ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we focus on the third oval of San Diego's nested learning communities (Chapter 1, Figure 1.1), the intersection encounter between instructional leaders (ILs) and school-based leaders (principals). Despite being far removed from the classroom, the interactions between ILs and school leaders set the tone for what happened inside schools and classrooms in the district. This chapter, like the two previous ones, focuses on literacy because it was the first school subject to be addressed by the reform. Here, we examine the ways in which ILs supported principals in their efforts to learn how to help teachers assist students in becoming proficient and independent readers and writers. Consistent with the principles of our design research (Chapter 2 for details), we present the reform from the point of view of its many participants, assess the differences in how school personnel experienced the reform, and link those differences to the participants’ positions within the organization.
