Coaching and Learning Embedded in District Culture

Principal supervision exemplifies the Long Beach way of effective on-the-job support

As part of the Wallace Foundation’s Principal Supervisor Initiative, the Long Beach, Calif., Unified Schools created a powerful system of on-the-job support. During site visits and grantee calls, I noticed the distinct way in which the district engaged in active questioning and storytelling and framed its challenges as learning opportunities toward improved instructional leadership.

Long Beach works collaboratively though a system of teams that include the community, central-office staff and school-based staff. Superintendent Jill Baker identifies the key components of principal supervision this way: “Shared goals, a high level of trust among participants, a focus on we and not me at all levels, support and inherent values of sharing and collaboration.”

The 70,000-student district for years has been nationally recognized for its relentless focus on supporting high-quality teaching districtwide. For the past several years, Long Beach has intensified its focus on developing the relationship between principals and principal supervisors as key parts of a system of support for that teaching.

Principal supervisors have helped increase learning across the system by taking a coaching approach to supervision. As a result, they have created a culture of coaching and learning, opportunities to learn through collaboration and a leadership model focused on learning how to lead the system.