A Superintendent Pathfinder for Improving District-wide Instructional Practice & Student Learning
This O-DWW Superintendent Pathfinder is designed to support superintendents, deputy superintendents, and other district leadership in preparing for and using the Ohio Improvement Process (OIP) to fully implement agreed on evidence-based practices that improve instructional practice and student learning on a district-wide basis. It is not intended to duplicate existing OIP and Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC) resources. Rather, it attempts to “lift out” and connect the most essential leadership components for superintendents to use in guiding their district’s improvement efforts on behalf of all adults and students. Of particular importance is the emphasis on the role of the superintendent in setting the stage for and requiring the effective use of data to support data-based instructional decision-making, including the use of major OIP tools such as the Ohio Decision Framework (DF).
Assumptions Underlying the O-DWW
Superintendent Resource
The OIP involves four-stages (see Figure below) across which processes, structures, tools, and people are connected – all with the intent of helping districts enact Ohio’s Leadership Development Framework by (1) using data to identify areas of greatest need; (2) developing a plan to address those areas of need that is built around a limited number of focused goals and strategies to significantly improve instructional practice and student performance; (3) implementing, and monitoring the degree of implementation, of the plan with integrity; and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of the improvement process in changing instructional practice and impacting student learning and performance.
