Learning Under Pressure: Leading in a High-Performing District's Pursuit of Organizational Learning

Abstract

This Capstone explores the tension that high-performing large, urban districts experience between sustaining initial success with an efficiency lens and the imperative to learn and evolve. The author offers a clear path forward through on-going professional learning aimed at vertical development and strategic leadership. This intervention focused on the Executive Directors within the Division of Academics and Schools, a strategically selected set of leaders tasked with improving the conditions and outcomes for teaching and learning. The design of this learning series focused on both content and process that fostered the space for the kind of learning that would help the organization manage the tension between efficiency and learning. Evidence and analysis from this project revealed shifts in leaders' thinking, increased ability to see interconnections, and early signals for application. The work of this Capstone is situated in the author’s Residency site, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). A major urban district with consistent performance gains, MNPS has achieved the highest growth status designated by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) for four consecutive years. The author describes the on-going performance pressure experienced throughout the system — a pressure to continue using the established strategies that have led to sustained success. At the same time, Superintendent Adrienne Battle seeks for MNPS to become a learning organization, premised upon the need to identify new strategies to sustain an upward trajectory and to evolve to meet new demands and challenges. The Capstone concludes with recommendations on how other districts, researchers and practitioners can use this work to consider broader implications for addressing this tension in service of students in the United States Kindergarten through 12th Grade system and their academic growth and achievement, both today and in the future.