Principals have a substantial effect on the quality of learning in their schools. Likewise, districts have a substantial effect on the quality of their leaders. A growing number of large school districts are focusing on two objectives to strengthen school leadership: (1) building a pipeline of new principals who are ready to tackle the most…

The Transformational Coaching Team in Oakland Unified School District provides differentiated, sustained, job-embedded support to the district's school leaders. In this article, members of the team describe how they work with principals to transform the culture of schools. Student achievement data show above-average improvement in schools in which…

Discusses several conditions needed to support principal learning needs based on a qualitative study of six elementary-school principals: Information that challenges their thinking, feedback, time for reflection, access to resources, hands-on learning experience, and opportunities to teach others. Recommends an integrated approach to principals'…