One of the initiatives HCDE supports is its Educator Certification and Advancement (ECA) division, a state-accredited educator preparation program, that prepares and certifies aspiring teachers, principals, and superintendents. HCDE through ECA and other divisions support and model rigorous, data-driven, evidence-based, culturally responsive practices to prepare aspiring educators to replicate with their executive leadership teams, professional learning communities, and students.
ECA’s purpose is to establish transformational talent pipelines of school and district leaders who positively impact student achievement and champion practices that bridge the equity gap. By doing so, they ensure a workforce of diverse district level leaders who are willing and able to address persistent inequalities instead of maintaining the status quo. In their efforts to prepare and certify aspiring principals and superintendents, ECA assist leaders to stay abreast of factors that impact the lives of their students as evidenced through this article.
Breakthrough Principals: A Step-By-Step Guide to Building Stronger Schools written by Jean Desravines, Jaime Aquino, and Benjamin Fenton. It provides a framework covering levers with principal and school actions by stages in the areas of Learning and Teaching; School Culture; Talent Management; and Planning and Operations. Learning and Teaching covers actions related to 1) Aligned Curriculum; 2) Classroom Practices and Instruction; 3) Data; and 4) Student-Centered Differentiation. For School Culture, it covers levers including 1) Shared Mission and Values; 2) Relationships; and 3) Family and Community Engagement. For Talent Management, 1) Recruiting and Onboarding; 2) Instructional Leadership Team; 3) Performance Monitoring and Evaluation; and 4) Professional Learning and Collaboration. For Planning and Operations, levers including 1) Goal Setting and Action Planning; 2) Time Management; 3) Budget and 4) Community and District Relations.
To learn more about ECA’s educator preparation programs, please call 713.696.1348 or visit our website: https://hcde-texas.org/teach-and-lead/ .