Differentiated Leadership

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams

As a classroom teacher I believed strongly in differentiated instruction due to the fact that my 20+ kids came in at all different levels. I always felt I was doing a disservice if I gave them all the same thing, at the same time, in the same way. I've always believed in high expectations for all students. I just knew that some students needed more scaffolding, support, etc. to get to their destination. As I transitioned into administration the concept of differentiation naturally came with me.

Differentiated leadership is really my daily approach/philosophy as an elementary school principal. I have nearly 100 staff members that are all at different levels in regards to pedagogical knowledge, classroom management, technology skills, etc. My approach to each staff member is very similar to the approach I used with students in my classroom. A staff meeting, professional development, etc. for all staff, at the same time, in the same way really just doesn't make sense. This is especially true since I believe strongly in modeling best practices for staff members. That's why the philosophy of differentiated leadership has been a cornerstone for our school's success.

These are the basic components to the differentiated leadership approach that I incorporate into my daily practices.

1. All staff participate in respectful work

2. Conversations, Planning, & Professional Development serve to build a foundation from which staff members can explore and create

3. Planning, Professional Development, and Coaching are based on individual learners and team needs

4. Multiple learning strategies and approaches are used in a coaching framework

5. Assessment and dialogue (formal & informal) occur in a variety of ways throughout the year

6. Administrators and teachers form a learning partnership where strategies are shared in order to move all students forward

You'll see that you can replace the adult in each principle with a student and you have the basic principles for differentiated instruction. There are certainly other principles that you could easily add. Please feel free to comment and add your own.