Of all in-school influences on student learning, leadership is second only to teaching quality. Indeed, when it comes to whole-system improvement, some argue that improving the quality of school leadership is a higher strategic priority than improving the quality of individual teachers, due to a principal’s influence across a school. Read more
With the rise of new academic standards, more rigorous educator evaluation and support systems, and a growing population of students who need additional supports, expectations for public school teachers are rising and, in turn, so are expectations for school leaders. Principals are increasingly expected to focus on “instructional leadership” by Read more
School administrators serve as instructional leaders and set the tone for the culture of a school. The principal’s influence is pivotal. In the March issue brief, Core Education explores effective school leadership and recommendations for policy to improve the training, support, and evaluation of educational leaders. To view the Read more
AIR’s Cortney Rowland has written a new report examining the opportunities provided by ESSA for states to focus on principal professional development. Again and again, states and districts have focused on teachers rather than principals when making policy and allotting funds and resources for professional development and support. Principals’ groups Read more
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center released PSEL 2015 and Promoting Principal Leadership for the Success of Students with Disabilities, which outlines key steps every state can take to ensure all school principals are prepared to Read more
School leadership matters. During the past decade, there has been a growing recognition among educators and policymakers that school principals must be instructional leaders who ensure that high-quality teaching occurs in every classroom. This view is backed up by a solid body of evidence showing that leadership places second only Read more
Roxanne Garza of New America recently examined the important role principals play in building a school environment that reduces teacher attrition. Excerpts from her article appear below: Recent debates about ensuring all students have effective teachers have largely centered on how to recruit, prepare, evaluate, and—more recently—develop them. But these Read more
According to a report from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), three performance measures used for evaluating teachers and principals provided some information to distinguish educator performance and led to increased feedback. The study examined the first year implementation of a set of three performance measures: Read more
A new study finds both strengths and limitations in the measures used for New Jersey’s new principal evaluation system. The study, released by the Institute of Education Sciences, was conducted by Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic and focused on the statewide principal evaluation system that was fully implemented by the state Read more
The Center on Great Teachers & Leaders at AIR has released a new toolkit and crosswalk, Aligning Leadership Standards to the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. Many states are transitioning or considering a transition to the new Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), developed by the Council of Chief State Read more
The Coalition for Teaching Quality, a group of more than 100 national, state and local teacher, principal, civil rights, disability, rural, youth, higher education, and related education advocacy organizations has released three consensus policy papers to help inform state and district implementation of ESSA. Building a Strong and Read more
Even though school principals have a powerful impact on teaching and student achievement, in general they remain relatively low priorities on crowded state education policy agendas. A new report recently released suggests a number of possible actions that state policymakers can consider to raise the profile of principals on policy Read more
Whether the goal is to enhance instruction, create a culture of excellence, or broaden education options for parents, it’s nearly impossible to improve schools without strong leaders. This is hardly news; much evidence has indicated the importance of effective principals for decades. Yet reform strategies have largely lacked a coherent Read more
Great teachers matter-we all know that. But great principals matter nearly as much. When they lead a team of teacher-leaders in instructional excellence, student learning can soar. But then what? Can principals like these take their leadership to the next level and stay connected to teachers and students? In An Read more
School administrators serve as instructional leaders and set the tone for the culture of a school. The principal’s influence is pivotal. In this month’s issue brief, we explore effective school leadership and recommendations for improving the training, support and evaluation of educational leaders. You can read the issue brief here: Read more
The University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) has released an updated version of the Principal Support Framework. Representing the best thinking of educators from across the country, the framework describes key actions of central offices that effectively support principals as instructional leaders. School system leaders can use this Read more