NISL Program

The NISL program is designed to meet each district’s needs. NISL’s cohort-based design can blend virtual and face-to-face sessions to reduce time out of school to provide flexible access to the learning and its application. Whether delivered in a blend of virtual and face-to-face sessions or entirely virtually, the content and learning of the NISL program is consistent. NCEE can also provide partners with the capacity to deliver the program internally utilizing local staff, allowing for scaling and sustaining the program across large districts or states.

NISL includes 12 units, divided into three courses, spread over approximately 12 to 15 months. NISL Units 1, 4, 8, and 12 can be delivered onsite, providing opportunities for face-to-face interaction between NCEE facilitators and participants. Face-to-face units are delivered in back-to-back days. Districts may choose to take advantage of all four face-to-face units, or opt for some or all of these face-to-face units to be delivered virtually. Virtual units are delivered in three four-hour sessions over consecutive days. The duration and pacing of virtual sessions can be tailored to district needs.

NISL utilizes Zoom for virtual sessions to allow for digital breakout sessions, chat functionality, digital “hand raising,” and sharing of digital resources. 

A key component of NISL is action learning. Action learning allows participants to apply their learning through an interactive process involving the deep analysis of participants’ individualized contexts, setting clear visions, and working through a theory of action and related strategies. Action learning deepens participants’ understanding of the content and processes embedded in NISL and it affects positive change in their schools. Each participant receives targeted support from NCEE facilitators in smaller groups around common action learning themes. Action learning support typically begins in the last NISL units and continues for three to six months beyond the 12 NISL units.

Throughout the program, all participants benefit from access to the NCEE Portal, a proprietary digital tool that provides readings, videos, research, diagnostic tools, and network supports for participants.

Participants in cohort: Min: 25 Max: 32

Note: Contact NCEE to inquire about individuals joining national cohorts

The NISL program empowers leaders to succeed through a thoughtfully designed, cohesive curriculum consisting of 12 units delivered over 12 to 15 months:

COURSE 1: WORLD-CLASS SCHOOLING: VISION AND GOALS

• Unit 1: The Educational Challenge
• Unit 2: The Principal as Strategic Thinker
• Unit 3: Elements of Coherent and Aligned Learning Systems

COURSE 2: THE RESEARCH ON LEARNING AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING, LEADERSHIP, AND SCHOOL ORGANIZATION

• Unit 4: “How People Learn” and Implications for Teaching, Leadership, and School Organization: Part 1
• Unit 5: “How People Learn” and Implications for Teaching, Leadership, and School Organization: Part 2
• Unit 6: “How People Learn” and Implications for Teaching, Leadership, and School Organization: Part 3
• Unit 7: Promoting the Learning Organization

COURSE 3: SUSTAINING TRANSFORMATION THROUGH CAPACITY AND COMMITMENT

• Unit 8: Leading for Effective Teaching
• Unit 9: Teams for Instructional Leadership
• Unit 10: Ethical Leadership for Equity
• Unit 11: Driving and Sustaining Transformation
• Unit 12: Final Case Simulation and Presentations

Best Practices in Adult Learning

The NISL program not only has strong content, but it is delivered in a manner that increases participant learning, consistent with best practices in adult learning:

• Use of cohorts. Studies of teachers have found that professional learning communities can enhance teacher learning and improve practice. A study of leadership development programs found that a cohort design is a key feature of exemplary programs.
• Job-embedded learning. Learners are better able to transfer what they learn to new situations when their learning is contextualized to real situations. Learning in context is also an important feature of exemplary programs studied by Stanford researchers.
• Use of simulations. Simulations provide opportunities for relevant work that is less abstract than traditional coursework and that build on situational cognition.
• Use of 360-degree assessment. 360-degree assessments provide leaders with feedback from multiple layers within their organizations as well as from customers and partners. Education leaders need to be able to implement a 360-degree assessment and feedback system and to use the results to improve performance.
• Extended period of study. A number of studies of teacher professional development have found that isolated workshops are ineffective; teachers are better able to learn and adopt improved practices if their professional development is sustained over time and integrated into their practice.

More than 12,000 educators across 35 states and more than 375 districts nationwide have engaged in NISL. The program has been rigorously evaluated and found to meet the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Standards Without Reservation—the highest possible rating from WWC, certifying that the program is proven to be effective.

A large-scale randomized control trial study of over 90,000 students across 3 states found that NISL

• Makes a significant improvement on students’ ELA achievement when combined with coaching
• Positively affects instruction and school climate
• Is welcomed and appreciated by participating leaders

A rigorous empirical investigation of NISL in Pennsylvania found that the program:

• Boosted student achievement, with a statistically significant improvement in student math performance once a principal has completed the program
• Improved teacher effectiveness, especially in schools serving the state’s most underserved students
• Increased teacher retention, with a significant decline in teacher turnover in the years after a principal has completed the program.

Learn more about NISL’s proven results here.

NCEE partnerships allow participants to receive advanced credit or degrees for completing NCEE offerings. Learn more about credit opportunities here.

NISL can open up a world of learning and support to school leaders and districts. Graduates may continue to benefit from a network of peers and learning opportunities through The Collaborative or more targeted learning through NISL Applied Plus. Districts may choose to strengthen their in-house leadership coaching and align it to support NISL principals through the School Leadership Coaching Program (SLCP) or drive the NISL learning into the classroom by bringing in teachers alongside school leaders through our Teaching for Effective Learning (TEL) Series. Districts may also choose to apply the lessons from NCEE’s international benchmarking of top performers to reenvision the district system through System Design Benchmarking (SDB). 

The Collaborative

The NCEE Leaders Collaborative is a professional learning network exclusively for graduates of NCEE offerings that is designed to continue the learning, collegial relationships with peers, and the improvement in school systems begun in their initial engagement. The Collaborative provides members access to networking and learning with peers in small and large groups, experts in education leadership from across the U.S. and world, and NCEE’s cutting-edge research.

School Leadership Coaching Program

NCEE’s School Leadership Coaching Program (SLCP) supports principal supervisors with the NISL coaching model. This provides SLCP participants and the school leaders they support with a shared leadership understanding, tools, and applied learning opportunities necessary for effective principal coaching. During the five-day program, principal supervisors and coaches learn and practice using a research-based coaching model, study how to leverage NISL, and develop a professional learning community. 

Teaching for Effective Learning (TEL) Series

NCEE’s Teaching for Effective Learning (TEL) Series supports teachers of the instructional core in schools led by NISL graduates. TEL drives the research on how people learn into the classroom by equipping teachers with a deep understanding of its implications within the disciplines of language and literature, mathematics, the sciences, and history and social studies. TEL builds teachers’ capacity to use this research to support effective learning by engaging students’ preconceptions and helping learners systemically build and organize their knowledge, and take ownership of their learning processes. Teachers learn to combine a rigorous, disciplinary approach with teaching that is informed by their students’ progress and responsive to their learning needs.