This article presents a brief conversation with Denise Khaalid, the 2012 NASSP/Virco National Assistant Principal of the year. Khaalid shares the various responsibilities of being an assistant principal at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, SC. She talks about her greatest accomplishments in her role as assistant principal for curriculum and…

Often little unsaid things demonstrate what is truly important in a school. When teachers have common planning time and all of the department chairs share a single space as they do at Norview High School in Norfolk, VA, the unmistakable message is that instructional collaboration and leadership are expected and valued. Norview, an urban,…

A 15-year-old girl is arrested on child pornography charges for using her cell phone to send nude photos of herself to classmates. A young boy is put on probation after sending an explicit photo of his genitals to a girl's cell phone. Two high school cheerleaders are suspended from the squad after nude photos of them are sent by cell phone to the…

Schools today are filled with students who have diverse personal needs as well as a wide range of academic abilities. This situation creates a challenge as educators work to fulfill their responsibility of providing an equitable educational opportunity for all students. Many times, principals attempt to deal with this diversity of needs by taking…

The public school administrator is responsible for protecting student expression while maintaining the integrity of the school disciplinary practices. When dealing with violent writing by students, school administrators should be aware of governing legal principles as well as sound educational practices. A review of legal and educational…

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was passed in 1974 and revised in 1996. This act, also known as the Buckley Amendment, guarantees parents access to their children's education records and limits the disclosure of those records. The revised law regards most information that teachers, school administrators, and education…

School fire drills are quickly becoming insignificant and inconvenient to school administrators. When the time for the monthly fire drill rolls around, it is often performed with a "let's get this over with" attitude. Although all schools conduct fire drills, seldom do they effectively train students and staff members how to respond in a real…

One of the most important challenges of a principal's day is that of building and maintaining a school culture that promotes safety and supports learning. So it should come as no surprise to experienced educators that school safety and positive school climate directly affect academic achievement. This article discusses how principals can build an…

Research has shown that students' social, emotional, and behavioral health affects their academic achievement. This has enormous implications for teachers, school mental health providers, and the students themselves. A student who is hungry, disengaged, preoccupied, or behaviorally disruptive simply is not going to respond as well to even the best…

In recent years, informal walk-throughs have become an expected part of the principal's routine. These visits sometimes bring about the uncomfortable realization that some classes in the school are a monotonous, lackluster test of endurance, rather than the rich, inviting academic experience that could have lasting impact on learning. Rather than…

In this article, the author, a superintendent of Clark-Pleasant School Corporation in Whiteland, Indiana, relates how she and the school community responded to a car accident that killed two students. The author stresses the need to develop a comprehensive crisis plan. It is also important to be sensitive to the needs of family members who are…

This article discusses some basic principles that can guide principals' decisions on when and how to regulate student dress. Like many school issues, implementing a dress code or uniform policy involves both the constitutional rights of students and the responsibilities of school officials. As a result, with dress codes and many other concerns,…

This article discusses ways on how to address the problem of sexual harassment in schools. Sexual harassment--simply defined as any unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior--is a sensitive topic. Merely providing students, parents, and staff members with information about the school's sexual harassment policy is insufficient; schools must take…

A recurring promise in President's Obama's campaign was to spend more money on preschool education. At first glance, that might not seem like something high on the priority list of secondary school principals, but as the demographer Harold Hodgkinson pointed out, the one great truth of demography is that in 10 years, everyone who is still alive…

Sometimes a principal just has to get out of the office. A walk around the building might provide an escape from the pace of a hectic day, a chance to clear the head and perhaps allow a new perspective on a seemingly monumental school-related challenge to emerge. Wherever the principal walks, he or she is able to identify things that need…