Effective schools research gave birth to a new role for principals: instructional leader. Recent studies have suggested the relationship between strong school instructional leadership and higher student achievement. Skeptics question whether the principal's job is realistic and reasonable, with its emphasis on instructional leadership, multiple…

Kids Voting USA is a grass roots, community-driven voter education program. A Kids Voting community must mobilize corporate sponsors, election officials, media representatives, and administrative staff to print curricula, train teachers, prepare students, welcome them to polling precincts, and count and report their votes. Children become…

Most schools inadequately protect the health and safety of students involved in science study. Echoing industry standards (and safety records), schools should have safety policies and committees, develop safety orientation programs, make working safely an employment condition, reward good safety performance, inspect and correct, and supply…

The support of the principal is essential for a successful reading instruction program. Six suggestions are presented that principals can use to implement quality reading programs. (Author/MLF)

Good inservices result from effective communication among administrators, educators, and presenters. Common problems (beyond speakers' control) include ill-defined topics, unexpected audience members, audience size and deportment, unavailable equipment, overly ambitious goals, and lack of continuity. Effective inservices often use conference-style…

Principals supporting effective programing for gifted students should exhibit competencies listed in this article when exercising planning and leadership, developing philosophy, determining goals and objectives, understanding gifted students' characteristics, identifying gifted students, financing and staffing the program, providing guidance and…

The Reaching Success through Involvement process requires influential adult school members and student leaders to form an improvement-minded community of learners. The process helps group leaders develop leadership and learning skills, create high-quality cultures, and promote other learning groups. A study of 17 participating schools showed…