During her first year, Anderson and co-principal Art Abrego launched and spearheaded a comprehensive literacy effort to help ELL students—who represent two-thirds of the student body—improve their reading scores, and yielded impressive results at a rapid pace. Within one year of implementation, ELL students boosted their IMAGE scores by 55 percent, and Oak Terrace made AYP.

Beyond the Book recently sat down with Anderson to learn more about the literacy effort that had a profound effect on ELL students' reading achievement, and to get her perspective on effective leadership during times of change.

BTB: Can you tell us about your approach to improve literacy at Oak Terrace Elementary?

SA: Oak Terrace Elementary has a diverse population of learners—students from both sides of the economic spectrum, a significant number of military kids, and a huge number of ELL students. Differentiated instruction was a necessity to better teach our broad base of students, as was the adoption of a scientifically based curriculum.

We also added a significant amount reading time before school, afterschool, and at lunch. The reading opportunities were rich and varied, including guided reading groups, shared reading, and a computer reading club. For some students, reading time doubled, and for ELL students, it tripled.

Reading became an all-building priority, and everyone knew it. When we hosted meetings about the literacy effort, everyone was required to attend. And I mean everyone—teacher assistants, gym teachers, everyone—they all had to learn about reading because that's what our school needed to work on. Whether they liked it or not, they became reading role models or reading teachers in some way, shape, or form. It was imperative for our entire school to wrap their arms around the literacy effort to ensure its success.

BTB: How did you keep teachers engaged and motivated during the process?

SA: Effective leadership should look like a superhighway, instead of one road with one person giving all of the directions. With that in mind, we identified key employees to play a greater role in the literacy effort. One was an accomplished veteran teacher who was respected throughout the district. We freed up a few hours a day for her to do some in-classroom coaching and modeling to help teachers with ELL students who weren't catching on.

As the principal, you're viewed as the boss. Teachers can consider you an evaluator instead of a coach, even if you just want to be the coach. By empowering a highly respected, results-oriented teacher to support the initiative, you can make a tremendous impact. It's a powerful model that generated great gains for us. Some of our teachers were truly inspired working one-on-one with the lead teacher. It was far less threatening for them to approach her with questions. She was accessible and encouraging, and provided valuable feedback that transformed the way students were learning in several classrooms. We also chose a bilingual psychologist leader to devise ELL student-centric phonemic awareness activities and strategies to further improve comprehension levels. 

BTB: What is your leadership style?

SA: I find a way to personally connect with everyone. Whether it is that we're both grandmas, or we both like bike riding, or we both speak Spanish, I find some common ground. You always make sure your employees know you truly value them as people, so you have money in the bank with them. That way, when you ask them to change, work harder, or get on board with an ambitious literacy effort, they're more willing to follow you, to try it, to go above and beyond. Creating and maintaining a personal connection to staff is critically important.

I am nurturing but have very high expectations. This is not a job to me; this is a mission, a calling in life—it is beyond a job. I put in whatever hours it takes to help teachers and students succeed. I am committed, driven, and compassionate, and it's contagious.

BTB: How would you advise other administrators who are tasked with leading during times of change?

SA: Change is a cycle—it's not linear; it's fluid and goes back and forth. You will hear criticism, you will hear praise—it goes along with change, so develop a thick skin. It's also important to take a step back and view change from the balcony seat. Don't feel like you're on stage all the time. When you view it from a distance, you can reevaluate and assess, so you move forward more effectively.

BTB: Any advice on connecting with ELL students?

SA: Just because a child has a different background or has had some difficulties in life doesn't mean he or she doesn't have potential. Never, never underestimate a child's potential. If you don't set the bar high enough, how will you ever know what he or she can accomplish? All children have universal needs and experiences you can connect with. Tap into them. Take time to learn the universal story that will come from their heart—all kids know what it feels like to hurt or help someone—when you connect with common feelings, kids will respond to you.

BTB: Where do you look for inspiration?

SA: A passionate reader is always inspired. I read a book every other week, even if it's during the midnight hour. My two favorite inspirational authors and their books are John C. Maxwell's Thinking for a Change and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader as well as Marcus Buckingham’s First, Break All the Rules and The One Thing You Need to Know.