Aloha! Dressed in school spirit coordinated Hawaiian shirts, school-based and district leadership kicked-off the Summer Instructional Leadership Institute.
With close to 600 attendees, ILI focused on fostering collaboration among instructional leaders that will positively impact school culture and student achievement. Dr. Mike Armbruster, deputy superintendent, provided the keynote address, emphasizing ILI’s purpose. He noted the plethora of internal talent within the district, and how ILI was an opportunity to share that talent with peers through professional learning sessions.
“Starting the ILI with everyone in Hawaiian shirts helped our school leaders embrace the Aloha theme as part of our One OCPS pursuit. Aloha means more than hello; it’s a mutual understanding of respect and living in harmony with those around you,” Dr. Armbruster said. “OCPS prides itself in developing our leaders from within, and this was a unique opportunity to showcase the amazing and talented leaders we have across cadres. Building school leaders' efficacy and capacity will absolutely ensure we lead our students to success.”
This year’s ILI featured principals as presenters and allowed participants to self-select professional learning sessions. More than 50 principals and assistant principals who are implementing successful initiatives within their building shared their strategies across 38 sessions. These sessions were categorized within the four central instructional leadership tenets: culture and relationships; student achievement and instructional improvement; family and community engagement; and effective systems and structures.
In addition to two self-select sessions, each school leader attended a literacy session within their respective cadres. Elementary cadres focused on early literacy, with principal representatives leading learning centered around developing a common understanding of the Portrait of an Early Reader. They also solidified their roles as administrators in leading the Science of Reading in their buildings, including tangible next steps. Secondary cadres collaborated with the Curriculum and Digital Learning administrators to focus on vocabulary integration and research-based literacy practices.
Initial participant feedback on this new structure of professional learning was overwhelmingly positive. School leaders indicated they enjoyed learning from their peers, appreciated the tangible resources provided in each session, and felt inspired by the robust collaborative structures embedded throughout the institute.
“It is always a treat to get all administrators together for the purpose of collaboration and learning but this year’s ILI was one we will never forget," Matt Turner, West Orange HS principal, said. "It was not only a chance for principals to enhance their skills in our core business, learning, but it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable professional development initiatives that most of us have experienced. From the participant led sessions, to the collaborative design and layout, and then of course the fun elements, such as the aloha theme and the pep rally, all administrators seemed to truly enjoy the format of this year’s ILI. We enjoyed hosting and showcasing what high school life is all about!”
Tiered sponsor support offset the cost of the institute. Organizers are appreciative of Florida Association of School Administrators, Gaggle, Savvas Learning Company, National Louis University, Scholastic, American College of Education and McGraw Hill for their contributions.