Texas Instructional Leadership
The TIL Approach
Texas Instructional Leadership is a program through which we provide training and support to campus and district leaders on their ability to build the capacity of educators that they manage. It consists of a suite of trainings intended to foster continuous improvement by helping campus and district administrators grow concrete instructional leadership skills in the areas of observation and feedback, schoolwide culture routines, and data-driven instruction.
TIL trainings are aligned with many of the best practices described in the Effective Schools Framework, and ESCs that offer TIL trainings are among the approved vendors for schools seeking a technical assistance provider or capacity builder to support the execution of a campus improvement plan.
Components of a TIL Training
Face-to-Face Professional Development
Education Service Centers across the state of Texas will be offering Observation & Feedback, Data-Driven Instruction, Schoolwide Culture Routine, Lesson Alignment, Formative Assessment, and Materials Internalization and Alignment trainings for campuses and districts looking to increase student achievement overall, and close gaps between student sub-groups. As with many other trainings offered at ESCs, Texas Instructional Leadership trainings have a face-to-face professional development component. Campuses and districts that choose to participate in a training will be part of a cohort of campuses that will meet together to learn instructional leadership best practices and have an opportunity to practice their new skills together in a low stakes environment.
Observation and Feedback
Observation/Feedback is intended to provide campus and district leaders opportunities to develop proficiency in establishing and coaching toward effective instructional practices in every classroom. Toward that end, it blends the practices and principles in Paul Bambrick-Santoyo’s Get Better Faster: A 90-Day Plan for Coaching New Teachers with the T-TESS appraisal framework.
It introduces a paradigm shift in the way we view teacher observation and suggests that the primary purpose of observation and feedback is not to evaluate a teacher but to develop them. In Observation/Feedback, you grow educators by letting them See It, Name It, and Do It – see a model of success, name the bite-sized, yet highest leverage steps that led to growth, and practice doing those steps to develop skill.
Data-Driven Instruction
Data-driven instruction is a highly effective, research-based training that guides teachers and administrators to spend less time teaching their students what they already know and more time on what their students need. It also answers the questions, "How do I know if my students are learning? And if they aren’t, what do I do?" Based on the protocol developed by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and described in his books Driven by Data 2.0 and Leverage Leadership 2.0, TIL DDI advocates for a deeper analysis of student work.
Schoolwide Culture Routines
Schoolwide culture is not formed by motivational speeches or statements of values on the wall. It is formed by the repeated practice of good habits, beginning with a vision of what a positive, inclusive culture looks like minute by minute. Leaders of schools with strong student cultures don’t achieve it through sheer force of personality. They develop a vision for each part of the school day and then bring their vision to life by building systems that enable teachers, students, and anyone else on their campus to know what they should be doing and when at all parts of the day with a high level of detail. They lead with their consistency and by modeling for staff how to maintain emotional constancy and reset expectations when procedures break down.
Lesson Alignment
Lesson Alignment is a training designed to support campus and district leaders as they lead teachers to practice high leverage instructional planning strategies. Leaders are trained to guide teachers in planning for and assessing student learning by answering the questions: "What are students supposed to be learning?" and "How do I know they are learning it?" The training is rooted in the practices and principles of Paul Bambrick-Santoyo’s Leverage Leadership 2.0: A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional Schools as well as the work of Dylan Wiliam’s Formative Assessment, John Hattie’s Visible Learning for Teachers, and Mike Schmoker’s Focus.
Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment builds off of the work of Lesson Alignment and is designed to support campus and district leaders as they lead teachers to practice high-leverage instructional monitoring strategies. Leaders are trained to guide teachers in assessing student learning by answering the questions: "What are students supposed to be learning? and "How do I know they are learning it?" The training is rooted in the practices and principles of Paul Bambrick-Santoyo’s Leverage Leadership 2.0: A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional Schools as well as the work of Dylan Wiliam’s Formative Assessment, John Hattie’s Visible Learning for Teachers, and Mike Schmoker’s Focus.
Materials Internalization and Alignment
Effective teacher internalization of high-quality instructional materials leads to high-quality, impactful instruction that is grounded in research-based instructional strategies. The purpose of the TIL Materials Internalization and Alignment training is to build the capacity of school leaders to invest and coach teachers in the effective internalization of HQIM units and lessons. Across five sessions, leaders will learn what the research says about the importance of using HQIM and establishing strong internalization practices, how to effectively internalize units and lessons in ELAR, Math, and Foundational Reading Skills, as well as how to create the conditions for a success for strong implementation and support of teachers.
Implementation Support
Unlike many of the other trainings offered by ESCs, Texas Instructional Leadership trainings include two additional training components beyond face-to-face professional development. The first is implementation support. Following face-to-face professional development, trainers will observe participants attempting to implement their new skills on their campuses or in their districts either virtually or in person, and provide additional tailored support to ensure the skills are applied successfully.
One-on-One Coaching
Following implementation support visits, trainers will coach district administrators on how to best guide principals toward successfully integrating the instructional leadership best practices on their campuses, as well as provide one on one support to shape district practices and policies to make the work more sustainable.
Evidence of Impact
“We piloted these practices in select districts across the state, and saw an incredibly positive impact on student achievement, particularly for campuses whose leaders trained with Relay Graduate School of Education or Teaching Trust, both of whom adhere closely to the practices on which TIL trainings are based.”
Across the State of Texas
TIL supports districts, schools, superintendents, principals, assistant principals, coaches, teachers and students across Texas.
150
Districts
627
Campuses
Meet Our Team
Shaleka Boone
Manager of Instructional Leadership
Shaleka joined the Instructional Leadership team in July of 2020. Prior to that she worked as a lower elementary teacher in the Central Texas area for 6 years. She fell in love with the classroom while pursuing a career in occupational therapy. She received her teacher training from Huston Tillotson University and recently received her M.ED. She has lived in the Austin area for eight years and enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and two pups.
Lindyn Kish
Director of Instructional Leadership Systems
Lindyn has led the Instructional Leadership team since August 2020, overseeing statewide strategy and alignment of initiatives to best practices in campus and district leadership. Lindyn spent the prior six years in non-profit work training and coaching campus and district leaders in the areas of data practices, schoolwide culture, instructional alignment, and team effectiveness, primarily in North Texas. Prior to that, Lindyn was an elementary principal in North Texas and began her career with Teach For America in Miami, Florida. Lindyn holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma.
Ashley Prevost
Assistant Director of Instructional Leadership
Ashley joined the Instructional Leadership team at the TEA in June of 2018. Prior to that she worked for ten years as a Middle School science teacher and administrator, during which time she earned her M. Ed. from the University of Houston. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Chad, and loves spending time with her two kids, and her pup, Wilhelmina. She is passionate about civic activism, loves to cook & bake, and is a voracious reader.
Chris Vargo
Assistant Director of Instructional Leadership
Chris joined the Instructional Leadership team in October of 2020 and loves all things coaching, facilitation, and adult learning and development. Before arriving at the TEA, Chris worked to lead new teacher training and development at Teach For America. Chris brings experience as a program designer and facilitator. As a former science teacher, he loves astronomy and earth science. Chris now lives with his family in Austin, Texas.
Karen Aikman
Manager of Instructional Leadership Design
Karen joined the Instructional Leadership team in July 2021. Her 28 years in education have included serving as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and principal manager. Karen grew up in a military family and moved every two years until finally finding Texas and attending Baylor University (B.S.Ed.) and Texas A&M-Commerce (M.Ed). Karen has spent most of her career in the DFW and East Texas areas, and now resides in South Texas. Favorite activities include reading, relaxing at home, and spending time with her three girls, Zita (Italian greyhound), Mariposa (chiweenie) and Claire (jackpit).
Perla Kwiatkowski
Manager of Instructional Leadership Design
Perla joined the Instructional Leadership team in August 2022 after serving as an ISD instructional leadership coordinator building capacity in campus principals and their leadership teams. Prior to that, she worked in various leadership roles including elementary school principal and special education coordinator. Perla holds a master’s degree in education from George Mason University as well as a bachelor’s in foreign service from Georgetown University. Outside of work, Perla enjoys cooking, hiking, listening to podcasts, and spending time with family.
Kathryn Little
Manager of Instructional Leadership
Kathryn joined the Instructional Leadership team in December 2022. Her 13 years in education include serving as a teacher, assistant principal, and instructional coach in Dallas ISD, Rockwall ISD, and Uplift Education. She began her education journey as a teacher in Dallas ISD and most recently worked in Rockwall ISD with a focus on curriculum/instruction, data meetings, and observation/feedback to increase student achievement post-Covid . She has lived in the DFW area for the past 12 years. Outside of work, Kathryn enjoys baking, exercising, and spending time with her family and two dogs.
