Sometimes teachers do not understand their principals. Some teachers think that principals have forgotten what it's like to be in a classroom. To provide insight into what principals think, the author asked several principals in a variety of schools. This article presents the attitudes, concerns, and priorities of principals.

At Gainfield Elementary School, Southbury, Connecticut the principal emphasizes professional development for the entire teaching staff. Teachers have ownership of the curriculum and the teaching process. Imaginative programs welcome preschoolers prior to kindergarten and prepare fifth graders for their move to junior high school. (MT)

First of a two-part report on violence prevention in middle schools describes ways teachers and administrators can be proactive in preventing violence, offering classroom control tips, violence-prevention curriculum strategies, and resources for designing safer schools. The article discusses changing the way adolescents think and building…

School principals offer several suggestions for building and maintaining students' pride in their school. (JMB)

The author discusses a pilot program in which principals are responsible for presenting master plans for their schools. A major part of the program is directed at determining if principals are confident in what they are doing and if schools are striving for programs that will meet the needs of the pupils. (Author/AS)

Describes the experiences of an administrator who secretly substituted in a classroom outside his own school district. Recommendations are made as to how teachers and principals can prepare for substitutes. (SB)

Mary Berry is one of the most powerful persons in education in the United States today. As HEW's assistant secretary for education, she can be an important force in developing educational policy. Here she comments on a number of problems and developments in education. (Author/RK)

A middle school reform initiative, sponsored by the Program for Disadvantaged Youth of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation 4 years ago, has taken hold in 12 urban middle schools nationwide. The article discusses that reform, noting the lessons about change to accommodate student diversity that urban middle schools can teach. (SM)

Describes one beginning teacher's experience with a bad, nonsupportive principal. Teachers formed a support group to determine how to handle the principal. Their most successful tactic was to substitute positive, self-supportive thoughts for negative ones. The teacher worked to regain her self-confidence and to communicate with the principal. The…

Article suggests constructive changes principals can make to encourage students and teachers to enjoy their educational environment. (RK)

Lazaar Burnham was a hero in his town. Then he tried to teach and became a bust. Good counseling might help, but the principal would have to enforce proper guidance. Describes how an elementary school administrator and his school counselor acted together to save a hero and make a good teacher. (Editor/RK)