The American system of schooling has been remarkably resistant to change, with most changes coming in the form of tinkering around the edges. Large-scale reform that alters what David Tyack and Larry Cuban (1995) referred to as the "grammar of schooling" has tended to fizzle out. David Labaree suggests that the practices that are most…

Educational leaders are facing unprecedented challenges that many do not feel prepared for, especially when it comes to promoting equity. Ann Ishimaru explains that an expansive view of leadership that incorporates historically marginalized youth, families, and communities will enable schools to better serve all students. Schools have a history of…

Bureaucracies are often perceived as inflexible, impersonal, hierarchical, and too devoted to rules and red tape. But David Labaree makes a case for these characteristics being a positive in the world of public education. U.S. schools are built within a liberal democratic system, where the liberal pursuit of self-interest is often in tension with…

With 25 years of experience, the charter sector has had enough time to experience a host of unanticipated and unresolved problems related to the complex ways in which charter school governance relates to school leadership. The time has come for the sector to revisit some fundamental decisions about how charter schools and networks are governed,…

While they're often overlooked in education policy debates, district central office staff can play critical role in improving schools. In this interview, Meredith Honig, professor of Education Policy, Organizations, and Leadership at the University of Washington and founder of the District Leadership Lab, explains what her research and experience…

"Kappan"'s editor talks with Michigan State University's Sarah Reckhow about her research into the ways wealthy private philanthropies have influenced K-12 education in recent years. As Reckhow explains, not only have Gates, Broad, Walton, and other big foundations spent unprecedented amounts of money to support their favored reform…

In November 2015, the National Policy Board for Educational Administration--a coalition of nine professional associations--adopted the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), a set of guidelines for the training, certification, hiring, evaluation, and supervision of school principals and superintendents. While it draws heavily from…

Studying more than 400 educational leaders, the authors propose a new model for leadership and management rooted in the belief that there is latent intelligence inside schools and educational organizations. Their findings suggest two dramatically different types of leaders, Multipliers and Diminishers. The five disciplines that distinguish…

Educational leaders who are second in command face specific challenges. Dealing with these stresses is integral to being successful in such a position. Seconds in command must learn to deal with that "caught in the middle" feeling: They need to accept what they can't change and change what they can, not get lured into badmouthing their…

Empowering teachers to use data effectively as part of a process of instructional improvement calls for schools and districts to engage in systematic collection and analysis of evidence as part of an ongoing school improvement cycle. In research and practice, the author has identified four steps school leaders--supported by central office--must…

For a "Kappan" issue focusing on the job of the principal, this is an essay from a retired, longtime principal and superintendent. "I have notebooks full of advice that I've collected over the years: tips, mantras, cautions, and quotations appropriate for any occasion," the author says. "I learned to focus less on…

The flat structure of American schools is ill-suited to meeting today's demands for education improvement. Historically, American schools have addressed this instructional support deficit with a patchwork of poorly defined roles and responsibilities--underused department chairs, fitful coaching models, and informal teacher leaders who generally…

Interviews with a broad swath of current and former Teach For America alumni and current corps members reveal a decided preference for school leaders whose personality traits are akin to superhero/ines--charismatic, courageous, demanding--and who have a tendency to try to usher in greater student achievement via primarily managerial agendas,…

The only thing that more testing will tell us is what we already know: The schools that disadvantaged children attend are not being given the supports necessary to produce achievement gains. Students cannot be tested out of poverty, and while NCLB did take us a step forward by requiring schools to produce evidence that students were learning, it…

Effective family-school collaboration is essential for promoting students' success at school, but collaborative relationships must be proactively developed and intentionally nurtured. These relationships are particularly critical when children are struggling behaviorally or emotionally. Strategies for building effective relationships are…