A critical issue in leadership preparation is serving students with differing needs, goals, and educational experiences. Inspired by the NASSP Alliance project's emphasis on skill development, Florida State University's educational administration program developed a required assessment and career-planning course. Through practical and assigned…

A graduate student in educational administration at Florida State University reflects on a practicum to develop leadership skills through role-playing activities. Although this student was effective at active listening, eye contact, voice qualities, and information solicitation, word choices were a problem. Feedback from participating principals…

Summarizes Virginia Tech's educational reform activities inspired by the NASSP Alliance project, focusing on improved mentor training for faculty, the positive influence of assessor training on curriculum design and delivery, practitioners' increased involvement in program planning and implementation, consortium networking's effects on information…

Until recently, teaching at Virginia Tech meant 1 professor in a room with 20 randomly assembled educational administration students enrolled in an isolated, narrowly defined course. program. Under the NASSP Alliance project, professors have developed a holistic, team-approach to instruction and benefit from a reading program that encourages idea…

In 1987, the College of Education at Virginia Tech restructured its principal preparation program. Internships are conducted by principal-mentors expected to be teachers, models, and supportive colleagues. The program allows mentors, central office staff, and professors to meet with graduate students in an environment where all are learners. Any…

In effective principal preparation programs, interns are encouraged to observe a wide range of well-administered schools through exposure to varied styles. Mentors are carefully selected, highly competent professionals willing to accept the role of teacher, confidant, and role model. Mentors should volunteer; they should never be assigned.…

Describes a plan to assess 27 administrator candidates, drawing on a partnership between the Southwest Virginia Regional Assessment Center Leadership Academy and Virginia Tech's principal preparation program. Participants completed a reduced-item inbasket exercise, participated in leaderless-group and fact-finding exercises, and submitted a…

The NASSP Taking the Initiative program was created to help principals and school leadership teams develop essential skills, such as the ability to give meaningful feedback, think creatively, function as a team member, gather resources, deal with resistance to change, and launch an initiative. This article describes the program's success in a…

School effectiveness characteristics provide initial clues for institutionalizing educational improvement, but successful implementation depends on systematic attention to the maintenance function--the type that provides systematic support, reinforced involvement, and a game plan. Improvement strategies may be enhanced by considering four key…

Major national policy statements driving the school reform movement ignore potential of interscholastic athletic programs for improving public education. A decline in public support for athletics, the "back to basics" movement, and athletics' traditional financial vulnerability point to an uncertain future. Research shows that athletic programs…

Communication with staff can be improved if the variability in information processing preferences is accommodated. Communication based on cognitive style can increase the probability of follow-through while reducing misunderstanding and potential conflict. The Jungian definition of cognitive style is most widely used; the Myers Briggs Type…

To succeed at strategic planning, principals must involve important stakeholders and be able to identify and monitor crucial information. Identifying critical success factors involves reviewing the existing beliefs statement and the internal scanning data (test scores and climate surveys) and external scanning data (laws and policies, public…

Intradistrict programs that allow parents to consider different neighborhood schools are desirable. However, choice programs that encourage a wide spectrum of specialty schools (mostly magnet, charter, and custom-designed schools) represent a serious threat to the core (democratic) purpose of public education. Neighborhood schools will be at the…

Charter schools are appealing because they focus on results, subscribe to a democratic philosophy, enhance choice options, permit true decentralization, enable local school boards to emphasize policy, and provide a more market-driven educational system. Charter schools are serving at-risk students and providing unique learning environments,…

Summarizes school-choice developments in several states and outlines various choice categories (intradistrict, interdistrict, and controlled). Discusses privatization efforts, the effects of choice, and the role of parental involvement, competition and productivity, regulations, bureaucracies, educational finance, unions, and implications for…