An Examination of Literacy Writing Leadership in an All Charter District

Abstract

After the take-over of the Orleans parish-wide school system following the devastation created by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the re-creation of the Orleans Parish Schools created the first all-charter, decentralized school system in the United States. Currently, the Orleans Parish Schools are settled and posed to face the challenges of any other urban emergent school district. Authors employed a single case study approach and activity theory as a framework to investigate three research questions: (1) What are the perceptions of principals and individuals that lead charter management organizations (CMOs) in an all charter district regarding writing pedagogy? (2) How do principals/chiefs support instructional coaches regarding writing pedagogy? (3) How do principals/chiefs support classroom teachers regarding writing pedagogy? Results revealed that principals and school chiefs relied on commercial curriculum as sufficient in terms of increasing capacity to teach writing and for PK-12 students to experience authentic writing pedagogy.