Over the past several years, Collaborative has provided strategic communications and consulting advice to two executive directors. Our primary efforts have been the creation, content development and design of a series of landmark publications that have helped to define the emerging and evolving role of school leaders. The Leading Learning Communities series is organized around the fundamental standards of what principals should know and be able to do to support learning communities that support student learning. The series, which began in 2001, has become the best-read set of research tools in the organization’s history. In addition, due to the highly relevant content and accessible language and design, principals refer to the publications in this series as a “bible” for hands-on strategies, references to helpful resources, and a means of assessing their own growth through rigorous rubrics. The series of publications has also been adapted into a video training series and an online professional development course for ongoing education credits. The standards of Leading Learning Communities have influenced everything from federal policy objectives, to the organization’s strategic plan, to its governance structure, the strands of learning at the annual convention, and partnership development.
