In this episode of In the Lead with UCEA, Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Paul Katnik, Assistant Commissioner at Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where he has been instrumental in coordinating the state model educator evaluation system.

Mónica and Paul discuss Paul’s role in the development and implementation of the Missouri Leadership Development System (MLDS) and the Missouri Teacher Development System (MTDS). Paul emphasizes the importance of a systemic approach to educator preparation, certification, and development, highlighting significant strides in teacher recruitment and retention. Paul also brings up the various challenges and successes of fostering statewide partnerships, using data to drive improvement, and continuously adapting to changing educational landscapes. 

In the Lead with UCEA  is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

The challenges that came with creating a leadership system.

[12:26 ] We have to keep reminding ourselves that for the user, for the principal, trying to navigate their way through a career in school leadership, they only know what they do and they interact with all these partners, and if we all come at them with different agendas and different language, it just makes it harder for them. And so we try to meld those together as much as we can while still honoring the integrity of all those partners and what they bring to the whole thing. And so the relationships have certainly been a challenging part of this. 

Data proves the lasting impact of MLDS on school leadership.

[19:04 ] Data says that our MLDS principals have retention rates 10 percentage points higher than the state's average and has for every year that it's been in full implementation. 20 percentage points higher than if you're a non-MLDS principal. That data tells me that we're doing something right in terms of [the] longevity of school leadership. As a part of our annual evaluations, we have interviewed teachers. We've interviewed superintendents. And to me, it's important to not only ask the user, "Is this valuable?" but then to ask the people who surround them to say, "Do you see the impact of MLDS on their leadership?" and to have 80 to 90% of teachers say, "Absolutely, I can see a different change in practice that they learn. They bring things that they've learned into our school that supports me, helps me be a better teacher, and, in fact, helps my students learn at higher levels." That tells me something when superintendents say, "I can see my principal turning into a better instructional leader.

Was blended funding the right call for MLDS?

[20:56 ] We've always attempted to do blended funding because we didn't want the loss of any one source to be the end of all of this work. And at times, like now, that maybe has been a good plan of attack to kind of do it that way. But every piece of funding then comes again with its own limitations and its own uses and whatever, and you have to navigate all of that too. But we've managed to put together, kind of, a blended funding thing. When we first started getting our funding together, we went to the 3% that was allowed through the new national education law, and we did the math, and we picked out about 40 superintendents in the state who would be losing a bigger share of their Title II A funds if we did the 3% set aside. And we went and visited them. And so I sat in the office with a bunch of superintendents, and I said, "If we move ahead with creating this system and we use these funds for that, your district is going to lose this much money, and I want to hear your opinion of that." And every superintendent we talked to said, "Go ahead and do it, but do it right."

Show Links:

• MLDS | Missouri Leadership Development System
• The Educator Growth Toolbox
• Profile on LinkedIn
• Social Profile on X