Professional learning is the vehicle for all school
staff—teachers, administrators, specialists, counselors,
teacher librarians, and others—to learn to effectively
implement the curricular and instructional practices proposed
in this framework (Killion and Hirsh 2013; Darling-Hammond,
and others 2009).
Leadership in a collaborative and learning culture is
distributed and shared; it is not limited to principals or other
administrators and, in fact, promotes teacher leadership as
a powerful means of establishing a healthy and collaborative
school culture. Responsibility for student success is held
in common and transcends departmental and grade-
level boundaries (Garmston and Zimmerman 2013; Kruse
and Louis 2009). Distributed leadership is closely connected to professional learning and includes
professional collaborations, coaching, and data-driven decision-making, as well as opportunities for
teachers to share their expertise in more formal ways. Teachers, for example, may present a new
teaching technique they have implemented to their colleagues and share their reflections of the
process.
Program supports include school and district infrastructure for specialist services, libraries and
media centers, and extended learning opportunities for students. Other key program supports include
communication and collaboration with parents and families and partnerships with community groups
and other institutions.
Commitment to continuous improvement is yet another essential feature of successful
implementation. Realizing California’s bold vision for ELA/literacy and ELD instruction will take time,
resources, and effort, and educators need to be strategic in their approach to implementation
to ensure the highest outcomes for all students. By the same token, school and district leaders
need to envision themselves first and foremost as responsible for ensuring that all classrooms are
environments where each and every student thrives. This requires school and district leaders to
position themselves as advocates for teacher learning,
collaboration, and continuous reflection.
To implement the high-quality programs envisioned
in this ELA/ELD Framework, schools need to address the
stages and core components of implementation (Fixsen
and Blasé 2009; Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman, and
Wallace 2005). The stages of implementation include
the phases that most organizations experience as they
move to fully implement an innovation. These stages
are “exploration, installation, initial implementation, full
implementation, innovation, and sustainability” (2009, 2).
The goal is sustainability, which takes time to achieve,
even while schools feel the pressure to implement the CA
CCSS for ELA/Literacy and CA ELD Standards immediately
and in tandem. Rather, districts and schools need to
carefully plan how to support school leaders and teachers
as they move through the stages of implementation. Practically speaking, districts and schools need
to assess the status of the implementation components they currently possess and identify those
that need to be instituted to implement the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy and the CA ELD Standards.
The entire system needs to mobilize to plan how the implementation of the standards is initiated,
implemented, and sustained and to deploy the needed resources to obtain the materials, provide the
Professional learning is the
vehicle for all school staff—
teachers, administrators,
specialists, counselors, teacher
librarians, and others—to learn
to effectively implement the
curricular and instructional
practices proposed in this
framework.... school and district leaders
need to envision themselves first
and foremost as responsible
for ensuring that all classrooms
are environments where each
and every student thrives. This
requires school and district
leaders to position themselves as
advocates for teacher learning,
collaboration, and continuous
reflection.
972 | Chapter 11 Implementing Instruction