The Central Office Role in Instructional Improvement¹

A major activity for central office staff is to promote instructional improvement The research reported in this article indicates that a key way of accomplishing improvement is to facilitate staff members’ access to and use of important bodies of instructional knowledge. The extent to which this knowledge is imparted helps explain district success in enabling all students to become successful learners. Instructional improvement is most effectively enacted through giving a clear and consistent message that instruction and its improvement is the primary expectation for adults in the system. Furthermore, this message is a function of central office staff involvement, support, and communication.