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Strength Found Through

Distributed Leadership

By Theodore J. Peters, Principal; Richard Carr, Instructional Supervisor;
and Jaime Doldan, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, Township of
Franklin School District

The Changing Demands legislation has focused both on advanc- lenges. In 2010, the district had to cre-

of School Leaders ing America’s international competitive- ate and implement improvement action
ness and closing the achievement gap
plans in an effort to increase student
Today’s principals and supervisors among students, making “accountability performance on state standardized
are faced with increasing demands, the centerpiece of the education agen- assessments. Initial efforts included
prompting their responsibilities to da” (Linn, Baker, & Betebenner, 2002, the implementation of common plan-
evolve dramatically over the past few p. 3) in the United States. The need for ning time and professional learning
decades. In addition to holding the schools to meet academic performance communities (PLCs), understanding
largely managerial roles of the past, requirements has further solidified the that teachers needed opportunities to
modern school leaders are expected need for principals and supervisors to work, plan, and learn together. How-
to facilitate efficient operations, pro- embrace collective efforts to meet such ever, there was a disconnect, as many
vide the instructional guidance to help high demands. of the meetings were administratively
teachers develop professionally, and The Township of Franklin Public driven, and genuine collaborative
maintain the primary importance of School District has faced similar mod- efforts focused on student learning
furthering student learning. Ongoing ern educational demands and chal- were lacking. The district realized that

Educational Viewpoints -32- Spring 2018