Thesis advisor: Joseph O'Keefe / Effective instructional leadership is central to principal practice. Thus, the Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation (MMSEE) mandates that all principals demonstrate proficiency in instructional leadership to be considered proficient overall. Given this mandate, it is imperative that central office administrators (COAs) support principals in this regard. Accordingly, this qualitative single case study examined how COAs in one Massachusetts district supported principals’ instructional leadership. Analyses of documents and semi-structured interview data found that COAs supported principals’ instructional leadership through professional development for supervising and evaluating teachers, preparation of school improvement plans, and increased staffing of assistant principals and academic coaches. However, principals reported interim feedback and summative evaluations as not supporting their growth as instructional leaders. To address this gap in support with instructional leadership, recommendations included assigning additional COAs to evaluate principals for consistent and targeted feedback, reviewing MMSEE performance expectations with principals, and including principal voice in the district decision-making process. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Martin Scanlan / District improvement research highlights the importance of central office leaders and building principals in reform efforts. A growing body of literature emphasizes the importance of the relationship between central office leaders and principals in the context of turnaround school reform. Drawing on research from Honig (2012), the assistance relationship consistently surfaced as a key element of success when selecting and implementing learning time as a turnaround measure. This study aims to explore the assistance relationship between central office leaders and principals in the selection and implementation of learning time. This qualitative study draws upon observations and document review to answer the research questions, and is one strand of a larger research project studying how central office leaders support principals through an assistance relationship in a district in receivership. This individual strand concludes that the selection and implementation of learning time opportunities, without consideration to the principals and without the assistance of central office leaders, can’t happen. This strand advances our understanding of how an effective assistance relationship can work in a district in receivership. I concluded that central office leaders and principals interviewed selected and implemented like learning time opportunities. Future researchers may continue to enrich this growing body of literature by examining these findings and testing all or some of the five key practices in a like district. The results, implications for districts in receivership, and future research are discussed. This strand’s findings can serve as a companion for central office leaders who are working with principals to select and implement learning time opportunities in order to improving achievement levels in underperforming schools and districts across our country. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.