A key element of the NYC Leadership Academy’s commitment to improving school leadership is our ongoing focus on comprehensive research and program evaluation. We are proud to share that Kathleen Drucker, our Senior Director of Research and Evaluation, was selected to present at this year’s annual conference hosted by the American Evaluation Association (AEA).
AEA is an organization of approximately 7,500 members who conduct, use, or value evaluation in order to contribute to the well-being of society. The focus of this year’s conference was “Visionary Evaluation” with a focus on evaluation that encourages a sustainable and equitable future worldwide.
Katie was among four presenters in the category of “New Approaches to Evaluating School Reform Initiatives,” and shared her recent effort to evaluate the impact of NYCLA’s coaching services through the development and use of an online survey of principals’ leadership behaviors from both the principals’ and coaches’ perspectives. This survey has proven critical in better assessing the effectiveness of our coaching and is used to guide the coaching work. The presentation discussant, Sheila Arens of McREL International, commented on the tool’s careful construction and thorough development process. Audience members suggested several ways in which the tool could be used more broadly.
We are grateful to have shared with the school leadership community a potential model to evaluate coaching in order to continue to strengthen programs nationally.