Evaluation of the High School Leadership Initiative

摘要: Educational leadership matters. Cumulating evidence makes clear how critical the school leader’s role is in a school’s effectiveness (Hallinger & Heck, 1996, 1998; Leithwood & Riehl, 2003; Levine & Lezotte, 1990). In fact, research has shown that considering all school-related factors, leadership is second only to teaching in affecting student learning (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). Yet there is a widespread sense that current means for attracting and preparing leaders are not doing the job (Murphy, 1992; Portin, DeArmond, Gundlach, & Schneider, 2003). This comes at a time of heightened scrutiny and accountability for student outcomes, when high-quality school leadership is keenly needed.Recognizing the need for effective educational leadership, the California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP) 1 developed the High School Leadership Initiative (HSLI). Launched at the beginning of the 2007–08 school year, 2 HSLI was designed to develop and support high school principals and school leadership teams in implementing best practices to improve student achievement and advance educational equity. As described in the HSLI request for proposals, the program has three primary goals:(1) to strengthen the leadership of the principal and leadership team focused on student learning,(2) to document how schools create conditions that produce improved student achievement, and (3) to learn how these practices might be institutionalized (California Academic Partnership Program, 2006).