Comprehensive Evaluation of DoDEA's Centers for Instructional Leadership: Final Report

Since 2016, Virginia Tech has been partnering with DoDEA to support the Centers for Instructional Leadership (CILs) through professional learning delivery and evaluation. While activities of the cooperative agreement have been highlighted in prior reports, this report represents the final deliverable for the comprehensive evaluation of the CILs. The primary goals of this report include:

1. Inform decision-makers of the current state and stage of the program initiative, based on the desired long-term outcomes.
2. Evaluate the extent to which progress is being made on the intermediate goals of building instructional leadership capacity.
3. Based on the identified progress, provide recommendations and suggestions to continuously improve the program design to help attain the desired outcomes. This third and final phase of the comprehensive evaluation involved investigation of multiple sources of data, including 20 focus groups, 10 key informant interviews, and analysis of a wide array of documents. The report findings are structured around the following evaluations questions: ● To what extent do instructional leaders identify the CIL as a key resource for their growth and advancement as leaders? ● How is instructional leadership shifting as a result of CIL facilitation and support of system priorities? ● In what ways have the CILs facilitated learning networks that instructional leaders value? ● In what ways do the CILs share and scale innovative best practices through situationally-appropriate improvement strategies? ● Based on DoDEA’s definition and framework of ‘Instructional Leadership,” are the CILs truly serving as Centers for Instructional Leadership? The interviews and focus group sessions were an invaluable opportunity to advance our understanding of the CILs’ work, particularly among the four CIL functions: (1) Leadership Development and Support, (2) Development for Systemic Priorities, (3) Learning Networks, and (4) Innovative Best Practices. Although the CILs were formed before DoDEA’s Blueprint for Continuous Improvement, instructional leaders are recognizing the integral relationship between the work of the CIL and DoDEA’s priorities at large. The progress extends beyond isolated success stories. From a big picture standpoint, it is helpful to consider where DoDEA would be without the CILs: “Before the CIL existed, if we think about that, everything either came from Headquarters or through ISSs…. Now, there’s a regional, as well as district, and complex support; and we’re bringing not only the systemic priorities, but we’re modeling them.... I wonder if just the CIL itself—and that whole Theory of Action—brings innovation and life to the agency itself.” (focus group participant) Do the CIL efforts for improved instructional leadership result in improved student achievement? This question for long-term evaluation remains as important as ever, yet the influencing variables are constantly changing. Accordingly, a snapshot in time is never sufficient. While the work of the CILs is functionally removed from the classroom, the CIL Theory of Action presents a conceptual roadmap for the intended impact. In order for the CILs to maintain a viable role within DoDEA, they must demonstrate regular progress toward strategic initiatives outlined in DoDEA’s Blueprint for Continuous Improvement. This report concludes with recommendations aligned to the interconnected phases of AdvancED’s Continuous Improvement System: Learn and Share, Examine and Plan, and Act and Evaluate.