Leadership magazine Jan/Feb 2016 V45 No 3 | Page 8

Onboarding
for School
Leaders:
CULTIVATING TOP TALENT
THROUGH ENGAGEMENT
AND CONNECTIONS RIGHT
FROM THE START
New school leaders
need our guidance
and support. To
better prepare them
for success, we
must develop and
implement systematic
and meaningful
induction systems.

8

Leadership

Given the impact that school leader-

ship can have on student outcomes, providing
every school with effective leadership should
clearly be among the top priorities (Sun,
2011). As we move deeper into 21st century
educational initiatives, some of the most
difficult endeavors we are facing stem from
three new and yet all-so-familiar acronyms:
CCSS, LCFF and SBAC. School leadership
requires a completely new set of skills.
To start, the successful implementation
of Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
across approximately 1,000 districts and
10,000 schools in California is certainly no
easy task. College and career readiness requires integrated systems across public and
private spectrums. In addition, the Local
Control Funding Formula (LCFF) demands intensive and authentic involvement
of stakeholders and local communities.
Furthermore, local control calls for deep
and meaningful engagement at every level
of the organization. Finally, we must become familiar with the Smarter Balanced
Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and its
new online assessment system aligned to
CCSS. These three transformational ini-

tiatives have changed the role of every district and school leader overnight. They have
repurposed the way in which districts and
schools conduct their business.
The current challenges, coupled with the
complexities of change in the educational
landscape, have created a steep learning
curve for even our most experienced leaders.
So, imagine the compounded complexities
new school leaders face as they attempt to
learn and acclimate to the new organizational systems and culture. How can districts better prepare our new school leaders
for success with the current vast complexities and urgencies? The answer: We must
develop and implement systematic and
meaningful induction systems for them.
They need our guidance and support.

Making the case
Let us briefly share a story with an unfortunate ending: A new principal begins
work in