The Principals Role as Leader of Learning

-Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
-In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Masters of Arts Education
-By
Tatum D. Starcevich
Waukee High School
Waukee, IA
(April 2016)
-Dr. Susan Alborn-Yilek

The leader of learning is one of the most imperative jobs a building administrator
encompasses. This role is compromised of a myriad of responsibilities all pertaining to the
growth and development of the building learning community. These responsibilities come in the
form of three main areas, vision and mission of the school, empowerment of teachers and
creating a team dynamic, and ultimately making decisions based on what is best for students.
Each one is important and the culmination results in an effective, successful leader and school.
The vision and mission of the school create the culture and learning environment.
Glatthorn and Jailall (2009) explain that the challenge of the building principal as a leader of
learning is bringing all school stakeholders together toward a common vision and ensuring the
staff and faculty have a focus on common language for curriculum and instruction. Without these
aspects, it is hard to make decisions, facilitate resources, and accomplish goals that need to be
done in a school setting. When the building leader sets the vision and mission as priorities,
everyone in the school recognizes the expectations and collaboration can truly begin. Most
visions and missions will be developed with a team and have significant teacher input. This
process allows teachers to become empowered in their buildings and creates an atmosphere
where everyone becomes an effective change agent. It is one of the most important jobs of the
principal to cultivate this team effort. Finally, the building leader must promote an environment
where all decisions are made by answering the question, is this what is best for students? Once
that sentiment becomes the norm, schools will produce more successful teachers and students.
Keller and Suzuki (1998) found that student interest and motivation is generated when the
curriculum becomes relevant and practical once it is integrated with content and instructional
methods. When everyone in the building is working toward this goal, a true leader of learning
can emerge and other aspects of this job will fall into place.

One of the most important aspects of a school leader centers on the skills, knowledge,
and disposition that leader will bring to the building. It is also imperative that leaders of learning
will seek their own professional growth as well as promote an environment where staff and
students are constantly developing as well. First and foremost an influential leader will foster
relationships with all stakeholders. The community, parents, district office, non-certified staff,
teacher, and students all have different needs and interest in the school and as a leader, the
principal must nurture those relationships. A significant portion of that comes in the form of
creating the school culture. As previously stated, the school culture and environment are an
essential part of running a successful school. Being personal, approachable, and confident in the
decisions made in the building all lend themselves to creating that culture.
Adaptability is another disposition that a leader of learning must encompass. Schools and
constantly changing environments, yet the learning that is taking place is still the number one
priority. The school leader must be able to take on whatever challenge is present, and in a school
that could be anything. More importantly, the school leader needs to be the change agent for the
building. No one has as much access to resources to make changes that schools need to grow
and prosper. Also, school leaders have the ability to challenge the status quo. Being an advocate
for students and staff is something that the building leader has the power to do.
Finally, the leader of learning must always be seeking professional growth opportunities.
As the leader of learning and curriculum, the building principal must stay educated on current
educational philosophies and theories in order to give teachers and students in the building a
chance to grow. Being aware of also encourages staff to take the initiative to participate in
professional development and improves the teaching in the school. Linda Darling-Hammond
(2001) ascertains that it is relationships that impact who shares professional wisdom with whom

and who must influence the quality of teaching and learning. Up to date instruction, curriculum,
and implementation of the two is important for schools.
The Iowa Standards for School Leaders describe the responsibilities and expectations for
administrators in the state of Iowa. Each standard provides guidelines as to how building
principals will be measured and evaluated over the success of their school. In terms of a leader
of learning ISSL two, An educational leader promotes the success of all students by advocating,
nurturing and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student
learning and staff professional development, is the standard that is focused on (ISSL, 2008).
Within this standard is a myriad of benchmarks that describe specific tasks that must be
undertaken by the leader of learning. Among those, certain ones stand out as imperatives which
include:

Provides leadership for assessing, developing and improving climate and culture.
Systematically and fairly recognizes and celebrates accomplishment of staff and
students.
Provides leadership, encouragement, opportunities, and structure for staff to continually
design more effective teacher and learning experiences for all students.
Ensures staff members have professional development that directly enhances their
performance and improves student learning.
Articulates the desired school culture and shows evidence about how it is reinforced.

A principal basing his/her core value system off of those five benchmarks will be successful and
create an environment focused on learning, improvement, empowerment, and student needs.
Furthermore, a successful principal must not forget the importance of all stakeholders involved
in the school. Being accessible, approachable, visible, and engaged in the school community to
all stakeholders is crucial because it provides the opportunity for collaboration to occur.
When it comes to my personal journey as an aspiring leader of learning there are many
actions I have taken that demonstrates my functioning in this role. I am involved in multiple
committees within the school community that advocates for student achievement and stakeholder

inclusion. The one that is most near to my beliefs is the diversity leadership team. Within this
team, we look at different cultures emerging in our district and research ways to educate current
staff and students and also provide additional support for new ones. As an administrator, it will
be essential to cultivate a mindset where culture and difference are recognized and supported.
Making sure families know where to go for support and opening up that line of communication is
the first step. The next would be making sure teachers are educated and properly informed on
appropriate instruction by either continuing education courses, making it more of the evaluation
process, or having an open dialogue.
Another area of importance when looking at becoming a leader of learning would be
curriculum team development. Walkers (1971) Deliberative Model of Curriculum Development
theory concludes that involving the whole school community in curriculum planning effectively
allows for distinct experiences and skills to enhance the implemented program. Currently, I am a
part of a team that partakes in vertical curriculum alignment where all departments meet, grades
8-12, to discuss current standards and benchmarks in order to align and revise curriculum to meet
the needs of our changing student populations. Kohm and Nance (2009) articulate this
significance when discussing how it is enticing for a principal to switch from collaborative
leadership to top-down when under pressure to improve, but this tragic error will ultimately
squash facultys ability to improve instruction. I am very proud of this work and that it has
afforded me the opportunity to learn the curriculum process that administrators must be
responsible for.
All in all, the leader of learning is an imperative part of the principal's position. It is
essential because instruction and curriculum are directly related to student growth and
achievement. The entire reason educators are in this profession is for student development.

Learning is the key goal of school, whether is it socially, economically or educationally.

Acquiring the skills and granting students the best education to prepare them for life in the
twenty-first century is crucial. Being that change agent, supporting teachers, providing
professional development opportunities, and creating a school culture conducive to all that
encompasses is the role of the leader of learning.

Works Cited
Darling-Hammond, L. (2001). The right to learn: A blueprint for creating schools that work. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Glatthorn, A. A., & Jailall, J. M. (2009). The principal as curriculum leader: Shaping what is
taught and tested. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Iowa Standards for School Leaders. (2007, November 1). Retrieved February 28, 2016, from
http://www.sai-iowa.org/iowa-standards.cfm
Keller, J. M., & Suzuki, K. (1998). Use of the ARCS motivation model in courseware design. In
D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Instructional designs for microcomputer courseware. Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kohm, B., & Nance, B. (2009). Creating collaborative cultures. Educational Leadership, 67(2),
67-72.
Walker, D.F. (1971). A naturalist model of curriculum development. School Review, 80(1), 51-65.