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Created for the Stupski Foundation, this document synthesizes recent research and theoretical literature on leadership practices needed to support the success of underserved urban students of color. The report identifies four options for creating and supporting successful school leaders of underserved students: (1) Redefine the role of the school principal; (2) Develop a culturally responsive leadership preparation program; (3) Expand effective leadership preparation and retention programs; and (4) Refine effective leadership evaluation and support programs. An appendix provides a description of the review method, including a general explanation of McREL's approach and descriptions of the particular procedures used for each phase of the review: identification of key hypotheses and research questions, literature search, identification and cataloging of finds, and generating and communicating recommendations. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures. A list of references reviewed but not cited is included.)

Traditional professional development focuses on declarative and procedural knowledge. That is, participants usually learn what to do and how to do it rather than when to do it and why it is important. In McREL's leadership development program, they focus first on providing participants with an overview of research findings found in their publication, "School Leadership that Works" (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005). During the program, participants explore 21 responsibilities of highly effective school leaders and learn about the importance of shared leadership, creating purposeful communities, and managing what McREL calls "first-" and "second-order" changes. In addition, they learn 11 research-based influences on student achievement identified by McREL's research and reported in the ASCD publication, "What Works in Schools" (Marzano, 2003). But that alone is not enough to become a highly effective school principal. Using cases in conjunction with a thorough examination of the research is a simple but powerful method for helping current aspiring school leaders gain the deep levels of knowledge they need to develop true professional wisdom. By reflecting on problems of practice and interacting with fellow principals, professionals can make sense of the consequences of decisions faced by the decision maker in a particular case. By examining the judgements the leader in the case made and reflecting on the results of those decisions, professionals, over time, can develop better judgement. By studying several cases, school leaders shorten their experience curve, compressing the experiences of others into a shorter span of time with the added benefit of not actually suffering the consequences of the mistakes made by the leaders in the cases. A sample case is appended. (Contains 1 exhibit.)

Teachers in this study participated in a 3-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for Innovation in Education. The purpose of the grant was to provide teachers with support in implementing standards-based education. Both treatment and control groups of teachers received instruction in implementing standards-based education from the school district. Teachers in the treatment group also received training in cognitive coaching and coached each other monthly as they implemented the standards. In addition, they received training in nonverbal classroom management, which is a set of nonverbal techniques designed to help teachers decrease the time spent managing in order to increase time spent helping students achieve the standards. Thirty-six coaches received training to provide teachers with feedback on their classroom management skills. Finally, teachers in the project met in monthly dialogue groups across grade levels with teachers from other schools to discuss their implementation of standards. Teachers in the treatment group compared to teachers in the control group increased significantly in teaching efficacy and attitudes toward school culture. Based on these findings, this model appears to have promise for increasing teacher professionalism and efficacy and helping teachers to implement innovations. (Contains 89 references and 14 tables.) (Author/SM)

This study examines the personal empowerment and efficacy of teachers, relating these constructs to environmental characteristics in order to provide information for school counselors who are helping teachers in personal growth. The study also assesses the relationship to teacher conceptual level in order to determine its relationship to empowerment and efficacy. A group of 411 teachers completed a collection of scales and surveys in the spring of 1997. Multiple regressions were conducted for the Vincenz Empowerment Scale (Vincenz, 1990) with the School Culture Survey (Saphier, 1985), Teacher Efficacy Scale (Gibson and Dembo, 1984), Learner-Centered Battery (McCombs and Lauer, 1997), Standards-Based Implementation Survey (Seahorn, 1995), and Paragraph Completion Method (Hunt, Butler, Noy, and Rosser, 1978), as well as for satisfaction and age-related variables. Results indicate that empowerment is related at a low to moderate level to personal teaching efficacy, administrator professional treatment of teachers, reflective self-awareness, honoring of student voice, and satisfaction with teaching as a career. Strategies are presented for school counselors to use in helping teachers increase empowerment. (Contains 67 references.) (SM)

An action research project explored whether teacher access to information about high school students at the beginning of the semester would result in changes in instruction and interactions with students. Nine pilot project teachers received instruction in how to access the school district's student database, along with information about access to information and confidentiality and training in data analysis. Grade point average, cumulative student attendance, student mobility, health problems, and student special education background were among the pieces of information available to teachers. Some teachers chose to avoid noting names of individual students, and only chose to examine class patterns, identifying groups or skewed distributions, while others reviewed data on individual students. Teachers began using the data to make instructional decisions in the classroom in 1996. The process will be refined as teachers gather data about the results of what they are doing. The teachers eventually will report to the whole school staff about their participation in the project. Early results suggest that students are benefiting from their teachers' awareness and use of data. (SLD)