powerOF THE PRINCIPAL

J 1 \ J .

is embedded in the power of theprincipal helping to lead organization

and system transformation. •Michael Fullan

The AwesomePOWER

OF THE PRINCIPAL

principal as insmicti<>n:il leaden pro<^ess is ....being mad^^^jj^üic .specificity and resulu» are

a^vesome. hi 1989, Williaiii Smith and Richaid Andrews^ ^ l e a monograph titled InslnuUomd Ij'adenhip: Hmo Prin-

cijmis Moke a Diffnena'. \n their study of 1,20() school prin-cipals, they found that eflective principals are engaged infour areas of strategic interaction ^rith teachers: a^i^ource^^^der . as instruûtittttilfMfiurce, as communicator, and asrisible pi¿

•RAUNfEUTEB/GETTY IMAGES

As valid as tliesc findings still are,they had no sticking power becausethey failed to lead to pi"actical aciion onany scale. But now we know specificallywhat being an insLructional Icadt-r lookslike. My colleagues and I in Ontaiio,Canada, and elsewhere have been work-ing vÁ\h v-diic)us systems, bringing aboutimpressive refonns on an ever laigcrscale and with ever greater precisionand practicality; The two case examplesbelow cienionstnite clearly what this newwork looks like and re\'eal six leatiu'esthat stand out as essential to principalsin tlieir efforts coward school reform.

Two Schools, Two Approaches1 iLse only two examples but could

have selected hundreds out of the 4,0()0elementary schools with which I amworking in Ontario. (Since 2003,1 haveworked with the premier and ministerof education to transform tlie entireptiblic system in Ontario.)

Crosby Heights is a K-8 school of 662students in a low-income neighborhoodin a growing York Region commtmit)'just north of Toronto. As a new prin-cipal in 2U()4, R\nn Friedman faceddemoralized unionized staff, unsafe andshabby facilities, critical parents want-ing to get tlieir children out, and lowachievement on provincial tests in read-ing, writing, and math.

Three years later, tlie school's third-grade reíKiing, writing, and mathproficienc>'scores had Jumped from44 percent, 40 percent, and 50 per-cent, respectively, to an astounding 90percent, 87 percent, and S3 percent,respectively. Ryan had instilled in thestafFa strong moral imperative (learn-ing for all, whate\'er it takes, all equaLsall, excellence in all that we do), btit—and this is crucial—he also enabledstaff to enact their moial purpose whenmany doubted that success was possible.He did the latter with what I am increas-ingly calling ""the skinny of change"—asmall number of key things done withrelentless consistency, namely:

• Establish ing job-embedded leaniing;• Building relationships with teacher

support staff and parents;

"Powerful principals

are obsessed with the

instructional core of

personalizing learning

and getting results for

each and every student."

• Modeling hope and optimism, life-long learning, and caring;

• Providing needed resources;• Seizing opportunities to consistently

communicate and stay the course;• Investing in and participating in

capacity-building in relation to lit-eracs' and numeracy; and

• Celebrating and building on success.

Also in York Region is ArniadalePublic School, the region's largestelementary school vñth more than900 students, more than 80 percent of

whom are immigrants. When principalJill Marr arrived at the school in 2008,she faced a demoralized staff, terriblephysical facilities, alienated st\identsand parents, and one ofthe lowe.st per-forming schools among tlie district's150 elementar)'schools. Twelve monthsIater,Jill and the staff had reduced thenumber of at-risk kids from 378 to 233,mostly concentrated in kindergarten tograde 3. Ttieir achieveiTicnt stores onthe six provincial tests (reading, writ-ing, and math in grades 3 and 6) for2008-2009 climbed by 20 to 25 peicent-age points in all six areas. Attendanceat school council sessions that involvemeetings with parents and tlie com-niimit)' has grown by more than 200percent.

Jill and her staff did this through asimilarly focused set of strategies thatwas seen at Ciosby Heights:

• Improved physical building facilities;• Reorganizing and increasing access to

12 Principal • March/April 2010 GEORGE SCHILUCORBIS

insintctiunul rest mu f>;• CapaciU'-builciing in which teachers

and stiidenLs clearly ajiiculate theirlearning targets, success criteria, andinsuiictioiial actions;

•Job-embedded profe.ssion;il learningin which teachers model lessons in(»ne another's cla.ssro<jnis;

• Teachers enabled to build class andstndent profiles and participate in casemanagenietit sessions to identify undimplement high-)ield sti-ategícs; and

• Greater rwo-\vay interaction withdistrict const Litan ts and resources.

The day that Jill informed the leader-ship team of ihc achievement lestilt^ibr 2008-2009, the team of 12 teacherswent wild with celebration. I asked thegnnip how they could possibly get suchlesulLs in such a brief period in a verylarge school. One teacher said the\' did asmall number of key Uiiiigs witli relent-less consistency within and across class-rooms. Seen hete is tlie speed of qualitychange—atniizing results accomplishedby well-led teachers.

Ry;ui and ¡ill illtLstrate two types ofinsu uctiotiaily ftx ttsed principals at tlieelementary school level, each of whichis highly effective. Jill is an iti.su uctionalexpeti (the best insuiictor in tlie build-ing) ; Ryan is not. With her expertise, Jillmust make sure she doesn't dominate;however, with her ktiowledge and expet-tise she can move Caster in organizingand gettitig resottrces, demonstratingand coaching, and developing otlierinstructional leaders. Ryan is strong onffxiis, building relation sh i ¡is. shapitigthe process, and developing individitaland shared respoiisibilitv. Both princi-pals are deeply and actively immersed intlie daily itiiprovement of tlic school. .-VsLyn Sharratt and I described in RefUiza-tioji: Tfif Chaji^ hiiperatli>e for DeepeningDistrict-wide fîffon/u both principals areengaged in vibrant learning networksof schtK)Is uitliin the district, and in theoverall change of improving the culttireof the di.strict and its 190 schools.

The Essence of a Principal's PowerIt hiLS l>t-eti obsened that tiie princi-

pal Is second only to the teacher in his

"Successful principals

develop others In a way

that is integrated into

the work of the school."

or her impact on the suident. Thereis d way in which this underestimatesthe true impact of the principal. Forexample, tiiere is clearly a multipliereñect if Ule principal helps, directly andindirectly, 30 or more teachers becomedramatically more effective in theirteachitig. Here aae six steps to take tomove theory to practice in organiza-tional change.

Reaà\-fire-aim change savvy. Awesomeprincipals have a fierce bias for action,titit they aie impressi\'el)^ carefiil intending to relationships. They displaywhat I have called in Motion Ij^ad^-nhip:Tlw Skinny on Beambig Chariff^ Smnjy a"ready-fiie-aim change savvy" in whichnine interrelated action bebaviors andskills have been identified sttch as bitildrelationships ;LS yon go; lieware of fatplans (as Doug Reeves has put it, thesize and the prettiness of the plannitigdocument is itiveiiiely related t(t tliequality of action); and communicationdtiring Í!n[)It'nieutaliou is paramount.

Participate as a leartier. hi the recentbest-evidence synthesis of research ontlie impact of tlie principal on sttidentotitcomes, Viviane Robinson and hercolleagues in School I^oflenhip and Stu-denl Outcomes fonnd one factor that wastwice as poweritil as atiy other factorwith respect to the principal's role ineffecting student outcomes. It was "thedegree to which the principal partici-pates as a leamer" in helping teachersfigure otit how to make progres.s. Ryanand Jill are lead learners. They donidominate; they are fuUy engaged.

instnicHotmlfoats. PovverHi! principalsare obsessed witli tlie instructional coreof personalizing learning and gettingresults fiir each and every student. Theymake instruction a priorit). Tliey dealeffectively witJi distracters. They create aculture ofjob-embedded learning. They

help the SCIKKJI fixriLS on a snuill nuniljerof core priorities the>- resolutely pursuewhile avoiding innovation overioad.

Develop others. Successftil principalsdevelop i>tliers in a way that is integratedinto tlie work of tlie school. These col-laborative cultui-es have two powerfulfcatiues: TTiey aie collectively effective atst)lving problems and making progresson an ongoing basis, and they generatea pipeline of leadei"s for tlie next phase.Succession is less of a pt oblem in tlieseschool systems becau.se they are constant-ly cultivating kindred spirits and futureleaders wh(i can go even further.

Network and system en^iged. Awesomeprincipals aie not only iiura-sthool lead-ers; they actively participate iti districtnetworks of peei"s and have a strongsense of two-way partnership witli Uiedisuict. Through peer and verticalbonds with the district, they al-so developexUemcly powerful mutual allegiancesthat strengthen the district culture andbeyond.

It is interesting to see how highly effec-tive principals relate to research. Theydon't implement research. Rat-her, theyare proactive prtictitionei:s who criticallyconsume research as they go. For exam-ple, Jill and Ryan know the research onchange and instrtictit>nal improvement,but tliey know this by pursuing a pathof learning for iill, and then seeing howresearch can help them. The sequence isciTicial here.

^]^c key concerns are not how do weput research into practice or how canwe go from theory to practice. Practitio-ners don't think diat way. Instead, theyset out to solve particular problems and,in a natural way, they see how researchmight help them. They know an insight-ful idea when they see one Ixrcause theyare steeped in trying to solve specificproblems. They and their staffs aieclearly in the diiver's seat. How do weput research into practice puts the qties-tion the wiong w;iy arotuid. Rather,the key question is: How can research(which is really otlier practitioners'effective practice) help solve the prob-lems that I am facing? Effective prin-cipals are always leamhig inside andoutside their buildings.

14 Principal • March/April 2010 www.naesp.org

Retáiáng moral purpose. A cuñousthing is happening on the way lo moralpiirpcise. Nearly all schools, distñcts.and states embrace üie mission tiiatall kids can learn. Bui some leachersin some simations deep down do notbelieve or have doubts as to wheilier"these particular students" can learn. Inthis respect theie is a powerful break-through in the new work of the princi-pal. TTiey do not try to convince ambiva^leiii or reluctant teachers throughmoral exhortation ;uid research evi-dence. Instead, tliey prove thai thesehitherto unsucces.sful kids can learn byhelping teachers actiuiliy do it. TTii.s iswhere tlie awesome power of principalslies. It is after it is accomplished thatteachere' moral pui-pose sbinesandbecomes a huge energizing resourcefor subsequent phases. And for the Hi sttime Ulis is now happening on a ver\'large scale.

How to get polic)'niakers to realizethe underlying power of the new theo-

r)" of action associated A\iih tliis work isstill a perplexing pniblem. The answeris not in producing more individualswitli qualitv characteristics, but ratherit is to develop the collective capaci-ties of whole schools and whole schoolsvTitems to become effeciive In theirclay-tc»-day work- We have implementedsuccessful examples of school andsystem refonn on a large .scale that aredocumented in my publications MulioriIj'adership-jLiia All S\stetm Go. From

practice to theon; from doubt to con-viction, tlie key to the speed of qtialit>'change is embedded in the power ofthe principal helping to lead organiza-tion and system tiansfonnation. Q

Michael Fullan is professor emeritusat the University of Toronto's OntarioInstitute for Studies in Education anda special adviser to the premier andminister of education in Ontario,Canada. His e-mail address is mfultan®oise.utoronto.ca.

WEB RESOURCES

School Leadenhip mid Student Outœmes

explains that when schotil leaderspromote and/or participate in eEFectiveteacher professional learning it has twicethe impact on student cmiromes across a•it h(K>l ihaii anv orlicr Icadei^ship activity.www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2515/60169/60170

Read additiunal articles by MichaelFiillan about school It-adei-shipand school iinprovcmcniaiwww.michaelfullan.ca.

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