Instructional Leadership:
Focus on Literacy
West Virginia Department of Education
Office of Special Programs
West Virginia’s Focus on Literacy
Instructional Leadership for Literacy:
From Vision to Implementation
Building the
Infrastructure
Filling the
Infrastructure
with Good
Instruction
Implementing
with Fidelity
Strong leadership from both
administrators and teachers is
an essential building block in
constructing a successful
literacy program, but the role
played by the principal is key to
determining success or failure
of the program.
(Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals, 2008)
Few
Some
All
Literacy
School Improvement Cycle
Strategic
Accelerated
Intervention
Highly
Effective
Teachers
Committed
Instructional
Leadership
Balanced
Assessment
Increased
Student
Achievement
Ongoing, jobembedded
research-based
PD
Action Steps for the Literacy Leader
1.
Determine school’s capacity for literacy improvement
2.
Develop a Literacy Leadership Team (LLT)
3.
Create a collaborative environment that fosters sharing and
learning
4.
Develop a schoolwide organizational model that supports extended
time for literacy instruction
5.
Analyze assessment data to determine specific learning needs of
students
6.
Develop a schoolwide plan to address professional development
needs
7.
Create a realistic budget for literacy needs
8.
Understand and embed literacy strategies across the content areas
9.
Demonstrate your commitment to the literacy program
“The philosophy that if we teach
children to read by third grade
we don’t have to worry anymore
is definitely NOT true.”
(Melvina Phillips, author of Creating a Culture of Literacy)
Reading Acquisition and Proficiency
At K-3 students learn to read;
at 4-12, students read to learn.
While reading becomes an important
tool for helping students expand their
knowledge after grade 3, learning to
read hardly comes to an abrupt halt.
K-3 Literacy
Infrastructure Improvements
1. Extended time for literacy
Instructional Improvements
1. Direct, explicit instruction in:
2. Professional development
phonemic awareness, phonics,
3. Ongoing, balanced assessments
fluency, vocabulary and
4. Teacher teams
comprehension
5. Leadership
2. Research-based instruction
6. A comprehensive and coordinated
3. Use of data to inform instruction
literacy program
4. Balanced assessments
5. Fidelity to core program
6. A technology component
7. Motivation and active engagement
Key Elements for Improving K-3
Literacy
Infrastructure
Improvements
Filling the
Infrastructure
with Good
Instruction
Center on Instruction Resources
http://www.centeroninstruction.org/index.cfm
Teaching All Students to Read in Elementary
School
Using Student Center Activities to
Differentiate Reading Instruction
Intensive Reading Interventions for Struggling
Readers in Early Elementary Grades
A Comprehensive K-3 Reading
Assessment Plan
Literacy instruction must not stop
as students enter middle school,
but rather be a vital component
of a student’s educational
experience from kindergarten to
graduation.
“While it is clear that content area
teachers cannot be expected to
teach struggling readers basic
reading skills, they can help
students develop the knowledge,
reading strategies, and thinking
skills to understand and learn
from increasingly complex text in
their content areas.”
(Adolescent Literacy Walk-throughs for Principals, 2009)
Adolescent Literacy Elements
Infrastructure Improvements
Instructional Improvements
1. Extended time for literacy
2. Professional development
3. Ongoing summative assessments
of students and programs
4. Teacher teams
5. Leadership (LLTs)
6. A comprehensive and coordinated
literacy program
7. Monitoring/accountability system
1. Direct, explicit comprehension
instruction
2. Effective instructional principles
embedded in content
3. Motivation and self-directed
learning
4. Text-based collaborative learning
5. Strategic tutoring
6. Diverse texts
7. Intensive writing
8. A technology component
9. Ongoing formative assessment of
students
Key Elements for Improving 4-12
Literacy
http://wvde.state.wv.us/instruction/aim_literacy.html
“The challenge for the Literacy Leadership
Team, then, is to set goals that can be
enacted by all stakeholders, measured for
progress and revisited yearly for revision.”
JoAnne Allain (2008)
Building a Strong LLT

Select 5-8 faculty members who represent the range
of grades and the curriculum in the school

Selected members should be highly skilled,
motivated and committed to improving literacy for
all students

Suggested members include:

Principal/Curriculum leader

Reading/Instructional coach

Special educators

Content area teachers
Identifying Strengths and Challenges

Literacy Capacity Survey

Give the Literacy Capacity Survey

Collect results

Use as a planning guide for LLT
Assess Student Needs

Which assessment(s) will we use?

o
Large group tests as a “first cut”
o
Assess all struggling students beyond the WESTEST to determine specific needs
(Tier 2 and 3)

Place students in appropriate tiers

Determine movement among tiers
Teach 21
includes
important
resources for
the LLT
http://wvde.state.wv.us/instruction/aim_literacy.html
Literacy Leadership Team Checklist

Select LLT members
 Develop LLT meeting schedule
 Communicate LLT roles/responsibilities to all staff

Complete Literacy Capacity Survey
 Identify and prioritize literacy needs of students
 Identify and prioritize professional development
needs of teachers
 Provide resources and strategies to support change
Change begins with a vision…a vision that
grows out of the mind of the school leader and
into the hearts of others.
Take a minute to imagine your school as it might appear with a welldesigned adolescent literacy plan in place…
http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/P
DF/tta_Main.pdf
Effective Instruction for Adolescent Struggling Readers
Assessments to Guide Adolescent Literacy
Instruction
The literacy leader is like a
football coach or a conductor;
the principal must skillfully
pull the literacy elements
together to achieve the
ultimate goal of improved
student literacy achievement.
A Principal’s Reading WalkThrough is a systematic way to
collect real-time teaching and
learning data.
A Principal’s Reading
Walk-Through (PRWT) is
not an evaluation.
Everyone can learn from
objective comments about
their practice.

Elements of an Adolescent Literacy
Walk-through for Principals (ALWP)
 Instructional Practices

Vocabulary and content knowledge
instruction

Comprehension strategy instruction

Discussion of reading content

Motivation and engagement
Elements of an ALWP for Intervention
(Grades 4-5 and 6-12)
 Advanced word study
instruction
 Reading fluency instruction
 Intervention protocols
 Instructional materials
Three Uses of Walk-through Data
Individual
classrooms
Grade
levels
Schoolwide
Instructional Improvements
Observation and reflective
practice support a school’s
evolution into a professional
learning community.
The point is to observe
instruction, take notes, and
open dialogue.
Teachers who feel enabled to
succeed with students are more
committed and effective than
those who feel unsupported in
their teaching and in their
practice.
The Principal’s Reading Walk-Through
helps track trends
• over time,
• by teachers,
• by grade level,
• by indicator,
• by category.
http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/LiteracyCulture.htm l
http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/LiteracyLeadershipC
ontents.html
Principal's Reading Walk-through: K-3
Adolescent Literacy Walk-through for Principals
Reading Walk-Through Checklist
for 1st Grade Classrooms
Reading Walk-through for Grades 4-5
Reading Walk-through for Grades 6-12
Guiding Questions for Literacy
Leaders

How has my leadership supported literacy efforts?

What do our assessment scores reveal about
literacy practices?

What do I consider the key elements of the
professional development plan?

Are teachers skilled at integrating literacy strategies
into their daily lessons?

What support do we provide for students who are
below grade level in literacy?
Remember, success begins with the
principal. The staff will look to their
building leader to determine his or
her support for a literacy program.
A lack of commitment by either
words or actions will kill the
program before it begins.
Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals (2005)
Contact Information
Phyllis Veith, Assistant Director, Office of
Special Programs
[email protected]
Linda Palenchar, Coordinator, Office of
Special Programs
[email protected]