Leadership is how school leaders establish, model, and sustain an ASL/English bilingual vision, one that puts American Sign Language, English, and Deaf and hard of hearing identity at the center of the program. Use this tip sheet as a quick reference to the eight areas where leadership shapes that vision, including vision and philosophy, policy, instructional leadership, staff evaluation, school culture, family and community engagement, accountability for ASL use, and how money and resources are allocated. Use it to reflect on your own practice and see where leadership can more consistently support full language access and strong outcomes.
Because of your selected audience type, you may also enjoy the following related resources.
A rubric review teams use to rate a whole program across fourteen areas, from leadership and instruction to ASL use and family involvement, and see where to grow.
A self-assessment rubric leaders use to reflect on their own practice across nine areas, from vision and follow-through to culturally grounded leadership that centers deaf and hard of hearing people.
A reflective guide leadership teams use to align vision, systems, instruction, accountability, and culture and to plan improvements by how developed the program is.