The Principal’s Role in Instruction
A roundtable discussion
Thursday, May 1 | 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
What does it mean for a principal to be an instructional leader?
Principals play a critical role in teacher retention and student success—top priorities for every district. Yet, too often, principals and their supervisors are left without clear guidance on what a school leader’s role should look like when it comes to supporting instruction on a daily basis.
Insights from school and district leaders
As part of our ongoing work to bring more clarity to the principal role, we’re hosting a roundtable discussion with school system leaders from across the country. We’ll explore the challenges of defining instructional leadership and consider different ways that school leaders distribute instructional leadership responsibilities to provide the support their teachers need.
Join us to:
- Get a brief overview of three principal staffing models that can provide role clarity and coverage for instructional leadership tasks
- Learn from education leaders from across the country as they share candid insights into what they’ve found works (and doesn’t work) when it comes to effectively supporting instruction
- Have a chance to ask questions and exchange ideas with peers who are navigating similar challenges
Learn about the roundtable panelists and register below.
Our panelists
Dr. Dana Arreola
Dr. Dana Arreola is the newly appointed superintendent of Gonzales ISD, Texas. She most recently served as superintendent of Bessemer City Schools in Alabama, where she led the district to achieve its highest academic performance since the introduction of the state report card. Previously, she served as the executive director of leadership development at Aldine ISD in Texas, where she spearheaded initiatives to prepare staff for leadership roles and coached leaders to enhance accountability ratings. Dr. Arreola also served as assistant superintendent in Houston ISD, where she led the school improvement process for historically underserved and underperforming schools. Under her leadership, six schools achieved significant academic progress, rising from “Improvement Required” to “Met Standard” ratings within just two years.
Clint Satterfield
Clint Satterfield is the superintendent of Trousdale County Schools, a small, rural district in Tennessee. Satterfield’s education career has been dedicated to Trousdale County, where he has served in the role of teacher, school principal, and director of schools. Trousdale is the only school district in Tennessee that has won the SCORE (State Collaborative on Reforming Education) award twice, in 2013 and 2015, for dramatically raising student achievement. The 2019 NICHE Report ranked Trousdale as the 19th best school district in Tennessee (out of 147).
Jasmin Tow
Jasmin Tow is the director of early literacy at Education for Change, a TK–12 charter network in Oakland, California. In her current role, she provides vision, professional development, coaching, and ongoing feedback to site administrators in service of fulfilling every child’s right to read. Previously, she was the assistant principal of instruction at Aspire Public Schools, where she coached a team of 14 TK–2 teachers and served as lead assistant principal for the Bay Area region—which required planning and facilitating monthly collaborative meetings for school leaders. She began her education career teaching bilingual 2nd grade as well as 9–12 Spanish and ethnic studies, then became an elementary specialist for the Teach For America Bay Area Regional Team.
Our hosts
Eugene Pinkard
Eugene Pinkard, president of Instruction Partners, began his education career as a teacher—first in rural South Africa, then in Washington, DC. During his time at DC Public Schools, he also served as a principal, principal supervisor, and cabinet member. Most recently, Pinkard spent five years as director of K–12 leadership at the Aspen Institute Education & Society Program, leading a team that supports education leaders across the nation and develops resources and guidance for the sector.
Emily Freitag
Before co-founding Instruction Partners, Emily Freitag was the assistant commissioner of curriculum and instruction for the Tennessee Department of Education. In this role, she oversaw K–12 core academics including standards, assessment design, instructional materials, and educator training and support. She led a collaborative effort to train more than 65,000 teachers and leaders during this time in a peer-led, content-based approach, and Tennessee saw increases in student achievement on both the NAEP and state tests. For five years before coming to Tennessee, Freitag managed Teach For America’s DC and Connecticut regions.