Principals have a strong role to play in forming school cultures that encourage change. Changing a school's culture requires shared or distributed leadership and instructional leadership. A multiyear study found that three elements are necessary for a school culture that stimulates teachers to improve their instruction: 1) Teachers and…

Many principals use harassing supervision to encourage low-performing teachers to leave. Principals are driven to this tactic because teacher evaluation systems don't systematically identify low-performing teachers, principals don't understand the teacher removal process, principal training programs don't build principal expertise in hiring and…

A survey of North Carolina elementary principals who have had preK classes added to their schools shows that few have the training needed to effectively lead such programs. Administrator preparation programs must work with early childhood specialists to provide principals with the training to meet these new needs.

Though teacher collaboration is important for school improvement, it is not yet the norm in schools. Part of the problem might be ingrained psychological reactions to dealing with leaders or the organizational restraints in large hierarchies. But the problem might also rest with our school leaders themselves because they may have difficulty…

Principals can play a pivotal role in the improvement of student learning by helping teachers develop and use sound classroom assessments that will strengthen instruction and student learning. The typical teacher will spend a quarter to a third of her or his available professional time involved in assessment-related activities. If they do it well,…

Being a principal, superintendent, dean, provost, or president carries a wide array of responsibilities and burdens. An inevitable part of being a leader is that some decisions are very hard to make which means that leaders carry a huge emotional burden. Author Rick Ginsberg identifies strategies that educational leaders have identified as helping…

The goal of school/university partnerships is the simultaneous renewal of colleges of education and of K-12 schools. In theory, this improvement comes about as university and K-12 faculty members work together to mentor preservice teachers in the best possible environment. Ideally, as they participate in these collaborations, the faculty groups do…

Drawing lessons from the rise and fall of Philadelphia's reform efforts offers the benefit of hindsight to other cities. The engagement of stakeholders from different sectors of the community is crucial to the success of a reform. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/MLF)

The principal of a large Boston elementary school encountered 10 barriers to high student achievement. Examines why he and his staff struggled with those barriers for most of his 15-year tenure at the school. Believes the turning point came when Massachusetts mandated high-stakes tests. (MLF)

When the Cincinnati Public Schools devised a reform strategy for improving student performance, it became clear that the district's traditional budgeting system was inadequate. Traces the district's process of moving to a system of student-based budgeting linking funding equity and flexibility to accountability and excellence. (MLF)

Argues that standards-based education reform has shifted the focus of school finance from equity to adequacy. Requires an explicit connection between the funding provided to schools and the results produced in terms of student learning. (Contains 19 references.) (MLF)

Two catalogs produced at the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development describe programs and practices used by elementary and secondary level building administrators to handle common problems of instructional management. Addresses and phone numbers of principals whose practices are cited are provided to encourage information…

Once a month, fifth-grade students in an Indianapolis, Indiana, classroom can use tickets earned through good behavior and academic achievement to purchase donated items and baked goods. Students are in charge of organizing the activity, keeping track of student "earnings," and managing a student "bank." (PGD)

Outlines the trends in educational funding patterns needed to enact educational reform. Local property taxes, state revenues, and federal aid continue to provide the bulk of financing. Includes two tables. (MD)

Sustaining the educational reform movement will involve an estimated 20 percent increase in funding for education. Since such increases are unlikely, the evaluation of existing reform is urgent. Includes a list of seven levels of evaluation appropriate for state reform bills. (MD)