book review-leverage leadership

Running Head: Leverage Leadership Book Review 1

Book Review: Leverage Leadership by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

Administrative Internship II

HISD-MBAE 6331

November 29, 2015

Dr. Virginia Leiker


Introduction

Principals and school leaders have consistently attempted to manage their campuses daily

operations and the task can be rather difficult. In my experience, I have witnessed a

number of school leaders misinterpret the very reason for their existence. They lack the

discipline and time management skills necessary to be effective “instructional” leaders.

Remaining instructionally focused requires school leaders to be strategic and purposeful

in how they plan their school days, deliver effective feedback, and manage their

leadership teams. Bambrick provides a framework to assist them with this difficult task.

A Paradigm Shift: Leveraging Leadership Minute by Minute

Bambrick states that school leaders succeed because of how they use their time: what

they do, and how and when they do it (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). Much data has been

analyzed and evaluated to come to the conclusion that there is only one determinant of

whether students will learn. That determinant is high-quality, effective tier 1 instruction.

This only happens when a school’s leadership model encourages the growth and

development of the teachers they support. In essence, the team has a detailed step-by-

step plan that is data-driven and that promotes daily teacher support. One thing that

resonated throughout the reading were the Myths of Effective School Leadership. The

idea that change takes 10 years, principals are not instructional leaders, and culture comes

before instruction were a few that deliberately speaks to the current issues in education.

His response to these myths birthed the seven levers that a school leader should consider.

Below is an attempt to summarize the contents of those levers.


1. Data Driven Instruction

Effective instruction is not about whether we taught it. It’s about whether the students

learned it (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). Teaching curriculum and aligning it to state

standard and district standards is not even half of the battle. Teachers commonly limit

the impacts of their instruction to whether or not they actually taught it. They (we)

determine what standards need to be taught and create a roadmap for delivering it. The

data received from that instruction must be carefully analyzed including an action plan

for how to use it. For schools to be successful in this work, school leaders must be

creative and vigilant about leveraging the school’s most valuable commodity-time

(Fenton & Murphy, 2013). Collecting and analyzing data is important, but only becomes

meaningful when combined with effective action (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012).

Another great piece of Data-Drive Instruction is the correlation between assessment and

rigor. Bambrick was very explicit in his thoughts of how teachers must pitch their

instruction, create assessments, and analyze assessment data keeping the level of rigor in

mind. In order to fully “analyze in depth,” teachers need the opportunity to examine

assessment items and really dig into student misconceptions. He stresses that school

leaders must lead the work and model this process.

2. Observation and Feedback

The observation and feedback model is a process that most districts have adopted. The

author’s approach to observation and feedback help remove biases and create healthy


teacher-coach relationships. Bambrick argues that both rubrics and traditional

observation processes share a fatal flaw: at their essence, they are judgments of teacher

quality (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). He also states that the primary focus of observation

should be to find the most effective ways to coach teachers and improve student learning

(Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). At the core of this work, school leaders should create a

systematic approach to the following steps:

1. Schedule the observation

2. Provide measurable action steps

3. Give direct feedback

4. Create systems that help teachers translate to practice (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012).

3. Planning

Curricula, resources, planning guides, and lesson planning templates alone will not solve

for the planning process. Teachers often do not find the value in these documents and

templates. Although planning documents can potentially be a very strong tool, teachers

lack the framework for executing lessons and understanding the level of rigor of which to

pitch their instruction. This process requires a commitment to action on both the teachers

part and the instructional coach’s part. At the core of this work, teachers must make the

correct choices about what students learn and how they learn it (Bambrick-Santoyo,

2012). Likewise, good instructional leadership is about making these choices explicit,

and making teachers choose intentionally (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). This can only be

accomplished when school leaders remove preconceived notions that teachers lack


“content knowledge” but help create platforms where they can build it. According to

Bambrick, that framework must begin with following a process similar to the one below:

1. Map out the week

2. Set core content and key daily objectives

3. Dive into key lessons aligning them with meaningful activities

4. Professional Development

Bambrick’s fourth key lever, the basis of my current work with the district, is centered

around successful professional development. Too often, professional development ends

where it begins-the conference room (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). Professional

development is only effective when teachers translate that work from paper to practice

and student achievement is measured based on that work. Trainings are often a great

place to share ideas, collaborate, and flaunt best practices. Strong professional

development should be driven by “what the staff needs.” It must also be accompanied

with a planned accountability process. Bambrick argues that choosing the content is the

most important step in this work. This selection must be data driven.

He also gives a basis for both presenters and attendees. Presenters must consider their

audiences. They must also be very strategic in the flow and process used to deliver the

professional development. Lastly, training objectives should be clear, actionable, and

evaluable.

5. Student Culture/ 6. Staff Culture


“If the instructional levers help to make sure teachers are teaching as effectively as

possible, student culture makes sure students build the habits of mind and heart that allow

their learning to fly (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012) Vision must be accompanied by

consistent daily actions and expectations for both students and staff. Class culture is key,

but stems from how well the school’s overall culture and health has been established.

School culture is not limited to the reading and reciting of mission statements and school

creeds. School leaders have the responsibility to build consistency, virtue, and move

people from aspiration to mastery. For students, the four keys to being successful in this

work are:

1. Establish vision

2. Turn vision into minute-by-minute systems

3. Practice

4. Monitor and maintain (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012)

Staff culture was a very interesting lever. Bambrick posed a plethora of questions that

require self-evaluation from both school leaders and staff. This step begins with the

principal. After the vision is set, he mentions that the next step is to “Get the right people

on the bus (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). This process of setting vision and getting the right

people in the right places should help drive hiring. After this process takes place, leaders

maintain strong staff cultures by remaining continually on the lookout for warning signs.

They look for signs of stress before those signs become larger (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012).

7. Manage Leadership Team

“Identify your leaders, train them in instructional leadership, and give them plenty of

feedback: that’s the formula for success (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012). Although people


management can be an extremely daunting task, this chapter focuses on creating healthy

habits that help manage and build effective leadership teams. This process starts with the

leader.

Every school leader should take the opportunity to not only read, but also implement the

ideas Bambrick lifted in Leverage Leadership. The practicality of this work is

phenomenal and easy to transfer into one’s work. He provides opportunities for

reflection on current work while encouraging school leaders push even harder to achieve,

evaluate, and reflect on what has been accomplished. The tools presented in this book

will definitely help newly appointed school leaders and instructional coaches master their

craft.


References

Bambrick-Santoyo, Paul (2012). Leverage Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Fenton, B., & Murphy, M. (2013, April 24). New Leaders for New Schools. (A. Express, Producer) Retrieved November 24, 2015, from ASCD: Learn. Teach. Lead: http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol5/508-fenton.aspx

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