Governance 

Lawmakers in 22 states enacted 39 laws in 2008 to support school leadership initiatives, according to this second annual roundup by the National Conference of State Legislatures, a partner in Wallace’s education leadership initiative. The report summarizes state legislative actions in a range of topics: leaders’ roles, responsibilities and authority; preparation and leadership academies; licensure and certification; mentoring and induction; professional development; assessing leader effectiveness; compensation and incentives; and governance structure issues.

Education Week’s 2008 Leading for Learning report, funded by The Wallace Foundation, focuses on the leadership and management challenges facing leaders of charter schools. As the charter school movement scales-up, the number of administrators with the leadership competencies needed for these school will also grow. The report features seven stories, each highlighting an aspect of charter school leadership.

A new report by Mass Insight Education and Research Institute defines school turnaround as “a dramatic and comprehensive intervention that produces significant gains in student achievement within two academic years” and details what a successful school turnaround entails. Strategies include: recognition of the challenge; dramatic, fundamental change; a sense of urgency; supportive operating conditions; new-model, high-capacity partners; and new state and district structures. States, in concert with districts and outside partners, must incorporate three key elements into their turnaround work: changing conditions, building capacity and clustering for support.

Today’s principals must understand how students learn, provide teachers with leadership and support, and create an environment in their schools in which all students and adults can improve their skills. To achieve this vision of “learning centered” leadership, principals also need to be supported by the school system, university and state education leaders. Yet a new report by the Southern Regional Education Board that rates the progress of 14 states in adopting the necessary policies to reach this school leadership goal concludes that the pace of change in all but a few states remains “modest at best.” The report lists a number of policy strategies to accelerate progress.

This report, one of six state-of-the-field reports, focuses in on local school boards. The report brings together the frameworks, beliefs and activities concerning the roles and responsibilities of the district school board. Using three common critiques of modern school boards as a guide, the paper further identifies the underlying currents of governance reform, conditions that influence governance structure, and the connections between governance and learning-focused leadership.