CPACE: Notes on Visionary Leadership

Selecting Appropriate Goals

Creating a Culture of Learning
A culture of learning is an environment with an emphasis on learning and a high expectation for academic achievement. It involves intellectual stimulation for students, staff, and leadership. Evidence of a culture of learning includes implementing effective classroom instructional strategies for student learning, implementing processes of continuous improvement to increase student learning and academic performance, participating in professional development for teachers and staff collectively and individually, and the acquiring and sharing of knowledge by leadership. When a culture of learning is present, school leaders seek ways to support the learning needs of all students so all can be academically successful. School leaders also seek ways to support the learning needs of teachers and staff to assist them in their professional growth.

Developing a Culture of Learning
To develop a culture of learning on campus, a school leader must consider this culture in all decision-making.
First, the school should be designed in a way that facilitates a culture of learning. This means that there are sufficient learning spaces to accommodate a variety of learning strategies, along with furniture and resources that support those learning spaces. For example, there should be a library resource center with appropriate shelving, books, and technology resources. A school leader must also hire and train staff in a way that supports a culture of learning. Candidates for hire that do not support a culture of learning should not be selected. The leader must also communicate expectations for a culture of learning to staff, students, parents, and community stakeholders to ensure that everyone is aware of the expectations. When possible, the leader can support the school's culture by encouraging families to develop their own culture of learning and providing the resources and support for them to do so. For example, the leader may give books to families to encourage reading in the home.

Supporting a Culture of Learning

School Vision
The school vision serves as a guide and a foundation for all strategic planning and communicates the purpose and focus of the school to all stakeholders. One of the goals of a school leader is to create a culture of learning on campus. Including this concept in the school vision can help to communicate the importance of cultivating a culture of learning to all stakeholders. Also, the school vision will help to guide the creation of goals that lead to the development of this culture. A school vision that includes this focus will ensure that school goals are aligned with a culture of learning and will help to establish and maintain the culture. When the school vision clearly incorporates a culture of learning, it will be apparent to all stakeholders that this is a key part of the school's purpose and focus.

School Goals
School goals help to determine where to devote energy and resources. When leaders set goals, they identify the necessary resources for achieving them. Goals must be aligned with the characteristics and outcomes of a culture of learning to ensure that the available resources, such as staff, funds, and time, are used to develop and maintain this culture. Rather than diverting resources to various competing goals, this will maximize the use of resources and effort. When a leader uses school goals to support a culture of learning, the culture will be strengthened as school goals are attained. The various aspects of a culture of learning can be incorporated into the school goals. For example, school goals can include high expectations for academic performance, goals related to college and career readiness for students, and implementation of student-centered instructional strategies for teachers.

Ensuring That School Goals Are Student-Centered
A leader can employ several strategies to ensure that school goals are student-centered. First, goals should be designed with student outcomes as a focus. These can include any outcome that is measured in terms of student-related data, such as academic performance or attendance. For example, a school leader may develop a school goal of increasing the campus attendance rate to 99% for the school year. This goal is directly related to a student outcome and the strategies that would be implemented to achieve this goal would directly benefit students. Second, all school goals should directly impact students. When developing goals, it is appropriate to ask how accomplishing the goal would impact students, as well as how students would be affected if the goal were not accomplished. If there is no impact to students, the goal is likely not student-centered. Third, goals should be developed with the purpose of benefitting all students. Student-centered goals do not marginalize or omit groups of students but benefit all students. For example, a school leader might set a school goal to increase test performance in reading for all students, not just those who have demonstrated deficiencies in prior performance.

Purpose of a School Vision
The purpose of a school vision is to convey the direction of the school to all stakeholders. A vision is a message or statement that describes how a leader envisions the school in the future. Through the school vision, the school's focus and priorities can be conveyed to all stakeholders, including staff, students, and the community. The school vision should inspire and motivate teachers and staff to pursue the school's goals. The school vision also provides direction for the teachers and staff in decision-making processes. All strategic planning should be guided by the school vision so that all goals and plans are designed with the purpose of achieving this vision. An example of a school vision is as follows: Our vision at XYZ Middle School is to equip and prepare students to be college and career ready, life-long learners, and responsible global citizens who are exemplary examples of the core values of respect, integrity, and perseverance.

Identifying Vision and Goals Based on Data and Research

Types of Data Used to Develop a School Vision
The majority of data that an education leader will have access to and be expected to analyze is quantitative data. This includes student academic performance data, attendance data, demographics, and many other key data points. Quantitative data can be analyzed using mathematical processes and can be represented in numerical form. For example, a school leader may calculate that the campus attendance rate is 96.8% annually or that 1 out of every 10 students receives special education services. Quantitative data can provide answers to 'what' or 'who' questions, but it cannot provide answers regarding 'why' or 'how.' To understand why the data appears as it does, it is important for leaders to gather qualitative data from students, staff, and stakeholders. Qualitative data reflects opinions, perceptions, feelings, and assumptions. For example, a school leader may receive student concern about bullying on campus, or parents and community members may communicate to the school leader that the staff do not seem friendly. Quantitative and qualitative data should be used together to develop the vision for the school.

Sources of Data Used to Develop a School Vision
There are many sources of quantitative and qualitative data that a leader can use to develop a school vision.
Sources of quantitative data include student academic performance data, attendance data, demographics, and other key data points. Student academic performance data is frequently used in developing a vision. Leaders can obtain this data from historical standardized test performance data, beginning-of-the year assessments in a variety of academic areas, teacher-assigned grades for classroom performance, and benchmark assessments. Qualitative data can be obtained from observations of teachers and students, feedback from teachers and students, focus groups, anonymous surveys, and other information from stakeholders. This type of information tells the education leader about school culture, values, attitudes, and beliefs. It should be used as a frame for understanding the quantitative data in order to gain a complete picture of the school's status.

Aligning School Goals with School Vision
The school vision describes how the leadership envisions the school in the future, and the school goals are the ways that the school will accomplish that vision. Each school goal should clearly demonstrate that by accomplishing the goal, the campus will be closer to realizing its vision. For example, a school may state in its vision that it will be a premier STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) school. School leaders should work toward that vision by setting ambitious goals in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. Aligned goals could include the academic performance of students in these subject areas, increasing STEM course offerings, recruiting students for the STEM program, or earning awards and recognition in STEM competitions. An unaligned goal could be expanding the fine arts program. Aligning school goals with the school vision will ensure that all resources and energies are devoted to realizing the vision.

Using Data from Multiple Sources
It is important to use data from multiple sources to develop the school vision and goals because one source may portray a limited or skewed picture of the school. Using multiple sources can confirm the validity of data and provide a more complete picture of the complex dynamics of a school campus. For example, a school leader may obtain past academic data showing that fifth grade students have consistently performed at an advanced level. However, additional data may demonstrate that these students were already performing at an advanced level prior to fifth grade and were not growing academically. Additionally, using multiple sources of data can help a leader identify specific areas for improvement so that goals are targeted. For example, a leader of a high school may find that incoming ninth-grade students are consistently performing below standard in math. However, investigating which middle schools these students attended may reveal that the struggling students all attended the same middle school. Instead of assuming that math was an area of deficit for the ninth-grade class, this additional data could lead to a more specific goal in which resources are targeted.

Involving Stakeholders in Developing Vision

Types of Stakeholders
Stakeholders include anyone who has an interest in or is vested in the school. The primary stakeholders in schools are the children because they are most directly impacted by the decisions made regarding the school, so they should be engaged in the development of the school vision. Another significant group of stakeholders includes the school's faculty and staff because they are also directly impacted by the decisions. Other stakeholders include parents, district personnel, school board members, community members, and community business partners. A leader can involve these stakeholders in the development of the school vision by soliciting their opinions and feedback. This can be done through one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and community meetings, among other methods, to obtain their perspectives. Stakeholders can be motivated to engage in the development of the school vision when the school leader communicates a desire for their involvement and demonstrates respect for their input and opinions. This requires the school leader to devote time and opportunity to meet with various stakeholders and to engage in conversation regarding the school vision.
It is important to involve stakeholders in the development of the school vision to incorporate a variety of perspectives and to increase buy-in for the vision. Often, school leaders who are in the process of developing a vision for the school are new to the position, so they cannot be expected to know every aspect of the school dynamics or all the nuances of the campus. It is important to involve stakeholders in the process of developing the vision so that the leader can have as much information as possible. Also, including stakeholders in the process creates buy-in. If stakeholders believe that their feelings and opinions have been disregarded in the creation of the vision, they may disengage from the goals aligned to that vision or even oppose it. A leader wants all stakeholders to be advocates of the school vision, so stakeholders must be included in the development of the school vision.

Reaching Consensus Among Stakeholders
When engaging stakeholders in the development of the school vision and goals, it can be a challenge to reach consensus, especially when viewpoints seem to conflict. It is important for a school leader to clearly communicate how consensus will be fairly achieved. Stakeholders who are aware of the process for providing input before participating will know what to expect and are more likely to be receptive to compromise in the event of dissension. Additionally, the leader must be respectful of all input and must acknowledge opinions and perspectives, even if they are not aligned with his or her own or the majority. Incorporating voting processes, such as an anonymous ballot or online survey, can facilitate the use of the majority's viewpoints without identifying dissenters. Finally, the school leader must convey that, although the stakeholders' input is valued and will be considered, he or she still retains the ultimate responsibility for decision-making.

Meeting Diverse Needs

Address Equity Issues Related to Race, Diversity, and Access
When developing the school vision and goals, a school leader must ensure that all students—regardless of race, religion, academic background, or education access—will be successful.
When collecting data to inform the development of the school vision and goals, a school leader should determine whether any groups of students have been disenfranchised in the past and, if so, how the school vision and goals can be designed to prevent that disenfranchisement from happening in the future. For example, a school leader may find that historically students who are of limited English proficiency (LEP) have not performed as well as their peers in math on standardized tests. This may necessitate the design of additional goals to support the improvement of LEP students in math. Equity does not mean equality. Equity means that some groups of students may need additional resources and support in order for them to meet performance standards. The school vision and goals must take into account the strengths and needs of all students so that all can receive an equitable education and be successful.

Identifying the Diverse Needs of Students
Students have diverse needs, and not all of these needs can be predicted based on the students' demographic groups. For example, not all students in poverty have the same needs, nor do all students who speak limited
English. The school leader should make an effort to identify student needs so they can be addressed in the development of the school's vision and goals. A leader can identify these needs by speaking directly to students. This gives students the opportunity to articulate their own needs. Also, the leader can speak with families to identify additional student needs. This is particularly helpful when students are young and cannot accurately identify their own needs. Finally, the school leader can observe students in the school and identify deficit areas of the school program. For example, the school leader may notice that many students arrive late to school and are tired and hungry when they arrive. The school leader can then use observational data to inform the development of the school goals and vision.

Implementing Vision and Plan for Implementing the Vision and Goals

Importance of Developing an Implementation Plan
To achieve a school vision and goals, a plan must be in place. A well-constructed plan serves as a guide for how the goals will be accomplished. Having a plan conveys to stakeholders that the vision and goals are feasible and instills confidence in the campus administration. A plan also serves as a framework for directing the actions of a leadership team and campus faculty and staff. Additionally, a leader cannot be everywhere all the time, so having a plan in place ensures that progress can be made, even in the leader's absence. Finally, having a plan helps to keep the efforts of leadership and staff focused. Many aspects of a school campus can become distractions to the primary goals, and these distractions can cause leaders to divert resources and efforts to the wrong areas. A plan keeps efforts and resources focused and purposeful, which increases the plan's chance of being effective.

Components of an Effective Plan

An effective plan should include action steps, people responsible, time frames, milestones, resources needed, and evidence of implementation. The action steps in a plan should clearly outline what needs to be done to accomplish the plan. These steps should be broken down so that someone who did not participate in developing the plan can understand what needs to be done. An effective plan also identifies the people responsible for each aspect of the plan. If no one is held accountable for the actions to accomplish the plan, they likely will not get done. The plan should also be time bound. This will help to identify whether the plan is on track for completion. Milestones serve as checkpoints that also help to determine the progress of the plan. The plan will include the resources needed to accomplish it so that these resources are planned for and obtained. This will prevent delay in accomplishing the plan. Finally, the evidence of implementation should be included in the plan so that ongoing monitoring can take place. Evidence of implementation could include documents, visible indicators, or regular meetings, depending on the aspect of the plan.

Barriers to Implementing the Vision and Goals Effectively
Both expected and unexpected barriers may arise when implementing the vision and goals. It can be expected that stakeholders who did not wholeheartedly agree with the creation of the vision and goals may be reluctant to implement the plan to achieve them. This can be a barrier because a lack of support for or direct opposition to the vision and goals can delay progress. Many unexpected barriers may also arise. These may include changes in district policy and procedure, changes in state law, shortfalls in school budgets, and staff changes, among others. For example, standardized test performance expectations or adoption of a new test can affect goals. Additionally, the loss of a teacher or the promotion of a leadership team member could also affect the successful implementation of the vision and goals. Some school districts have experienced unexpected loss of instructional time due to inclement weather conditions, creating a barrier to accomplishing school goals.

Types of Barriers to Implementing Vision and Goals
When planning the implementation of the school vision and goals, the school leader may encounter barriers that will slow the planning process. One barrier is attempting to analyze too much data. Data is valuable to the planning process, but an abundance of data can become overwhelming and delay progress. The school leader must identify what data is needed and what can be put aside. Another barrier is the lack of consensus from other stakeholders who are providing input to the development of the plan. Stakeholders such as community members, parents, and staff may have conflicting ideas and suggestions related to the development of the vision and goals. The leader must determine which feedback to incorporate in the plan, as not all ideas are sound or can be prioritized. Finally, a barrier that can be difficult to overcome is garnering support for the implementation of change on campus. In most instances, a school leader will be appointed in the place of a predecessor who already had a school vision and goals in place. Stakeholders may be resistant to drastic changes in the school vision and goals, so the school leader must overcome these objections to do what is best for the students.

Overcoming Potential Barriers
A leader can employ various strategies to overcome potential barriers to implementing the vision and goals effectively. To overcome a lack of support for the vision and goals, the leader can include as many stakeholders as possible in their development. This will increase buy-in and communicate the vision and goals often so that stakeholders are reminded of the school's focus. A leader can also include strategies in the action plan to address potential barriers, such as loss of staff. For example, a leader can designate teams, rather than individuals, to work on components of the plan. Therefore, if a staff member is lost, other team members can continue implementation of a goal. The leader can also consider actions or contingency plans to enact if barriers arise. For example, if a goal requires a designated number of new computers, a leader may consider what to do if a budget shortfall allows for the purchase of only half of the computers.

Supporting the Implementation by Leading by Example
Leading by example can support the implementation of the school vision and goals by inspiring others, conveying priorities, and garnering support from stakeholders. When a leader sets an example of expected behavior, staff and students will be inspired to participate and to follow the leader's example, implementing the vision and goals in the same way as their leader. This increases the effort devoted to accomplishing the vision and goals. When the leader engages in behaviors that implement the vision and goals, this conveys to stakeholders that the vision and goals are priorities because this is where the leader chooses to devote time. When a leader's priorities are clear to stakeholders, it is easier for the leader to encourage them to participate in those prioritized activities and to implement action plans related to those priorities. For example, if a leader makes it evident through his or her own actions that reading instruction is a priority for the campus, then stakeholders will expect and support further initiatives relating to reading instruction.
In contrast, when a leader's actions do not match the goals and vision, this results in a mixed message to stakeholders.

Aligning Human, Fiscal, and Material Resources
The strategies and initiatives for implementing the school vision and goals require resources, so a leader must ensure that all human, fiscal, and material resources are aligned to the vision and goals. Aligning resources to the vision and goals will ensure fewer barriers to implementation. In contrast, when resources are not aligned to the vision and goals, not only will leaders find it difficult to implement the mission and vision, they will also find that their efforts are diverted to the other areas that the resources have been devoted to. This results in a less significant impact of those resources for the benefit of students and the campus as a whole. For example, if the vision for the school is to have state-of-the-art technology for classroom instruction, the leader must ensure that there are qualified staff members who are able to utilize the technology, funds for the purchase of technology hardware and software, and additional resources such as storage and server space for the additional technology. If any aspect of the resources is misaligned, there is a possibility that the goal or vision will not be obtained.

Delegating
A leader cannot do an effective job without support. In order to balance the duties and responsibilities of being a campus leader, an effective leader must identify tasks and activities that can be delegated to other leadership team members or administrative staff. If a leader does not delegate tasks and responsibilities, he or she may be overwhelmed and unable to meet all of the demands necessary to implement the mission and vision. When a leader designs an action plan for accomplishing the vision and goals, he or she must also identify the staff members who can complete those actions. For example, another member of the leadership team can be assigned a specific project, such as hosting the quarterly community literacy nights for the school year. Also, a clerical staff person can assist the leader in designing and formatting documents related to a project. The role of the leader is to lead and manage a team that can implement the vision, not to implement the vision independently and individually. Delegation is also important when the leader is not on campus or available. This ensures that the work of accomplishing the vision and goals will continue even in the leader's absence.

Measurable Expectations

Using Data to Support Measurable Expectations
Data can support the setting and tracking of measurable expectations. When a leader uses data to communicate expectations to faculty and staff, it increases the staff's ability to meet those expectations and helps staff to determine if they are meeting expectations. For example, a leader can set the expectation that teachers and staff maintain a 98% attendance rate at work. Setting this measurable expectation makes it easier for staff to self-regulate and also helps leaders to address failure to meet expectations. By using data, a leader can determine if expectations are being met, which can help determine whether the school is on track to meet or exceed goals. For example, a leader may expect 90% of students to meet performance standards in reading. If 93% of students meet performance standards, the leader will know that the expectation is being exceeded and it is likely that the school will meet their goal. In contrast, when data is not used to support expectations, it can be difficult to determine progress toward meeting expectations, identify potential areas of weakness, or address failures to meet expectations.

Using Measurable Expectations to Identify Trends and Patterns
The identification of trends and patterns in school performance can be valuable in forming action plans so that decision-making can be targeted and strategic. When expectations are measurable, the data that is collected and analyzed can reveal patterns and trends. For example, if a leader were to review student reading progress, using data from the last three assessments, it may be revealed that a particular demographic group is consistently underperforming. This trend can help the leader provide targeted resources and interventions to meet the reading performance expectation. Similarly, an analysis of student attendance data may reveal a pattern of poor attendance on rainy days. Identifying this pattern can help the leader to address the barriers that rainy days create for student attendance so that students can meet attendance expectations.

Monitoring Progress Toward Goals
A leader must monitor progress toward goals to increase the likelihood of meeting those goals. Leaders should check the progress of goals in regular intervals throughout the school year based on these measurable expectations. This allows the leader to determine if the school is on track to meet a goal and, if not, allows time to make changes to the action plan. For example, a leader may set an annual goal for 90% of students to meet academic performance expectations in math on standardized tests. This goal could be broken down into measurable expectations, such as performance on particular math standards, which are reviewed at regular intervals, like every three weeks. If a leader were to determine that at least 90% of students were not successful on a particular math standard, this could indicate a danger of not meeting the annual goal. However, because this data was obtained before the administration of the standardized test, the leader has time to develop and implement interventions such as math tutorials, increasing the likelihood of meeting the goal.

Supporting High Performance Expectations
Measurable expectations support high expectations because they clearly define the expectations for students and staff, as well as the standard used to measure the expectation. A measurable expectation can lead to higher expectations of performance because it is clear and facilitates monitoring. When expectations are not measurable, the result is ambiguity or confusion. It can be difficult for a person to know if he or she is meeting expectations, and this ambiguity can convey that they will not be monitored. In contrast, when expectations are measurable, a leader can clearly convey how students and staff can meet those expectations and how they will be monitored. For example, if a leader sets a general expectation for high student performance in math, teachers may be confused about the performance indicators and subsequently have varying expectations for math performance and how students can demonstrate that performance, such as classwork, homework, and exams. In contrast, a leader could set an expectation that all students will maintain a passing grade in math classes and pass all math exams.
The leader can then monitor the expectation by reviewing class and exam grades so that those who are not meeting expectations can be addressed.

Discriminating Between Vision and Goals That Are
Measurable and Non-Measurable for All Students

Measurable vs. Non-Measurable Goals
Measurable goals can be quantified and non-measurable goals cannot be quantified. An example of a measurable goal is: 95% of 8^th grade students will earn a score of 70% or above on the math benchmark exam. This goal is measurable because it can be determined whether or not it was met by calculating the percentage of students who demonstrated the defined proficiency on the exam. It also identifies what performance is expected of the students in order to reach the goal. When goals are measurable, it is easy to determine whether or not they have been met. In contrast, a non-measurable goal may be ambiguous, and it may be difficult to determine whether or not it has been met. An example of a non-measurable goal is: 8^th grade students will be successful on the math benchmark exam. This goal is not measurable because it does not state how students demonstrate success on the benchmark exam, nor how many students must be successful to meet the goal.

Converting Non-Measurable Goals into Measurable Goals
Non-measurable goals can be converted into measurable goals by making them quantifiable. To make goals quantifiable, the leader must determine how success is measured for each behavior identified in the goal and how to know that success has been achieved. When a goal involves a performance standard or assessment, it should be clearly identified. For example, rather than using the phrase
'demonstrate proficiency' in a goal, the leader should identify what constitutes proficiency, such as earning a particular score. Some goals involve behaviors that are not easily quantifiable, such as goals related to culture or attitudes. In these instances, a leader must determine how these behaviors will be measured, such as by observations or surveys. For example, a leader may wish all staff to be perceived as courteous. The leader can survey students and parents regarding the courtesy of staff and set a goal of an average rating of 4 out of 5 or greater in the area of courtesy. Alternatively, the leader may use observations to measure the goal, such as requiring front office personal to greet all visitors immediately upon entry 100% of the time.

Ineffectiveness of Non-Measurable Goals
Non-measurable goals can often be ineffective because they do not clearly convey how to achieve the goal or how one knows when the goal has been achieved. When there is no measure of what constitutes success, then those working toward the goal will identify their own perception of success, which may not be in line with the leader's expectations. For example, if the goal is for all 5^th grade students to be successful on a test, a leader may expect students to earn scores of 90% or greater and the teacher may expect scores of 70% or greater. In order to ensure clarity of goals and to help develop strategies to reach those goals, the goals must be measurable.
This ensures that all know the exact target that they are trying to reach and can determine if and when they have reached that target.

School Goals and Local, State, and Federal Policy

Understanding Laws at Various Levels

Relationship Between Federal, State, and Local Educational Laws, Policies, and Practices
Almost all aspects of the education process are governed by laws, policies, and practices. Laws governing the education process are established at the national and state level and supersede district and campus policies. Federal laws take precedence over state laws. State laws supplement and complement the federal laws. Local education agencies (LEAs) then interpret federal and state laws to create policies for their school districts that help schools to adhere to those laws or to clarify areas that the laws do not explicitly address. Individual campuses create procedures to address areas not explicitly outlined by district policy. For example, federal law states that students must be assessed by a standardized exam for grade promotion and graduation. State law dictates which tests the students take and when they are tested. School districts determine the policies for administering those tests, within the guidelines set by the state. Campuses implement district policy and may incorporate their own practices such as cell phone policies, dress code polices, or other school day aspects that are impacted by testing. Whenever there is a conflict between law and policy, law takes precedence.

Areas of the Education Process Impacted by Laws
Federal and state laws impact almost every aspect of the education process. Often these laws require additional policies and procedures to ensure adherence to the laws. However, there are specific areas of the education process that are highly impacted by federal and state law. These include educating students with disabilities, educating English language learners, standardized testing, student confidentiality, school liability, school performance expectations, technology use, school finance, and many more. School leaders must understand the laws and how these laws can influence the development and implementation of their vision and goals. While many school districts develop policies and practices that aid school leaders in adhering to the law, it is the school leader's responsibility to remain current on school law at both the state and federal levels.

Impact of Laws and Policies on Professional Ethics
Federal and state laws dictate the requirements that educators must meet to be certified. As part of these requirements, educators must adhere to ethical codes and standards of behavior.
The ethical codes address areas such as general conduct, conduct toward colleagues, and conduct toward students. Educators are expected to adhere to these standards of behavior; otherwise, sanctions may be placed on their educator licenses or their licenses and certifications may even be revoked. On any given school day, an education leader may make a number of decisions and must be fully aware of the legal and ethical ramifications of each one. Additionally, school leaders must understand that ethical decision-making is not only a result of personal morals and values but also of codes and standards of behavior that are set forth by federal and state government. The code of ethics requires that educators abide by all laws, but some decisions address
'gray areas' in which there are no explicit laws, policies, or procedures. In these instances, school leaders must ensure that their decisions align with the educator code of ethics.

Development of Policies
Schools and school districts often develop policies as a safeguard for staff and students. Laws enacted at the federal and/or state level are often broad and subject to interpretation. As a result, policies are developed to define specific actions and behaviors that adhere to those laws, with the purpose of trying to ensure that people abide by the law by adhering to policies. Policies are meant to be a protection to those who adhere to them. For example, a law may broadly state that schools must administer a confidentially secure assessment of student performance in Math and Reading. The school district may then develop policies to ensure that tests are administered to students in a confidential and secure manner. A person who violates a policy does not necessarily violate a law, but this is possible. School leaders and school staff should abide by local policies as a protection, ensuring that they are adhering to state and federal laws.

Relationship Between Vision and Goals with Legal Responsibilities

Aligning Vision and Goals to School, Local, State, and Federal Policies
The school vision and goals must be aligned to school, local, state, and federal policies so that they can be legally and ethically accomplished. If the school vision and goals are not aligned to these laws and policies, it is possible that working toward these goals would constitute breaking the law or violating policy. Because laws and policies supersede campus initiatives, it is important to align goals to these so that resources can be used efficiently. Even if the misalignment of the goal to the laws and policies does not constitute a violation of the law or policy, it could cause resources and efforts to be diverted, resulting in loss of efficiency and impact. For example, students with disabilities may require additional academic services, as dictated in special education law and policy. The campus leader must provide the resources necessary to meet these students' needs, so it would be efficient to align the school's other goals and resources to this requirement.

Communicating School Laws and Policies to the Community
It is important to communicate school laws and policies to the community so that they can be informed of the requirements and constraints that govern the school leader's actions, decision-making, and goal-setting. The community should be aware of the laws and policies that helped to shape the school leader's vision for the school. The community may be unaware of laws and policies that can influence the operations of the school and how these laws and policies may affect the feasibility of their ideas and suggestions. For example, the community may wish to do away with a particular extracurricular sport because of low participation and lack of performance by the athletes, but they may be unaware that certain sports must be offered on campus due to compliance to Title IX of education law. A principal could explain that the current education law requires that the particular sport be offered so that there is no perceived discrimination in sport offerings at the school.

Impact of Laws, Regulations, Policies, and Procedures on Vision and Goals
Laws, regulations, policies, and procedures should be reviewed and considered during the development and implementation of campus vision and goals. Adherence to these laws and regulations supersede campus initiatives, so it is efficient and effective to align these with the vision and goals to prevent conflict or inefficiency in use of resources. A leader can evaluate these first, and then determine how the vision and goals can be designed in a way to help the school meet or exceed these regulations. For example, if accountability standards require that schools have a passing rate of 90% or above for the state exam in reading, then the school leader should set a goal to meet or exceed that requirement. If the school leader were to set the school goal at 85%, then meeting the school goal would still cause the school to fail according to state accountability standards. In order to be strategic, a school leader should determine what is expected of the school according to law and policy, and then determine how their vision and goals can align with those laws and policies.

Communicating and Implementing Vision and Goals

Clear Communication

Importance of the Clear Communication of the Vision and Goals the campus vision and goals clearly so that stakeholders can understand and support them. If the vision and goals are unclear, stakeholders may have difficulty determining if they support the vision and goals or may be unsure of what to expect on the campus when the vision and goals are implemented. To communicate clearly, a leader should avoid technical terms and jargon that may not be easily understood by stakeholders. For example, a leader can communicate to stakeholders that the campus goal is to increase reading performance, rather than referring to a specific reading program or strategy that may not be familiar to them. Clear communication of campus vision and goals helps to garner support from stakeholders for campus initiatives. When communication is clear, the vision and goals can be easily aligned with outside support and resources from the district, community, and state and federal programs.

Ensuring Clear Communication
A leader will know if the communication of vision and goals to stakeholders is clear and effective by observing the stakeholders' behavior. When the vision and goals are clear, stakeholders are more likely to buy in to the leader's vision and assist in achieving it. Stakeholders who understand the vision and goals can articulate them in their own words. They will be able to communicate the vision and goals to other stakeholders and to the leader. Their behavior will be aligned to the vision and goals as well. Also, stakeholders who understand the vision will propose ideas and actions that are aligned to the vision, avoiding those that are opposed or a distraction to the vision. When communication of the vision and goals is clear and effective, all stakeholders will understand the vision and goals and how they can participate in achieving them.

Hierarchical Communication
Hierarchical communication refers to communicating up and down the chain of command. Leaders communicate up by communicating with superiors, such as district office staff or the superintendent. Leaders communicate down by communicating with faculty and staff. Communicating with various members of the hierarchy often takes different communication skills. For example, communicating with a supervisor may involve responding to specific requests or demands or demonstrating alignment of campus vision and goals with the school district's vision and initiatives. Communicating up may occur via emails and memorandums, meetings, or visits on campus. In contrast, communicating with faculty and staff requires communicating in a way that inspires them to perform as a team in order to achieve the campus vision and goals. This type of communication also involves holding campus team members accountable for their performance. This communication may occur via emails or memorandums, faculty meetings, or in professional learning communities. Leaders must recognize their audience when communicating so that they can use the most effective communication strategy.

Communicating Implementation of the Vision and Goals
A leader must ensure that stakeholders are aware of how the various campus initiatives and actions align to the school vision and goals. A leader can do this by frequently and clearly identifying this alignment. This can be communicated in writing or verbally. Campus plans for the implementation of the vision and goals should identify the planned initiatives and activities. For example, if the school's vision is to achieve excellence in literacy, the leader could indicate in the campus plan that the school will host a literacy night. At the literacy night, the leader should clearly explain to participants that it is a strategy for achieving the goal of excellence in literacy. The leader could also include the school's vision statement on the agenda for the literacy night. A leader cannot assume that all stakeholders understand the connection between the day-to-day campus activities and the vision and goals. Therefore, the leader needs to verbally explain the connection at every opportunity.

Communicating the Vision and Goals Through Others
A school leader can utilize other people to help communicate the vision and goals. Members of the leadership team can help. Often, these other school leaders come into contact with staff and parents more frequently than the principal and therefore have more opportunities to convey the vision and goals. Additionally, parents can be instrumental. Parent leaders, such as those who lead parent organizations or are influential in the community, can help to spread the word about the school vision and goals. Also, in diverse communities, staff members who speak multiple languages may be utilized to communicate the school vision and goals to parents and community members of a variety of backgrounds. When stakeholders hear the vision and goals from people other than the leader, they will perceive that the vision and goals are supported and are more likely to support them as well. In order for this type of communication to be effective, the school leader must ensure that all have a sound understanding of the school vision and goals before sharing them with others.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Leaders can clearly communicate the campus vision and goals to stakeholders using verbal, written, and nonverbal communication. Leaders can communicate verbally by formally hosting meetings and events that help to share the vision and goals for the campus. Leaders can host community meetings and invite parents, community members, and other stakeholders to attend. These meetings are opportunities for the leader to clarify and elaborate on the vision and goals. Leaders can also hold staff meetings and student assemblies with those on campus. Additionally, the vision and goals should be verbalized at every opportunity. A leader can use written communication to communicate the vision and goals, such as in formal reports, emails, and memorandums. For example, some leaders incorporate the school's vision in the footer of formal written documents so that it is always visible. All written communication should align to the vision and reinforce the goals for the campus. Finally, the leader's behavior can serve as nonverbal communication of the vision and goals. For example, if the vision of the school is to cultivate students who are life-long learners, then the leader can model this behavior by reading, participating in training, and taking classes.

Aspects of Clear Communication

Timely Communication
Timely communication requires proper planning. The calendar of events for the school year should be outlined in advance. The leader needs to identify the types of communication to share at various periods throughout the year, such as the beginning of the school year, school holidays, testing periods, and others. A leader must also provide advance notice so that staff and families can properly prepare and plan for school events and activities. Leaders can provide this advance notice using calendars, announcements, flyers, and phone calls. Communicating in multiple ways ensures that the communication is received in a timely manner. There can be an abundance of information about events, activities, and other aspects of the school that needs to be shared with staff, families, and students, so the leader should delegate the aggregation and dissemination of this information to other staff as necessary. The leader can set expectations for how these staff members communicate to families and students. For example, if a school department hosts an event, the event should be placed on the school calendar, and parents should be informed with sufficient time to prepare for and support the event.

Two-Way Communication
The act of communication involves a sender and a receiver. If communication is sent but not received, it is not effective. A leader can increase the possibility of effective communication by using a variety of mediums. These may include phone calls, meetings, emails, memorandums, and formal letters or documents. Additionally, a leader can survey stakeholders to determine the preferred mode of communication. For communication to be deemed effective, leaders must confirm that it has been received. Leaders can request a response or feedback on the communication so that it is acknowledged and the leader can be sure that the message was received in the intended way. Effective communication also means that the leader can be the receiver of communication, not just the sender. Leaders should be open to taking phone calls, responding to emails, or participating in meetings that allow others to communicate with them. When the leader acts as the receiver, he or she should acknowledge that the message was received so the sender is aware that the communication was effective.

Handling Miscommunication
If the leader becomes aware of a miscommunication, he or she should act immediately to correct it. Failing to correct a miscommunication can lead to confusion, conflict, and lack of engagement in and support of the school program. First, the leader should identify the miscommunication. Then the leader should make an effort to correct it by acknowledging that the message was not sent properly and providing the correct message. For example, a school leader could notify parents that the school's art program would not be part of the vision for the upcoming school year, and the parents might infer that the art program would be eliminated. The school leader should inform parents that the art program will not be eliminated and then explain how it would be affected in the upcoming school year. The school leader should also assume
responsibility for the initial ineffective communication.

Culture of Learning
It is the leader's goal to develop a culture of learning on campus. The leader must incorporate this goal into the school vision and goals. As a result, when there is evidence of a culture of learning on campus, this is also evidence that the leader's vision and goals are being implemented. In a culture of learning, both adults and students work toward learning goals and are self-motivated to achieve these goals. They also have access to the necessary resources to support and drive engagement in the learning process. Evidence of the culture of learning includes students and staff who are goal-oriented and self-motivated to learn and engage in the learning process, who have motivation to perform at the highest levels academically, and who perform skilled use of available resources to engage in the learning process. When these are present, it will be evident that the vision and goals can be accomplished.

Supporting a Culture of Learning by Communicating the Vision and Goals to Stakeholders
When the vision and goals are communicated effectively to stakeholders, they can in turn support the culture of learning. When stakeholders know and understand the vision, they can identify how to support it and help to develop the culture of learning. For example, if a business stakeholder in the community becomes aware of the school's vision to implement technology in the classroom to develop a culture of learning, he or she may decide to donate computers for a computer lab. Had the stakeholder not known that the school could benefit from the donation, he or she may not have taken that action. All stakeholders may not be in a position to give to the school, but they can support the culture of learning through their participation in school and community events and by advocating for the school and its needs to school and government representatives. Communicating the vision and goals to stakeholders increases the number of people who can offer their support in implementation.