In recent years, policy changes in American education have refocused a spotlight on principal instructional leadership. Although in previous eras the professional literature exhorted principals to "be instructional leaders," there were few sanctions if they failed to do so. In the current policy context, however, instructional leadership has…

Schools need not rule out fund raising, trips, and contests. Well-organized groups of music students washing cars at local gas stations can create more positive publicity and goodwill toward music programs than can hundreds of news releases. Exchange concerts, trips to nearby schools, and competition against a predetermined scale can substitute…

Despite the tremendous changes wrought by technology, folktales contain certain truths about life, human nature, and what's needed to maintain a viable, socially sane society. Folktales are invaluable for stressing heroic actions, personal and social growth, and progress toward meaningful goals. (MLH)

Four major areas (office traffic, the telephone, organization, and discipline) consume much of a school administrator's time. Because principals of small and rural secondary schools do not always have adequate personnel support, planning a daily calendar, setting priorities, and delegating to other administrators and staff are essential…

Staff development planning must consider the local environment and unique staff culture, along with intended goals. Effective staff development vision components include people philosophy, renewal by improving, differentiated supervision, a community of learners, connections and networks, self-directed involvement, a single mission, teamwork,…

Proposes a set of procedures to help principals develop and clarify a school vision or mission statement, foster faculty ownership of the vision, communicate the vision to concerned constituents, and facilitate organizational trust by continuously reinforcing its major emphases. Includes sample mission and goal statements and three references.…

Principals desiring to make their schools more responsive to change need to establish a flexible management system, decentralize decision making, redefine job descriptions, and develop achievable goals to equip schools to meet new challenges. Pushing authority downward allows those closest to the environmental change to observe, analyze, and react…

Subjects that in middle schools are considered "exploratory" should not be abandoned because of increased emphasis on the basics. Through creative scheduling, these "encore" subjects, such as music, have strengthened and enriched the Great Falls (Montana) middle school curriculum. Success in music is likely to improve students'…

In response to the serious educational challenges posed by the information age, the American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Educational Communication and Technology developed some 1988 guidelines describing a cooperative, partnership approach among administrators, school library media specialists, and teachers.…

Principals must realize the positive effects that marketing can have on improving schools and building support for them. Market analysis forces clarification of the competing needs and interests present in the community. The four marketing phases are needs assessment, analysis, goal setting, and public relations and advertising. (MLH)

Pete Gameros's recent study examined effective principals' roles and attitudes toward providing services to students with disabilities. As inclusive principals, study participants accepted the ownership of all students, supported inclusive placement decisions, promoted a policy specifying all school personnel's responsibility for disabled…

Induction programs should be designed to reflect school administrators' unique learning needs. Effective induction programs have three critical components: preprogram planning, mentoring, and program evaluation. Planning involves establishing a school board policy, conducting a preliminary needs assessment, specifying goals, identifying needed…

According to a former principal, the best strategies for improving schools are to delegate authority, enlist faculty in critical decisions, impose questions instead of solutions, and create an environment where teachers can continually grow and learn together. Principals must be focused on the future, but grounded in reality. (MLH)

In "This We Believe," a National Middle School Association position paper revised in 1995, 12 beliefs were identified that would "clarify a vision that will guide the decisions of those responsible for determining young adolescent educational programs." Middle schools across the country have used these beliefs as guidelines.…

Principals' major challenge is to manage a productive work culture creating more ideal conditions for learning. This article reviews some common cultural dimension themes found in current best sellers on management, including symbol systems, group sharing and networking, reward and recognition systems, and empowerment and entrepreneurial…