What principals and district administrators are learning about instructional leadership in the Vista View School District

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) places significant pressure on districts to improve student performance and close identified achievement gaps. As a result of this pressure, districts need to support the efforts of their principals to become excellent instructional leaders (Resnick & Glennan, 2003). Generally, however, districts spend more time with the bureaucratic management of the system than with the "instructional core" (Elmore, 2002). The complexity of change in educational organizations is at least partially responsible for a district's inability to effectively address this "instructional core." The former District 2 in New York City, however, provides one solid example of an organization that systematically supported instructional leadership for nearly a decade (Elmore, 2004). For that reason, District 2 is used as an exemplar in this study. I utilize a qualitative design to review the efforts of the Vista View School Districts1 to teach its principals how to become powerful instructional leaders.;This study asks the following questions:;Main question. What are principals and district administrators learning about instructional leadership in the context of a district reform effort (Collaborative Literacy Project2 in the Vista View School District)?;Sub-questions. (1) What district practices support or inhibit principals' learning about instructional leadership in this context? (2) How can this study inform district administrators regarding principals' professional learning?;1Vista View is the ninth largest school district in the state of Washington, with approximately 20,000 students. It is located in the greater Puget Sound area. 2The Collaborative Literacy Project (CLP) is a five-year district literacy initiative that supports teachers and principals with the implementation of best teaching practices. The CLP was created in partnership with the Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), an organization that consults with school districts around the country on literacy instruction.