Schools today require many individuals to work together to attain learning goals since no school functions without broad, active involvement of all community members. In addition, successful school improvement efforts operate well when there is a coherent vision for student achievement. While principals are aware of the need to include disparate…

The term "best practice" is commonly used to describe "what works" in a specific situation or environment. When principals face a thorny challenge, they turn to their colleagues in the principalship for ideas about which strategies, activities, and approaches have proved to be effective and efficient in addressing the issue.…

Many school systems recognize that principals need instructional leadership partners because a principal's work is too large and complex for a lone, heroic individual. During the past several years, researchers from the Center for Teaching and Policy at the University of Washington have examined how principals are leading teaching and learning in…

Though research tells that principals are key in raising student achievement, principals remain unsung heroes for the nation's children. Because they work on the front lines of education--student by student and class by class--to lead schools in preparing students for successful lives, it's possible to miss the entire significance of the…

What's the best way to train an aspiring principal? Partnerships between universities and districts focused on building school leaders are not the norm--but perhaps they should be. In recent reports, the Southern Regional Education Board has noted a need for universities and school districts to share the responsibility of preparing future…