This three-volume report describes the "SAM (School Administration Manager) process," an approach that about 700 schools around the nation are using to direct more of principals' time and effort to improve teaching and learning in classrooms. Research has shown that a principal's instructional leadership is second only to teaching among…

When Alabama Governor Bob Riley established the Governor's Congress on School Leadership in 2004, few people in the state fully anticipated the resulting transformation in the state's philosophical and conceptual framework for educational leadership. The Governor's Congress on School Leadership resulted in an unmistakable statewide paradigm shift…

"The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Challenges for School Leadership" (2012) was conducted by Harris Interactive and is the twenty-ninth in a series sponsored annually by MetLife since 1984 to give voice to those closest to the classroom. This report examines the views of teachers and principals on the responsibilities and challenges…

Since 2004, AISD has conducted an annual survey to monitor campus staff's perceptions of their school environment. The survey measures elements of teaching and learning conditions most critical to school success.

While the importance of effective principals is undisputed, few studies have addressed what specific skills principals need to promote school success. This study draws on unique data combining survey responses from principals, assistant principals, teachers and parents with rich administrative data to identify which principal skills matter most…

This paper measures effective leadership preparation and assesses its relationship to what principals learn about leadership, their leadership practices, and school improvement progress and improved school climate (particularly for academic press and continuous improvement). This paper draws on survey research conducted in 2005 with 125 principals…

That the daily challenges facing public-school leaders can sometimes be overwhelming is the underlying theme of this report. The study on which the report is based focused on superintendents' and principals' views on and concerns about leadership. Data for the study were gathered in 2001 from surveys of 853 public-school superintendents and 909…

Induction has become an increasingly popular strategy for school districts across the country that seek solutions for high attrition rates among teachers who are new to the profession. In Illinois public schools, the attrition rate among new teachers can be as high as 40 percent after only five years on the job. Such turnover levels are costly for…

In Kentucky, the administrative roles of the superintendent and the principal have received considerable attention from state-level policymakers since the passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Although there are comprehensive, ongoing assessment procedures for Kentucky principals and superintendents, there are no state-level…

The purpose of this study was to determine how principals spend their time and to test a new structure using business management trained staff to increase principal time spent on academic achievement and gap closure. Twenty-one elementary school principals were randomly selected for a week-long time-task analysis. Data collectors shadowed the…

Results of a descriptive quantitative study to identify personal beliefs and goals shared by effective school principals are presented in this report. Data were collected through an experience sampling study of principals, and through teacher and student attitudinal surveys. The experience sampling stage involved 81 Illinois elementary or…

School principals are regularly confronted with conflicting priorities and perplexing dilemmas. This book shares some of the sense that practicing principals have made of their own complex work. Arguing that there are no textbook solutions to most school problems, the book proposes looking at leadership as a quest. It identifies seven persisting…