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...
Joanna Michelson
Instructional Leadership Teams: 3 Tips to Clarity
Oct 27, 2021
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...
Teacher professional learning: A shift in beliefs is key to advancing access and equity for students.
Jun 17, 2019
What does transformative teacher professional learning look and sound like? This case example — which was written by my colleague Renee Gallagher and published in the May/June 2019 issue of NAESP's Principal magazine — illustrates how a shift in beliefs is key to...
How to Help Teachers Find an Area of Focus
Apr 30, 2015
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
Fostering inclusion from the central office to the classroom
Apr 11, 2024
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
Mar 26, 2024
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
Feb 29, 2024
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...
Creating Conditions for Effective Instructional Coaching
Nov 28, 2023
Over my years working with instructional coaches and principals in school districts across the country, I have learned that the role of the instructional coach changes from district to district and even from school to school. I’ve observed coaches address practices...
Growing instructional leadership and sharpening the equity lens
Nov 28, 2023
Leaders at the Medford School District have been working with CEL to improve their instructional leadership and sharpen their equity lens since 2022. Through the Instructional Leadership Academy (ILA), leaders are learning more about gathering non-judgmental classroom observation data, understanding the current state of teaching and learning, and giving strengths-based, actionable feedback to teachers.
