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National Consulting
National School Leadership Consulting
You set the goal; we get you there
Strategic School Leadership Consulting for States, Districts and Nonprofits
Effective school leadership has the power to level the playing field for students. Research demonstrates that principals’ impact on student learning is second only to that of classroom teachers. The principalship, however, is a fundamentally different job than it was just a decade ago, one that requires a different approach to leadership development and support. Today, as the result of federal, state and local school improvement policies, state education departments and districts are under pressure to raise standards and hold principals accountable for how students perform relative to those standards.
Preparing and supporting effective school leaders calls for leadership development that is standards-based, embedded in the actual work of the principalship and responsive to different policy contexts. Over the past seven years, the NYC Leadership Academy has created a portfolio of nationally recognized leadership development programs that prepare and support effective, student-focused school leadership and collaborated widely with states and districts interested in adapting our programs and methods.
Based on strong interest from the field, the NYC Leadership Academy has created a national consulting practice to assist state education departments, school districts, and education-oriented nonprofits as they develop robust school leadership development, coaching and support systems to improve schools and accelerate student learning. The goal of this work is to build local capacity to design, implement, and continuously improve school leadership support programs that are responsive to local contexts, scalable and sustainable.
Our Guiding Principles
All of our work is guided by key school leadership principles:
1. School leaders are a crucial lever in school improvement and teacher effectiveness: Research shows that school leaders - second only to teachers—exercise a measurable effect on school effectiveness and student performance. We also know that teachers are more likely to improve their practice when led by principals who provide effective support and supervision, create time for collaboration, provide ample opportunities for job-embedded professional learning, encourage innovation, and hold them accountable for student learning.
2. All school leadership development work must be standards -based and aimed at accelerating student learning and closing the achievement gap: Students must always be understood as the ultimate client of any leadership development work. This framing recognizes that adult learning and growth is the mechanism to achieve the ultimate goal.
3. Program results, the most important being student performance outcomes in schools led by program participants, must be evaluated regularly to inform continuous program improvement: Programs should never become static. Successful programs use a steady stream of data to determine how strategies and content should be adjusted to achieve improved results that benefit students.
4. The work of school improvement requires systematic and strategic development and support of the school leader, outside of the supervisory structure: Supervisors can provide critical support, however it is difficult for a new leader to be open as a learner when their coach is their rating officer. Coaches, who sit outside of the supervisory structure, are a sound, strategic investment for continued leadership development on behalf of student learning.
5. Leadership preparation and school leadership coaching/mentoring must be standards-based and coaches/mentors require ongoing training and tools to be effective: In order to support school leaders effectively, coaches/mentors need training in proven coaching strategies, educational innovations in areas such as data systems and instructional practices, and how to provide learning experiences to build the competencies connected to improved student outcomes.
6. The training, coaching and support of school leaders must be responsive to state and local improvement efforts: this alignment is critical to ensure that reform efforts have real impact on the ground, in schools and for the students whom they serve.
Our Approach
Guided by these core principles and informed by our experience, we help clients develop and implement school leadership programs and strategies to cultivate transformative school leaders who focus on measurably improving student achievement. We do this through customized consulting engagements, trainings and workshops.
The goal of our consulting work is to build local capacity to design, implement, and continuously improve preparation and support programs that are responsive to local education reforms and policy environments and are sustainable. Through our engagement process, we work closely with clients to identify the core challenge and collaboratively develop solutions. For us, success means being able to step back once the client has developed the capacity to sustain the work independently.
Our Consulting Services
Clients can engage with us through short- or long-term consulting engagements to address a range of areas connected to school leadership preparation, the coaching/mentoring of aspiring and current school leaders and the development of comprehensive leadership development systems. We offer a range of group trainings and workshops that can be used as stand-alone services or that can be customized and integrated into a consulting engagement package. Services our clients may choose from include:
Curriculum Design
School Simulation Design
Leadership Preparation Program Design and Implementation
Coaching Program Design and Implementation
Program Assessment
Trainings & Workshops
• Mentor Training
• Facilitator Training
• Facilitative Competency-Based Coaching (includes On-line Training Modules) (click to expand)
Through Facilitative Competency-Based (FCB) Coaching, coaches foster trusting professional relationships with school leaders, enabling school leaders to reflect on targeted leadership behaviors, practices, and school challenges while developing clear action steps to accelerate school transformation and student achievement.
Who should attend this training?
Coaches of school leaders, coordinators of coaching programs, and any educational professional interested in building or strengthening a coaching program.
What can I expect from this training?
• Explore the NYC Leadership Academy’s innovative FCB coaching model
• Learn how to use a school leader’s daily challenges to strengthen leadership skills
• Practice coaching strategies that target critical leadership behaviors for early-school leaders
• Leadership Performance Planning Worksheet (LPPW) Training (click to expand)
Developed by the Leadership Academy and used nationally, the Leadership Performance Planning Worksheet (LPPW) is a tool that anchors school leadership development and coaching by identifying the critical leadership behaviors early-career school leaders must practice to lead school improvement effectively.
Who should attend this training?
Coaches/mentors of aspiring or current leaders, as well as coordinators and facilitators of coaching, mentoring, or aspiring leader programs interested in using the LPPW
What can I expect from this training?
• Access the LPPW and explore its leadership dimensions and core behaviors
• Learn how to use the LPPW to develop leadership capacity
• Hands-on practice using the LPPW to identify professional learning opportunities for, and entry points for coaching conversations with, aspiring and early-career principals
Our Work in Action
We help urban, suburban and rural school systems across the country adapt our programs and methods for their own contexts. To date, we’ve worked with over two dozen school systems and their partners as they develop and strengthen their leadership preparation and support programs, including:
• helping the New York State Education Department develop three new academies for current school leaders (in Rochester, Buffalo, and the Mid-Hudson Valley), including training coaches in our unique coaching method;
• developing a comprehensive on-line coach training series for Missouri’s State Education Department;
• designing a principal induction program for a national nonprofit association of non-public schools, and
• training mentors/coaches of aspiring and early-career principals at over 18 sites.
In addition to direct consulting engagements, we have also
• developed the Leadership Performance Planning Worksheet (LPPW), a tool that anchors school leadership coaching in a set of leadership behaviors linked to school improvement and is currently used in 243 sites and 19 colleges and universities;
• hosted over 1000 national and international visitors who have come to observe our work first-hand, and
• led several working retreats for national and international school systems.
Our Team
Our consulting team is comprised of experienced school leadership practitioners and specialists in program, curriculum and evaluation design. Well attuned to adult learning styles, they have expertise in leadership development approaches, school reform strategies, and accountability measures. They are also adept and experienced facilitators who have significant experience working with diverse groups of stakeholders.
For more information about our national consulting, please contact us at:
contactus@nycleadershipacademy.org or
646-666-8178
Representative Client List
Missouri Elementary and Secondary Education Department
New York State Department of Education
Rochester City Public Schools
Providence Public Schools
Delaware Academy of School Leadership
Denver Public Schools
Menachem Education Foundation
Dallas Independent School District