Innovative Schools

School and District Leaders Have Key Role
In Creating a Leadership Pipeline
For State’s Most Challenged Schools

The Delaware Leadership Project is a Race to the Top initiative designed to address a statewide leadership shortage for Delaware’s highest-need schools.

In Delaware roughly 10% of principals and assistant principals leave the public school system each year, creating about 40 openings. Only half of these positions are typically filled by promotion. The other half — 20 positions — are open for new hires each year. Many of these 20 openings are in Delaware’s highest need schools.

As the state’s first alternate route to principal certification, the Delaware Leadership Project is designed to give Delaware public schools a pipeline of specially trained, new talent to improve our most challenged schools — and to empower Delaware school districts to assist in the training.

The 15-month program is modeled after the New York City Leadership Academy’s nationally recognized Aspiring Principal Program, and its centerpiece is a 10-month school-based residency in which participants work side-by-side with a mentor principal.  To learn more about how aspiring principals are trained, visit our Program Overview.

Your Help Is Vital

As a critical partner in developing this pipeline of dynamic new principals, Delaware school districts are asked to recommend their best school sites for possible residencies. Residency sites should exhibit two key qualities:

• Strong School Leadership. Principals at the residency site are expected to serve as a mentor to the Delaware Leadership Project participant placed in their building. Mentors should be reflective, public learners who are willing to share their work. Mentors must also show growth in student achievement.
• Collaborative Culture/School Environment. Residency sites must display an environment where all staff work collaboratively, are committed to continuous improvement, believe in quality teaching and learning, judge the instructional effectiveness of data, inquire together to create new knowledge and work together to achieve a shared vision of learning for all.

Mentor principals receive professional development prior to the launch of the residency and a stipend for participating.

To see if your school is a good candidate to become a residency site, please review the mentor competency and residency site rubrics and contact Zahava Stadler at zstadler@innovativeschools.org to set up a site visit with Delaware Leadership Project staff.

Hire a Delaware Leadership Project Graduate

If you are interested in hiring a graduate of the Delaware Leadership Project, please contact Zahava Stadler at zstadler@innovativeschools.org or at 302-656-4737 to set up an appointment with the Delaware Leadership Project staff. It will be important to learn more about your needs as we begin the recruitment and admissions process so that we can select and train a principal who will be able to address each school’s unique circumstances.

The DLP Mentor Competency List

A mentor of a DLP Aspiring Principal:

Builds capacity in the DLP Aspiring Principal by:

• allowing the DLP Aspiring Principal to try various approaches when solving complex problems
• assigning meaningful school-based work
• allowing the DLP Aspiring Principal to take risks and participate in high-stakes decision-making
• delegating authority to the DLP Aspiring Principal in agreed-upon areas

Facilitates the DLP Aspiring Principal’s learning by:

• designing scaffolded learning experiences consistent with the principles of adult learning (observing, participating, collaborating, leading)
• creating learning experiences that assist the DLP Aspiring Principal in developing skills needed to lead a school, particularly in areas of systems and strategic thinking as well as problem-solving
• addressing the DLP Aspiring Principal’s individual needs, the needs of the school and the requirements of the program
• setting goals and expectations
• clarifying roles and accountabilities
• being transparent about the decision making process and sharing mistakes

Coaches the DLP Aspiring Principal by:

• committing time to guide him/her through learning experiences
• meeting frequently and regularly
• modeling leadership practices
• deconstructing his/her own thinking
• questioning practices of the aspiring principal
• listening
• promoting reflective practice
• providing targeted and timely feedback, supported by low-inference evidence

Assesses the DLP Aspiring Principal by:

• watching him/her engaged in the work of the residency site
• using feedback as a tool to help the aspiring principal focus on and change behaviors
• mapping performance to the Leadership Performance Standards Matrix
• identifying areas of needed growth and areas in which they have demonstrated growth

Supports the DLP Aspiring Principal by:

• collaborating with the facilitator in the service of the DLP Aspiring Principal’s learning
• engaging in a collegial relationship that is respectful of the DLP Aspiring Principal’s strengths and the ways in which he/she can move the work of the residency site
• engaging in dialogue that furthers the learning of the mentor as well as the DLP Aspiring Principal
• attending retreats and sessions for mentors that refine his/her skills
• advocating and networking for the DLP Aspiring Principal
• introducing and sanctioning the role of the DLP Aspiring Principal to the school community

To download the full mentor competency rubric, click here.