Without proper training, the realities of leading a school can overwhelm principals. Specifically, the challenges of leading a school will test principals' abilities to manage operations and implement effective initiatives. Despite knowledge of these demands, author Craig Hochbein writes that aspiring principals often engage in training…

Ohio's Columbus City Schools developed a new urban grow-your-own principal pipeline. This pipeline emphasizes the cultivation of equity-centered principals who can address educational and social disparities in transformative and sustainable ways. Drawing from research and professional literature and from district and stakeholder engagements,…

Beginning school administrators face a predictable set of professional challenges that are very personal. By addressing these challenges as opportunities for learning and growth, new administrators can become leaders. This article offers several tips on how school administrators can adapt to their new positions.

This article, by a principal who received over 17,000 e-mails in his first year on the job, explores ways in which email is reshaping education leadership. The main assets of e-mail--swift and efficient communication, more informed decision making through improved consultation with stakeholders, and automatic archiving of correspondence--come at a…

Principal shares lessons and insights with beginning principals. Discusses differences between principals and assistant principals, staff relationships, competition for resources, giving and receiving loyalty, identifying and following a moral compass. (PKP)

A principal intern enrolled at UNC-Charlotte describes "life in the trenches" at a small-town middle school. Schools should integrate interns into school operations, develop a program vision, gradually increase the intern's responsibilities, provide time for continuous evaluation, and rely on university supervisors when problems arise.…