This book is intended to serve as a practical guide to developing, implementing, and appraising mentoring programs for school and district leaders. It describes mentoring and discusses why it is an important issue in professional development. A three-phase model is presented to help lead school districts and individual school personnel through the…

Identifies six steps that an effective mentor/principal should follow in face-to-face sessions with a protege, including framing issues, identifying goals, promoting self-directed learning, establishing limits, empowering for action, and summarizing mutual agreements. (MLH)

Discusses recent trends in professional education that incorporate administrator mentoring. Explores the use of mentoring at the preservice preparation level by the Danforth Principals' Program and its use in the process of professional induction by the Ohio LEAD Center. Discusses selection and training of mentors. Explores characteristics of…

Findings of a study that identified the kinds of problems faced by new principals who had participated in innovative principal-preparation programs are presented in this paper. Data were collected through a series of interviews conducted with eight individuals who had assumed their first principalships during the 1991-92 school year. All had…

This paper explores ways in which education programs can improve their screening of master's degree candidates. It examines information obtained from principals and assistant principals in El Paso, Texas for the purpose of understanding what effective campus administrators should know and be able to do. The Delphi process was used in this study to…

Neither teachers nor supervisors benefit from poor evaluation methods. Effective evaluation ultimately depends on the presence of open trust and communication within an organization. "Drive-by" shooting evaluations are often poorly disguised attempts to weed out a faculty member by confronting that person with virtually nothing but negative…

Findings of a study that determined the benefits of mentoring as part of an administrator preparation program are discussed in this paper. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine practicing administrators, who worked directly with aspiring administrators who served as candidates in one cycle of the Danforth Foundation Program for the…

Early in their professional careers, school principals are found to have unique needs. This document provides a description of the ways in which these needs have been addressed as a result of the recent enactment of the Entry Year Standard program in the state of Ohio. First, the nature of the new Entry Year Standard is described, with particular…

Greater attention is now being directed at issues associated with the professional development of new school leaders. This paper identifies some of the major concerns of beginning school leaders across different nations, some of which include needs for knowledge about basic managerial skills, adequate socialization to the job, and a sense of self.…

The most critical variable for school success is the leadership behavior of the school principal. However, the principal's role is becoming increasingly complex. This book offers suggestions for the beginning principal. Each chapter is geared to help new principals develop personal plans for professional development and improvement. Following the…

To ensure that first-time educators in any of Ohio's 615 school systems have access to a supportive environment that would make their professional success more likely, in 1987 the state's Department of Education enacted a policy requiring all school districts to plan and implement programs that provide support to newly employed educators. Because…

This paper discusses the integration of four research projects that focus on educational leadership in El Paso, Texas. Each study raised the following critical issue: It is widely recognized that the quality of school leadership correlates with the quality of a particular campus's educational activities. However, traditional methods of leadership…

Findings of a study that examined the needs of beginning school principals are presented in this paper, with a focus on the differences in perceptions of aspiring and experienced principals. A questionnaire was mailed to 420 aspiring school principals in 5 universities in 3 states and to 100 practicing elementary, middle, and secondary principals…

A survey of over 30 "expert" Southwest principals revealed several characteristics of effective principals: possessing technical skills influenced by human relations and legal mandates, creating an inviting culture, building community, being ethical practitioners, and understanding relationships. Respondents also identified 28 components…

This new edition of John C. Daresh's bestseller provides the resources needed to become a strong and effective leader. The reader will find out have they can: (1) Manage others' expectations as principal; (2) Master the technical skills necessary to run a school; (3) Create and clarify a personal professional growth plan; (4) Work effectively…