Professional development for principals, by principals: this foundation asks principals to identify the professional development they need to do their jobs more effectively, and then attempts to provide it.

Recognizing that the high school principalship as one of the most difficult jobs in the nation, in 2002 the Union Pacific Railroad Foundation began a program to help high school principals in U.P.'s service region meet the challenges of their leadership roles.

Unique among professional development programs for educational leaders, the Principals' Partnership models itself after approaches used for business executives: principals identify the professional development they need to do their jobs more effectively and the Partnership attempts to provide it, using a network of consultants, a high quality Summer Leadership Institute, local professional development sessions and networks of the principals themselves.

These services are underwritten by Union Pacific and are offered without cost to high school principals in selected Union Pacific communities. Currently 800 principals in 17 states, including California, participate in the Partnership.

The Partnership mission affirms deep commitment to offering the professional development requested by the principals themselves. As one participant put it, "It's a program for principals by principals." To that end, principals plan the content of the Summer Institute, all local professional development sessions, and may request specific assistance from Partnership consultants and other Partnership principals.

In short, it is a program designed around the best research on leadership training by such advocates as Dennis Sparks (2002) and Tom Guskey (1995): Meaningful professional development is best when it is peer-to-peer and imbedded directly in the work principals do.

In order to uncover how principals use professional development of this type, the Partnership invited Ron Williamson, professor of educational leadership at Eastern Michigan University, to provide an independent assessment of the Partnership and its impact on the school leaders involved.

Using a series of detailed interviews, surveys and case studies conducted on site with 11 Partnership principals, Williamson began to identify how high-quality, principal-designed professional development makes its way into principals' actual practice and how these practices are spread from principal to principal and school to school. This article provides an overview of the results of that study.

Getting started

In the first year of the Partnership, principals involved in the study said that they engaged in "foundation-building" activities around new ideas and attractive innovations. These activities were:

* Reflecting on the idea or innovation, considering its pros and cons, and trying to imagine how the innovation might look in their own schools. Particularly important was systematically considering potential impediments and pitfalls in implementing the new ideas. At this stage, principals might invite their own professional mentors or teacher leaders into conversations about the idea.

* Studying the new idea through reading, research and consultation with experts and knowledgeable principals. This process covered a wide range of activities, from independent reading to extended conversations with colleagues and consultants to participation in formal training offered by their district, their professional association or the Partnership itself.

* Planning to implement the innovation. Thorough, meticulous and collaborative planning with all of the key players in the innovation was critical to the success of the venture. Normally, this began with a frank discussion of school needs and goals and how the innovation might address school priorities. Typically, the discussion was followed by an educational effort to be sure that all of the players were well informed about the innovation and how it might work. Then, there were extended discussions about how the innovation could be implemented in the specific school setting, capitalizing on the school's strengths and avoiding pitfalls.

Thinking differently

Most changes in leadership behavior that ultimately led to successful innovations in the school resulted from the principal changing the way he or she viewed a problem or opportunity. The principals in this study said that their attendance at the Partnership's Summer Leadership Institute, which includes visionary keynote sessions, informational "how-to" sessions and a great deal of networking among principals, usually fueled a major change in the way they thought about a situation in their school or how to approach a persistent challenge they face.

Melver Scott, a Chicago principal, said, "After attending the Summer Institute, I had a different attitude about what was possible in my school. I looked at problems differently--as being much more solvable." He also recognized that he could not do everything alone. Borrowing ideas from sessions on small learning communities, he launched a series of curricular problem--solving conversations with his department leaders. Together, they identified priorities and action steps for the school in each curriculum area.

Tacoma, Wash., principal Tom Shearer reported that "until I went to a session on scheduling, I was locked into a single model--the way we had always done it. There, I learned that there are dozens of models and options for using time effectively." Shearer recognized that the allocation of time is one of the key instructional variables a principal controls, so by August he had developed a new master schedule with longer instructional blocks and built-in opportunities for providing extra help for struggling students.

Illinois Principal Jonathan Heerboth, like most high school people, had always seen reading as a function of the elementary program. But a session by Judith Irvin, an educational leadership professor and reading advocate from Florida State University, and some conversations with his Partnership colleagues, changed that view completely. By the time he returned to his school, he had planned a school-wide conversation about literacy at the secondary level. These conversations eventually resulted in a school-wide literacy initiative among teachers in their comprehensive high school program.

In virtually all cases, the principals could point to a single event or series of events that changed their thinking about a problem. Often, it was a formal presentation by a specialist in the field. Almost as frequently, though, it was conversations with colleagues from other states or regions who had only solved problems in their schools by changing the way they viewed those problems or opportunities.

One of the most critical learnings from this study is the need to invite key players into conversations about the innovation early in the process. Among virtually all of the principals included in this study, the report was the same: They said they "went home, got my department chairs [or some other group] together, and began a conversation about some tough challenges facing us." Included in the process of "thinking differently" about problems is, as one Houston principal put it, the willingness to have "candid, frank and open dialogue about the real issues in our schools. It means revisiting some of our most sacred cows."

Treating people differently

Not surprisingly, once principals begin to think differently about a problem or issue, they are more likely to change their behavior. One of the most noticeable changes was in the way principals said they treated people as a result of their experience with the culture of the Partnership.

The Partnership strives to treat principals with respect, consideration and dignity. In a profession that is often characterized by standardization, regulation and compulsion, the Partnership's treatment of principals seems to be refreshing and unique.

Pam Hughes, a St. Louis principal, said, "The Partnership takes care of people; it treats them with dignity and respect." She saw principals engaging in candid, productive analysis of problems and issues and making a genuine commitment to seeking help from Partnership colleagues. It was, she thought, a truly collaborative experience.

So instead of the standard "back-to-school" meetings, Hughes held a faculty retreat at a downtown St. Louis hotel and treated her teachers the way other businesses treat valued professionals. The result was that she and her faculty were able to identify the most productive ways to work together on tough issues and build commitments and strategies for resolving those issues.

Recognizing the power of artifacts and unifying symbols employed at the Partnership's Summer Institute, Ed Alder, principal of Utah's West Desert High School, took a photograph of a spectacular sunset over nearby mountains, framed it with a motivational message, and distributed it in poster form to all district personnel at the back-to-school meeting hosted by his school. This poster now appears in virtually every classroom and office in the district, and has become a tangible artifact of a district--wide commitment to excellence and student achievement.

During site visits to the district, Williamson said that almost everyone pointed out the poster and the message. "It seemed to sum up what they wanted to achieve in their local setting. The beauty of the photograph assured that the poster would be prominently displayed and would invite both comment and conversation by parents and other visitors."

Acting differently

Beyond the way they treated people, principals cited a number of other actions that were motivated by specific elements of the Partnership's program. In some cases, these were quite dramatic and systemic; in others, they were small changes that produced big benefits.

Illinois principal Jonathan Heerboth said, "Nothing has impacted me more than learning that things can be done at the high school level to improve literacy." As a result of this powerful learning, and because of the affirmation he received from his colleague principals in the Partnership, Heerboth delayed filling a high school English vacancy until he could find someone who shared this view of reading at the high school level.

Despite pressures to fill the position, he prevailed in securing an excellent teacher who came to the school largely because of Heerboth's view of literacy. This teacher has worked with her colleagues to launch a school-wide literacy initiative, and state test scores have already started to rise just one year after the program's launch.

Research on neurological functioning can be pretty abstract to front-line educators, but Jan Borja, principal at a school in New Trier, Ill., listened when consultant David Sousa told principals that one of the impediments to optimum brain functioning is dehydration. She also knew that with longer classroom blocks and brief passing times, students and teachers went for hours without water. Now, New Trier is awash in bottled water. It's available to students and teachers in classrooms, to administrators and staff in offices, and even to school visitors.

By far, the most frequently cited actions by principals affected curriculum and instruction. A unifying theme for all of these actions was that principals cannot be the masters of every high school field, but they can assemble and manage the resources necessary to bring about big changes in teaching and learning in their schools.

* Ursula Harrison, a Wyoming principal, left the Summer Institute and, with her faculty, launched a writing-across-the-curriculum initiative, led by the writing experts on her staff. The result: improved student performance on writing assignments in all classes and on the state assessment.

* Ed Alder, in Utah, led a faculty study of student test scores and found that students scored well above state averages in reading, where much of their curriculum emphasis was, but not as well in mathematics. Teachers agreed to school-wide effort on "improving mathematical thinking," supported in all subject areas. The result: math scores are climbing in the school.

* St. Louis principal Steve Warmack found their school-based professional development program to be unfocussed. He formed Professional Growth Teams around the research-based topics suggested by Robert Marzano at the Summer Institute, so every teacher now participates in a group and serves as a "critical friend" to another teacher. The result: more discussion about teaching and learning among staff and better classroom instruction for students.

* Tom Shearer, from Washington, recognized that some of the most challenging and effective teaching went on in Advanced Placement classes. He redesigned his professional development program so that all of his teachers were trained in AP approaches, even though not everyone would teach an AP class. The result: better, more engaging teaching for all students; more student attention and better classroom management.

Spreading impact

One of the most profound effects of the Partnership has been the way that innovation has spread across participating schools through principal networks. More than one-third of the Summer Institute is devoted to networking--by school size, by location, by specialty and at random.

Jim Garvin, institute director, said, "Networking with peers is the most sought-after opportunity among high school principals. Many of our partners are the only high school principal in town, so their opportunities to network are limited. But even in larger districts, high school leadership is so demanding it is very easy to overlook your own professional needs in order to focus totally on the school."

Not surprisingly, principals cite networking as the most valuable part of the Summer Institute experience, affirming that the best professional development for principals is, as the research says, "peer to peer and imbedded in the work."

In order to track the effects of this networking on Partnership principals, Williamson conducted a series of "tracer studies" designed to look at the spread of innovation across the Partnership. These studies are difficult because much of the networking, which may begin at a Partnership meeting, continues by phone and e-mail once principals return to their schools and is challenging to track. However, examples of this dissemination effect did emerge from several case studies.

Advanced Placement teacher training: In 2003, Tom Shearer attended the Summer Leadership Institute and got the idea to train all of his teachers in Advanced Placement methods. It was so successful that he presented his program at the 2004 Institute, where San Antonio Principal Nancy York attended. She launched the innovation at her school.

Small learning communities: At a session on small learning communities, Chicago principal Bill Gerstein and Portland principal John Wilhemi began a conversation about implementing SLC in their schools. Gerstein has had some experience with the concept, so he invited Wilhemi to visit his school and learn from their experience. Wilhemi received a Gates grant, and brought Gerstein and one of his teacher-leaders to Portland. Later, he sent a team of teachers to Gerstein's school in Chicago. Thus, a SLC model is launched in Portland with continuing support from Wilhemi's Chicago colleagues.

The special needs of special schools: The mountain-west's far-flung population makes gathering for professional development difficult, especially for specialized programs, such as alternative schools. After attending the Summer Institute and beginning conversations with other alternative school principals in the Partnership, alternative school principals from Wyoming, Utah and Montana created a regional network to share ideas and solutions. A nationally recognized speaker for their first regional conference was sponsored by the Partnership, and other assistance came from state agencies and local districts.

A powerful, positive impact

The Principals' Partnership is guided by a deep commitment to supporting high school principals in their work to reform their schools. As these examples illustrate, when principals are provided high quality professional development based on their requests, it results in rich, personal connections between principals and has a powerful impact on their schools.

More telling than anything, however, are the many ways that Partnership principals describe the impact. Jonathan Heerboth from rural Illinois said, "No other program has ever reflected such respect for me as a principal, nor provided me with such a valuable array of resources that I can use to positively impact my school."

Ursula Harrison from Wyoming was very direct: "The Principals' Partnership is the finest professional development activity I have ever been involved with."

Ed Alder from rural Utah said, "The federal government places demands on my school. So does the state and our local district. The Principals' Partnership makes no demands. But the resources I receive through this program have had a greater impact on my school than all the others combined."

References

Guskey, Thomas R. (1995). Results Oriented Professional Development: In Search of an Optimal Mix of Effective Practices. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

Sparks, Dennis. (2002). Designing Powerful Professional Development for Teachers and Principals. Oxford, OH: National Staff Development Council.

F. James Hoffmann is executive director of The Principals' Partnership, sponsored by Union Pacific. J. Howard Johnston is professor of secondary education at the University of South Florida.