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Spotlight on: Leaders of Learning

UC Davis Leadership Group
Region: Sacramento, California
Investment: $125,000 over two years
URL: cap-ed.ucdavis.edu

Superintendent Executive Leadership Forum
UC Davis, School of Education

The Challenge

Today’s superintendents must have expertise as both excellent managers and instructional leaders in order to provide the structure and support to lead school districts. There are limited opportunities for superintendents to jointly delve into current research, consider the implications for their districts, and develop policy solutions that address critical issues.

Project Focus

One of the central questions of the Foundation’s education strategy is: How can district offices reinvent themselves to support education leadership and effective teaching in the 21st century? The Center for Applied Policy in Education (CAP-Ed) at the University of California, Davis has created an intriguing and promising response. They are engaging nationally and internationally prominent educators and scholars to work directly with a cohort of 15 superintendents from the greater Sacramento region. This group is charged with developing a new vision for how school district central offices can support and enhance effective leadership and instruction at the school site through innovative yet pragmatic ideas and solutions.

Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school.

The Wallace Foundation, from "Leadership for Learning: Making the Connections Among State, District and School Policies and Practices" September 2006

Intended Outcomes
  • The project will develop new ideas and implement practical ways to reform district central offices.
  • A paper will be prepared to capture the work of the Forum and the principles necessary to achieve significant restructuring.
  • Long-term relationships will be established among participating superintendents. This will create a collaborative and collegial opportunity for leaders who work without peer and often in isolation.