Volusia principals return from Harvard institute with trainer-of-trainers plan

Volusia County Schools leaders reported March 25 that a team of district principals, administrators and coordinators attended a weeklong leadership institute at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and have returned with a trainer-of-trainers plan to spread the practices districtwide.

The district presented the work as an investment in leadership capacity funded by the Futures Foundation. Dr. Joseph Castelli, director of secondary schools, told the board that 11 participants completed a rigorous July 14–19 program and used the experience to develop practical steps — including a “consultancy protocol” — to improve instructional leadership across Volusia County.

Why it matters: district leaders said the Harvard training gave them common frameworks and tools that they can scale across principals and assistant principals. The presenters said the work is tied to district strategic guardrails about recruiting, developing and retaining high-quality staff and about improving classroom practice to increase student achievement.

Dr. Castelli, who led the report, said the cohort “learned with great thinkers from around the nation and around the world, exchanging best practices, sharing vulnerabilities, and learning the truth that Harvard had to offer.” He said the institute’s sessions were intensive and that participants returned with ready-to-apply, classroom-level ideas.

Principal Joshua Jackson (principal, Creekside Middle School) described clinic-style exercises the cohort brought back: “The Consultancy Protocol exercise … lets a presenter describe a problem and then the group works in silence to offer solutions — then the presenter turns around and shares what they learned.” Jackson said the protocol is already scheduled for use at his school.

Wafa Petrolo (coordinator for professional learning) said the team emphasized deliberate work on school culture and the instructional core — teacher, student task and rigorous content — and that they have begun using Harvard-aligned walkthroughs called “synergy walks.” She told the board that more than 200 administrators participated this year in targeted classroom walks focused specifically on student tasks and alignment to benchmarks.

Superintendent Carmen Balgobin thanked the Futures Foundation for funding the cohort and said the district plans to send a second, smaller team to a Harvard session on “Leading Culture Change Strategies for School Improvement” scheduled June 16–18. The district presenters repeatedly framed the work as a trainer-of-trainers approach: attendees will return, train other principals and build districtwide capacity.

The presentation included district examples leadership teams already implementing: family instructional planning nights, targeted feedback loops for teachers based on observed student tasks, and administrator retreats that expand principals’ leadership skills. Dr. Castelli said organizers recommend another cohort to create a ‘‘critical mass’’ of leaders sharing the same frameworks.

Board discussion focused on measurable outcomes and sustainability. Presenters said they are already tracking implementation steps — number of principal/assistant principal classroom walkthroughs, documented changes in student task alignment, and targeted feedback delivered to teachers — and that early district data show improvements in observed instructional practice. They did not provide a dollar figure for Futures Foundation funding or specific longitudinal student outcome data to tie directly to the Harvard cohort; funding source was reported as Futures Foundation (amount not specified).

The board did not take a formal vote on the presentation. Presenters requested continued Futures Foundation support to send additional cohorts; board members expressed support and asked that the team return with follow-up evidence as the work is expanded.