Joanna Michelson

Building a vision for student learning

CEL’s yearlong, contextualized Leading for Teacher Learning helps leaders assess their current state of teacher learning and better understand what teachers need in order to improve students’ experiences. Throughout the leaders’ learning with CEL, we explore the...

Instructional Leadership Teams: 3 Tips to Clarity

Instructional leadership teams (ILTs) can play a key role in creating more equitable schools that give all students the opportunity to thrive. But in our work with schools around the country, we often see a missed opportunity for teams to build clear, shared purpose...

How to Help Teachers Find an Area of Focus

Teachers have always set goals for their students and for their teaching. But what used to be a fairly open-ended conversation in the principal's office or staff room has now become a critical component of a teacher's professional development. Driven by student and...

Recent Posts

Aligning Decision-Making with a Vision for Student Experience

Over this past year, I have learned with central office leaders across the country. As with many leaders we hear from, one particular network of experienced central office leaders was feeling challenged by all of the important issues and decisions coming their way,...

Leading for Equity-Driven, Student-Focused School Leader Success

To be successful, school leaders need supportive district leaders. They need a central office team that creates the conditions for equity-driven leadership, which continuously centers students and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Fostering inclusion from the central office to the classroom

Each year the University of Washington College of Education convenes a series of webinars with education thought leaders to explore how we can center equity and leverage community voice to create more inclusive school environments and communities. In April the Center for Educational Leadership Executive Director, Max Silverman, hosted a conversation with two central office leaders, Dr. Ivan Duran, Superintendent at Highline School District, and Dr. Kelly An, Assistant Superintendent at Long Beach Unified School District.

Co-creating and leading with a vision for student experience

In March 2024, we hosted a webinar highlighting the journey of two educational leaders in co-creating and leading through a vision for student experience and learning. Superintendent Matt Galley and middle school Assistant Principal Cristal Campos are partners from...

Creating effective systems of principal support 

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), led by Dr. Adrienne Battle, is one of the nation’s largest school districts—serving more than 80,000 students across 158 schools. MNPS’s central office–called the Support Hub in recognition of the office’s role in supporting and...

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