Generate research to uncover central office practices and systems that support equitable school improvement. Our research is:
- Strengths-based: We study central offices where leaders are trying to do what research and experience suggest is the right work to realize educational equity. We aim not to evaluate but to understand what they are doing, what results they achieve, and what conditions help or hinder their efforts. With this strengths-based approach, we aim to shine new light on the promises and challenges of central office leadership.
- Systems Focused: Research shows that the success of any one central office function–be it Teaching and Learning, Principal Supervision, Human Resources, or Operations–depends on aligned changes across the school system. We seek to uncover these interdependencies, and identify what specific practices and systems within and across each of these functions we can associate with improved support for equitable learning.
- For and with practitioners. We use design-based research methods adapted to systems leadership settings to partner with practitioners to: identify research questions of scholarly importance and high relevance to educational leaders; develop strategies to improve leadership practices and systems in real time; and learn from the process.