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“When faced with multiple alternatives in your practice, reading research can help
you not only identify alternative approaches, but also choose the best approach from
among the alternatives” (Plano Clark & Creswell, 2015, p. 8).

Conclusion
Collaboration among educational leaders, faculty, parents, and community
members is crucial as they strive to create excellent academic programs and
maximize student learning. This process requires collaboratively developed and
clearly communicated statements of core values, mission, and vision. Alignment
with each is determined when proposing action steps to improve the academic
program. This forms the foundation not only for effective decision-making but
also for establishing clear targets and common goals. Analyzing data and exploring
evidence-based practices from the research literature guide decision-making as well.
Support and shared understanding of alignment among core values, mission, vision,
and school improvement efforts; data analysis; and evidence-based practices are
essential. Throughout the continual improvement process, the leader demonstrates
key skills to enhance communication and collaboration among stakeholder groups.

References
Allen, J. G., & Blackwell, G. R. (2021). Mission, vision, and core values. In R. Wallace, E. Proffitt,
& S. Sullivan (Eds.). School improvement: Let the Professional Standards for Educational
Leaders work for you (pp. 5–10). Rowman & Littlefield.

Bernhardt, V. L. (2017). Measuring what we do in schools: How to know if what we are doing is
making a difference. ASCD.

Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Teachers College Press.

Hattie, J. (2015, February). High-impact leadership. Educational Leadership, 72(5), 36–40.
Plano Clark, V. L., & Creswell, J. W. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd
ed.). Pearson.
Powers, D. (2021). Meaningful engagement of families and community. In R. Wallace, E. Proffitt,
& S. Sullivan (Eds.). School improvement: Let the Professional Standards for Educational
Leaders work for you (pp. 71–83). Rowman & Littlefield.

Varga-Atkins, T., McIsaac, J., & Willis, I. (2017). Focus group meets Nominal Group Technique:
An effective combination for student evaluation? Innovations in Education and Teaching
International, 54(4), 289–300.

Warwick, R. (2015). The challenge for school leaders: A new way of thinking about leadership.
Rowman & Littlefield.

34 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators