Organization: Key to Instructional Leadership | Thought2Action, LLC
Program Description
Thought2Action helps educators - individuals and small groups - develop the skills and strategies they need to become more effective instructional leaders for highly productive and satisfying lives and work, including
- leadership skill development,
- goal setting,
- time management,
- paper/file/e-file management,
- skill development for project/program management, and
- short-and long-term planning.
Thought2Action will devise a customized program based on the results of a needs assessment interview conducted with the client. The results of the needs assessment will be used to develop a work proposal that includes a recommended course of action, estimated time required, and estimated costs.
Virginia Standard(s) Addressed
Planning and Assessment (ISLLC standard 3)Instructional Leadership (ISLLC standard 1)
Professionalism (ISLLC standards 5 & 6)
Program Goals and Objectives
Upon completion of a project with Thought2Action, the client individual or group will demonstrate the ability to:
- Analyze barriers to efficient management
- Budget work time
- Improve workflow within the school office
- Use a systematic process for identifying and addressing teacher needs and issues
- Set priorities for instructional programs
- Use a systematic process for making and supporting administrative or instructional decisions
- Anticipate and prevent potential school or district problems
- Organize instructional materials for cost-effective use
- Align instructional materials with the Standards of Learning
- Achieve positive teamwork among faculty and staff
Program Format
Organization: Key to Instructional Leadership is designed to be 100% interactive; its success depends on the constant, focused participation of the client individual or group. Instructional strategies used for each client vary according to desired outcomes (see responses to numbers 8 and 9 for additional detail) and range from one-to-one to small-group instruction, coaching, and hands-on work. All programs are specifically customized to suit client needs. In some cases, the client engages in the majority of hands-on activity while Thought2Action provides guidance and coaching. In other circumstances, Thought2Action provides direct instruction or facilitates activity step-by-step with the client individual or group.Target Audience
Organization: Key to Instructional Leadership is intended for district-and school-level professionals who have responsibility for design, development, or delivery of instructional programs. These professionals may be at any stage in their careers - recently identified for an instructional leadership role, currently working in such a role, or transitioning from one professional role to another, from elementary through post-secondary instructional and administrative roles.Self-Selection and/or Identification Through School Division
No (though components of this program are intended to be implemented on a one-to-one skill development or coaching basis)/yes.Duration of Program
Duration of the particular Organization: Key to Instructional Leadership solution provided to each client depends on the client's identified needs. Examples:
- A single workshop session designed for a small group of school or district professionals to teach a proven decision-making process;
- A series of one-on-one in-person, e-mail, or phone coaching sessions to address an individual professional's most urgent professional development need(s);
- A single- or multi-day strategy session with a small group of school or district professionals to define or design a program plan;
- Several hours on site with an individual to demonstrate effective paper, file, or e-file management processes; and
- A series of sessions designed to identify, then provide alternative approaches for budgeting and using office, meeting, and general work time effectively.
Outcomes Measured
Outcomes to be measured will depend on the client's needs as identified from the preliminary interview. For example, potential outcomes to address the example solutions listed above:
- Decision-making process: Establish a common decision-making vocabulary among professional staff; implement a decision-making process that assures adequate justification for a "final" decision and minimizes the likelihood that the same decision will not need to be made repeatedly.
- Urgent professional development needs: Identification on a weekly or monthly basis of outcomes to be achieved; discussion of outcomes as a component of each coaching session.
- Program plan: Program plan completed within desired timeframe; identified decision-making committee or individual accepts program plan.
- File management: Reduce time required to file and find work documents in any format; increase level of preparation for any work responsibility; reduce volume of print and electronic documents associated with individual position, project, or program.
- Time management: Reduce number of meetings required to complete a project; reduce total number of extra-long work days; develop, "triage," and complete work-task to-do lists; organize daily, weekly, monthly calendar around proven time management techniques.
Program Evaluation
Evaluation of the Organization: Key to Instructional Leadership will vary by client. Instruments or processes used to assess program success range from client interviews, paper surveys, data collection of process results, observation, or any combination of the above. Potential evaluation approaches for the examples listed above:
- Decision-making process: (1) Decision-making "diary" indicating need for decisions identified, steps used to make decision, statement of final decision, and perceived quality of decision outcome(s). (2) Decision database tracking decision statements, criteria used, options considered, risks identified, and final choices made.
- Urgent professional development needs: Developmental (weekly, monthly) client self-assessments; exit interview with client and/or supervisor at conclusion of project.
- Program plan: Program plan approved by decision-making body; planning group includes stakeholders empowered to carry out components of plan following approval; implementation of plan follows projected timeline within acceptable limits.
- File management: Client is able to clearly explain logic behind file system; client is able to locate files easily and quickly when needed; client is able to maintain file organization system using minimal time and effort (to be defined in discussions with client).
- Time management: Client consistently is on time and prepared for meetings and meets deadlines. Client consistently demonstrates habits calendar, datebook, and to-do list creation and maintenance. Client's supervisor and/or colleagues observe changes in client's time management behavior (as reported in interviews or surveys).
Contact Information
Dr. Vicki Hancock, President
Thought2Action, LLC
Phone: 703-989-4013
Email: thought2action@cox.net
Web: www.thought2action.net