Build Leadership Team

In some ways, district teams are similar to school leadership teams, but they have a different goal: to build and develop capacity of all the schools in the district to implement equitable, multi-level systems of supports. 

Who is on a district-level leadership team?

A district-level leadership team may include:

• District administration or directors (decision-makers)
• School administration and staff
• School board member
• Parent or family representatives
• Community members and agencies
• Representatives from any underserved student population

Be sure the district team has diverse perspectives that reflect the community it serves.

What does the district-level leadership team do?

The district’s goal is to have all schools delivering supports as intended and having those supports achieve the desired results. Through skillful use of structures and policies, district-level leadership teams actively work to identify and remove any barriers to school implementation.

Here are some general responsibilities of the district leadership team:

• Understand the stages of implementation and effectively communicate to schools what to expect during each stage
• Create a multi-year action plan for the district and strategically plan how the district goals will impact school-level goals
• Be clear about expectations for instructional practice at every grade level and every school
• Secure funding and allocate resources for implementation
• Ensure schools regularly assess their implementation
• Evaluate and monitor district-wide implementation using schools’ system self-assessments and student assessment data
• Actively monitor continuous improvement cycles
• Openly support and prominently feature the work happening in schools to create and sustain equitable, multi-level systems of supports
• Implement practices and strategies that encourage the sustainability of the system
• Engage with stakeholders and the community