The Transformational Leadership Initiative is an ambitious, multiyear effort designed to improve the academic performance and the overall learning environment for disadvantaged students in public schools in Northern New Mexico and the St. Louis region in Missouri. Major partners are the Santa Fe Center for Transformational School Leadership and Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership.

Dr. Linda Henke, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Center for Transformational School Leadership and partner in this project, developed a model for transformational school change while leading the successful turnaround of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in St. Louis. The Model for Human- Centered School Transformation has deeper learning at its core. Deeper learning challenges traditional classroom practices by involving students in highly engaging problems, projects, experiments, and writing tasks that require students to work collaboratively and apply their knowledge in real world settings.

The Transformational Leadership Initiative builds the capacity of educators to transform their organizations with new approaches to leadership and deeper learning experiences for all students and educators.

To support this type of learning environment, researchers and educators at the Santa Fe Center for Transformational School Leadership identified three broad areas of transformative leadership work: building collective aspiration; nurturing a collaborative, creative, growth-oriented culture; and approaching leadership as learning.

Goals for Partner Districts

Deeper Learning

  • Develop leadership team that collaborates with teachers to implement deeper learning in their classrooms
  • Create schools where children’s voice and choice help to shape their learning
  • Improve classroom instruction and student outcomes

Collective Aspiration

  • Develop a compelling purpose, models of excellence and shared images of success
  • Develop a rich, deep learning environment for both adults and children and a commitment to continuous improvement

Nested Patterns

  • Develop shared leadership by building teacher and principal leadership capacity to function as high performing teams
  • Nurture resilient school cultures where empathy, compassion, courage and creativity undergird the relationships among children and adults
  • Incorporate growth mindset as an important aspect of school procedures and classroom practice

Leaders’ Learning Work

  • Develop capacity of lead learners to embrace the mental model of vulnerability and collaborate and learn with peers and children
  • Support teachers’ capacity to learn and grow through peer learning conversations, collaborative inquiry and coaching
  • Use systems and design thinking to solve problems

 

 

Tracking Our Impact

TLI uses a variety of approaches to gauge changes associated with its work across four areas: a) school culture, b) teaching practice, c) student behavior, attitude, and resilience, and d) student learning outcomes.

The measurement approaches:

  • Surveys and interviews of leaders, teachers, and students to assess shifts in culture, relationships, and classroom practices
  • Ongoing formative assessments of monthly seminars
  • Data on student behaviors that are leading indicators of improved engagement and relationships (e.g., shifts in attendance, mobility, discipline incidents)
  • Multiple measures of academic performance including class-based perfomance assessments, student portfolios, and state assessments.

 

Dr. Linda Henke
Executive Director, Santa Fe Center for Transformational School Leadership (SFCTSL)
Linda Henke is the co-founder with David Bristol of the Santa Fe Center for Transformational School Leadership. She is a popular executive coach for principals and top-level school administrators as well as a consultant with schools in year-long programs of school improvement nationally and internationally.

Vicki L May
Executive Director, Institute for School Partnership (ISP) and Assistant Dean of Arts & Sciences, Washington University
Vicki May, as Executive Director of the Institute for School Partnership (ISP) and as Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences at Washington University is committed to world-class educational research. May’s work with the ISP, the university’s signature program for strategically improving K-12 teaching and learning, inspires, connects, and empowers teachers in local schools around exemplar resources.

Zach Taylor
Director of Santa Fe Programs, Santa Fe Center for Transformational School Leadership (SFCTSL)
Zach is also an Adjunct Professor at the Santa Fe Community College. He has been working in education for 15 years as a teacher, program director, leadership coach and presenter. He leads workshops on school culture, communication, mindfulness and emotional intelligence locally, statewide and internationally.