INTRODUCING:
The Student Engagement Leadership System
Your walkthroughs shouldn't end with "students seemed engaged".
When teachers and leaders are using different definitions of engagement, walkthrough feedback stays vague, classroom conversations stay subjective, and it’s hard to know what actually needs to improve next.
Students can look quiet, busy, and completely on-task without doing much meaningful thinking.
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The Student Engagement Leadership System gives your entire school one shared language for what meaningful engagement actually looks like, with clear look-fors for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.
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So instead of leaving a walkthrough saying, “They seemed engaged,” your team can give specific feedback about what students were actually doing, where engagement was strong, and what teachers could strengthen next.
Ready-to-use PD, grade-level look-fors, and walkthrough tools so you can introduce the
framework in one staff development session
and start using it right away.
This was created for the school where...
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Teachers use the word “engaged,” but one person means quiet and on-task while someone else means discussion, thinking, or student ownership.
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Leadership team members can observe the same lesson and leave with different conclusions.
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Teachers are being asked to increase engagement without a clear picture of what meaningful engagement looks like
What's Included?
Everything is already built for you, so you can introduce the framework to staff in one PD session and start using the grade-level look-fors and walkthrough tools right away.
Agendas & Facilitator Guide
Editable facilitator and participant agendas that map out what to cover, what to ask, and how to pace the PD.
Ready-to-Use Presentation Slides
Editable Google Slides and Canva decks you can customize for your campus and facilitate right away.
Teacher Implementation Commitment Survey Form
An editable Google Form that captures what each teacher plans to strengthen, what they’ll try, and what support they need.
Grade-Level Student Engagement Look-Fors
Separate elementary, middle, and high school guides showing what behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement actually look like.
Grade-Level Student Engagement Walkthrough Tools
Printable and digital walkthrough forms tied directly to the look-fors so leadership teams can collect more consistent evidence.
WHY TRUST THIS RESOURCE?
Jodie Villemaire
Principal Leadership Solutions
I’m Jodie Villemaire, a veteran principal and school leader with 27 years in public education, followed by five years as a certified executive coach supporting principals and schools across the country.
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I’ve spent decades observing classrooms, coaching teachers, leading professional learning, and helping leadership teams turn broad instructional priorities into practices teachers can actually use.
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The Student Engagement Leadership System combines that school leadership experience with research on student engagement and learning.
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Developed using peer-reviewed research, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation.
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What does meaningful engagement look like?
Engagement is more than students being on task.
​​Help your teachers recognize four dimensions of meaningful engagement:
BEHAVIORAL
Students participate and stay involved.
COGNITIVE
Students think deeply and make meaning.
EMOTIONAL
Students feel connected and invested.
AGENTIC
Students have voice and ownership in their learning.
Create a shared language your entire school can use.
From understanding to action
One staff session gives your team the shared language. The implementation and walkthrough tools help you keep using it after the PD is over.
SHARED LOOK-FORS
PROFESSIONAL
LEARNING
TEACHER
IMPLEMENTATION
WALKTHROUGH EVIDENCE
FEEDBACK & SUPPORT
THE RESULT? Teachers know what leaders are looking for, leaders collect more consistent evidence, and feedback gives teachers something specific to strengthen next.
You don’t have to build this from scratch.
The PD is built. The grade-level look-fors are built. The walkthrough tools are built. And every piece is editable so you can make it fit your school.
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Introduce the framework with your staff, use the same language during walkthroughs, and give teachers feedback based on evidence everyone understands.
© 2026 Principal Leadership Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved.
This resource is provided exclusively to active members of The Purposeful Principal Club or individual purchasers. It may not be shared, reproduced, distributed, or posted publicly beyond the individual school for which it was purchased without prior written permission from Principal Leadership Solutions, LLC. Unauthorized sharing or distribution is strictly prohibited.