Promoting Organizational Learning Through Policy Interpretation: One District’s Implementation Of The Massachusetts Model System For Educator Evaluation To Support The Growth And Development Of Principals

Abstract

This qualitative case study examined how, when faced with an externally driven policy, central office administrators worked as an internal team to interpret mandates, match mandates to current needs, and reorient the organization through professional learning opportunities. In order to comply with state mandates, in this case the Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation (MMSEE), central office administrators had been called upon to interpret the requirements of the new system, thus impacting professional development, decision-making, relationships, and forcing COAs to consider how best to meet the needs of the mandate and constituents simultaneously. Through interviews with one district’s COAs and principals, in addition to a document review, findings revealed a district COA team committed to the full implementation of the MMSEE for teachers, but who were in the middle of figuring out how best to accomplish the mandate’s goals to support principal growth and development.