Middle School Leadership Academy

The primary objective of our Middle School Leadership Academy is to develop the capacity of school principals and leadership teams to advance student post-secondary success.

During this part-time, one-year program, principals are coached to develop their leadership skills and build a comprehensive, sustainable, research-based action plan for advancing student post-secondary success on their campus.

Each plan is unique, but focused on implementing best practices common to high-performing middle schools, including:

• Baseline and continual use of student data to inform teaching and enhance learning
• Effective, student-focused collaboration among teachers and schools
• Enhanced instructional time and support to meet higher standards
• Family engagement in student learning goals
• A school-wide culture that supports post-secondary success

• Systems thinking
• Change management
• Human talent development
• Vision and goal setting
• Enhancing academic culture through professional learning communities and the cycle of assessment FOR learning
   

The Process

1. Up to 15 area middle school principals are selected to start the one-year Academy program each Fall.
    
2. A thorough pre-assessment establishes each school’s baseline status and post-secondary success goals.
    
3. Principals are provided a full year of intensive coaching and planning support via:
   • Monthly, on-campus mentoring sessions with their personal A+ coach to provide support and feedback and help develop the campus-based post-secondary success plan.
      
   • Twice-monthly collaborative workshops with other Academy participants to review current research and best practices in driving post-secondary success, and to share insights and challenges.
      
   • Unique cross-district field visits to high-performing middle schools throughout the Houston region to share best practices first-hand.
      
4. At year’s end, a small percentage of the Academy cohort will be selected to  receive additional, campus-level support through the Houston A+ Challenge Network, extending the full program of coaching, collaboration and engagement to their schools as they implement  their action plans.