Principals
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What happens when teams from 11 states join a novel effort to promote effective, equity-minded school leadership? Policy ideas and innovative programs. (Wallace Foundation)
Access: All the Voices: Statewide Collaborations for School Leadership under ESSA
Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) is a leadership organization that offers deep research and practical guidance, which will help elevate the impact of any building or district leader.
This report calls upon decision makers and funders to value and prioritize principal retention efforts as much as principal pipeline development efforts, which research shows are necessary for the sake of students and schools.
Access: Churn: The High Cost of Principal Turnover
(April, 2012) The Wallace Foundation has identified the five practices that give principals "a fighting chance of making a real difference in students."
Access: The Effective Principal: Five PIvotal Practices that Shape Instructional Leaders
Education Week provides education news, analysis, and opinion that focus on principals and their roles in K-12 schools.
Access: National Association of Elementary School Principals The national organization for elementary and middle school principals.
A school principal’s role has changed significantly in the last few decades. The management and administrative responsibilities have multiplied with the rise of technology, new legislation requirements, and the pressures of the economy.
Access: Financial Management Functions of the School Principal
Here are five essential but overlooked school principal responsibilities you have to contend with to develop a successful school.
Access: Five Essential but Overlooked Responsibilities of the Principal
Shared by the Wallace Foundation.
Access: Five Key Responsibilities and Duties - The School Principal as Leader
- High Schools that Work: High Schools That Work is the nation's largest school improvement initiative for high school leaders and teachers.
- International Center for Leadership in Education: Their Rigor/Relevance Framework is used in schools across the country and around the world to make instruction and assessment more rigorous and more relevant for all students. Their white papers are listed in an easy-to-read and easy-to-access chart.
- National Association of Secondary School Principals NASSP provides leadership in school improvement, professional development, and legislative advocacy.
- Unfinished Business Contact Lou Howell at LouHowell@gmail.com for summary of book by Pedro Noguera identifying the structural barriers often put in place by high school staff.
An effective principal’s impact is stronger and broader than previously thought, making it “difficult to envision” a higher return on investment in K-12 education than the cultivation of high-quality school leadership, according to this research synthesis. Download the full report and/or the executive summary.
Access: Full Report
Access: Executive Summary
- Association for Middle Level Education AMLE provides resources and support for middle level educators.
- Teaching for Rigor: Three Challenges for School Leaders: The Marzano Center Essentials for Achieving Rigor instructional model provides school leaders with resources, support, and the con dence they need to succeed
Peter DeWitt addresses three actions new leaders should consider in the first month of school, and 1 action they should avoid.
Access: Peter DeWitt - Three Actions New Leaders Should Consider and One Action They Should Avoid
Yes, all the other roles and responsibilities of a school principal are important. But a positive school culture is imperative. It is the deliberate decision by the principals I studied to focus their time on creating a positive school culture that enables the other areas (e.g., designing instruction for student success) to also achieve noteworthy outcomes.
Access: The Principal's Role in Successful Schools - Creating a Positive School Culture
"The Principalship Has Changed! 2020 Here We Come!" Article by Michael Fullan as he addresses the role of the principal in assuring deep learning.
(September, 2012) The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) created a joint Principal Evaluation Committee to develop this framework for principal evaluation to be used as a guide for improving professional practice that leads to increased student learning. The framework includes six key domains of leadership responsibility that fall within a principal’s sphere of influence.
(September, 2012) The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) created a joint Principal Evaluation Committee to develop this framework for principal evaluation to be used as a guide for improving professional practice that leads to increased student learning. The framework includes six key domains of leadership responsibility that fall within a principal’s sphere of influence.
Access: Rethinking Principal Evaluation - Full Report: A New Paradigm Informed by Research and Practice
The role of the assistant principal has expanded from that of disciplinarian, attendance monitor, and “firefighter” to one that includes staff development, instructional leadership, and curriculum development. Add to this a myriad of responsibilities — activity supervision, scheduling, input on the school calendar, building operations, and other tasks — and one can see that the assistant principal holds essential knowledge of many of the aspects of a school’s functioning, and thus is an invaluable support to an incoming head. The assistant principal can be the hidden anchor that keeps the ship in place during the storm of transition.
Access: The Role of the Assistant Principal in Leadership Transition
All schools require leadership in seven key areas, but how the principal provides that leadership depends on many factors.
Access: The Roles That Principals Play
Good school leadership is essential to turning around the nation’s failing schools, research has shown. For more than a decade, Wallace has been working with states and school districts to develop better ways to train, hire, support and evaluate principals and other key figures in schools.
For more than a decade, The Wallace Foundation has supported efforts to improve leadership in public schools. In addition to funding projects in 28 states and numerous school districts within them, Wallace has issued more than 70 research reports and other publications covering school leadership, on topics ranging from how principals are trained to how they are evaluated on the job.
Learning Forward's site for professional learning supports for learning communities, leadership, resources, data, learning designs, implementation, and outcomes.
Teachers hoping to advance their careers may ask themselves, “what does a school principal do?” They see their school leaders dispense academic guidance, enforce school rules, and interact with parents, but often don’t know all of the duties of the school principal. It is important to understand the breadth of work a school principal undertakes before deciding if it is the best career path for you.
Access: What Does a School Principal Do?