactions of leadership taken by the new principal, theorganizational vision cast by the principal, and the instructionalsupport provided to the teachers toward improved studentachievement. The study also investigates the perceptions of theteachers regarding the leadership and support provided by theprincipal, and the instructional expectations that schoolleadership and the teaching faculty have for literacydevelopment.The study notes the improvements made by the schoolin the two years after the school was reconstituted, especially thegrowth for the Hispanic and English Language Learnersubgroups. Also noted is the additional work that still needs tobe done for other subgroups particularly the African Americansubgroup. The results of the efforts of the school in this case studysupport over 30 years of research that demonstrates theimportance of school leadership in improving teacher efficacyand leading the instructional direction of the school.