We all know that there are dozens of factors that significantly impact student success. When we do just a bit of digging, we know that when it comes to in-school factors, effective teaching and leadership take the top spots in terms of influence on student outcomes. Whether in an organization, a church, a family, or a school – leadership matters. School and district leaders have a crucial role to play in setting students on the pathway to academic success.
Think of all the things these education leaders must do to ensure their students and schools are successful. Set clear goals and high expectations. Find and keep the best teachers. Give teachers valuable feedback and coaching. Support continuous improvement. Ensure everyone in the building understands data and uses it to make decisions that are in the best interest of students.
The list doesn’t end there. Tennessee’s quest to post the largest gains in academic achievement in the nation also means school and district leaders are responsible for turning around the lowest performing schools, building a pipeline of future school leaders, and igniting support among parents and community stakeholders for public schools.
SCORE is committed to fostering great leaders in our schools. That’s why we are sponsoring the 2013 Leadership Summit for superintendents, principals, and teacher leaders on August 21-22 in Nashville. The summit aims to inspire leaders by highlighting best practices and strategies they can take back to their schools. There also will be opportunities for them to talk with and learn from their counterparts at other schools and systems in Tennessee and across the nation.
The free two-day summit will focus on cultivating strong district and school leadership, ensuring excellent teaching, embracing high standards, and using data and technology to enhance student learning.
In more than 20 breakout sessions, participants will discover more about topics that range from building a culture of feedback to identifying and recruiting effective teachers.
Multiple sessions will cover Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards: how to communicate about them, how to develop a strategy to implement them, how to build partnerships to support them, how to work with higher education to make them a success, and how to support diverse learners with the higher standards.
For more information and to register, go to: http://tnleadershipsummit-eorg.eventbrite.com/