Evaluation Report: The EPIC Leadership Development Model and Pilot Programs
Author: New Leaders
Date: 2011-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Urban Schools,Charter Schools,Public Schools,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gains,Instructional Leadership,Best Practices,Leadership Effectiveness,Faculty Development,Models,Principals,Assistant Principals,Pilot Projects,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation

New Leaders created the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) initiative in 2006 to learn from educators driving achievement gains in high-need urban schools. EPIC identifies school leaders and teachers whose students are making significant achievement gains and financially rewards these educators in exchange for sharing and documenting the practices that have contributed to the gains. Since 2006, New Leaders has awarded over $15.5 million to EPIC partner districts and charter schools and led them in a rigorous examination of their practices, culminating in the publication of video cases and practice profiles on the online EPIC Knowledge System. During the 2010-11 school year, New Leaders contracted with Rockman et al, an independent research firm, to evaluate pilots of the EPIC Leadership Development Model in one charter management organization and two urban school districts: Friendship Public Charter Schools in Washington, DC (Friendship), Memphis City Schools (MCS), and District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Each pilot program featured the model's core components--in-person sessions led by highly skilled facilitators who guide participants through a curriculum built on Knowledge System content; action-planning and applied learning assignments that help participants put EPIC tools and strategies to work in their own schools; videotaping of participants' practice; and consulting calls that support learning between sessions. The pilots allowed EPIC to design and test a set of technology-enriched components, including personal practice videos and online forums and consultancies, which gave participants further opportunities to examine, share, and strengthen their leadership practices. This report summarizes the findings from the evaluation, which examined the EPIC Model's effectiveness and evolution over three iterations based on emerging local needs, and its impact on leadership practice. Evaluators collaborated with EPIC to design uniform instruments for use across sites, including session feedback forms, self-assessment surveys, and postsession and site-visit interview protocols. As part of the formative study, evaluators gathered feedback from participants on the effectiveness of EPIC's core components and factors that affected implementation. Evaluation findings show that the EPIC Leadership Development Model, piloted in three very different settings, had a positive impact on leadership practice and set in motion changes related to improved teaching and learning. Participants gained new skills, strategies, and resources to strengthen their own leadership practice and the practice of their teams and teachers. In addition to valuable and often immediate opportunities to implement new practices, participants had the benefit of being able to reflect on their experiences with colleagues and program facilitators. This cycle of learning, doing, and reflecting helped participants refine skills and strategies that proved successful. By considering less well-suited strategies, they also learned more about their own skills and styles and those of their leadership teams. (Contains 26 footnotes.)