Interest in staff development for principals bodes well for teachers and students. By engaging in and modeling learning, principals can create a community of learners. (MLF)

Introduces a series of articles on the topic of principal centers. (MD)

A membership organization, the Harvard Principals' Center is showing that school administrators will voluntarily engage in activities promoting their growth as leaders in school improvement. The center provides an external support system in which principals are able to play a major role in their own development. (MD)

Of all the educators and administrators who affect the success and quality of a school, school principals are the most important. Modeled after teacher centers, the primary purpose of the principals' center would be to stimulate professional growth and effective administrative practices. (JN)

By promoting insight-sharing among members, Harvard's Principals' Center works to develop, personally and professionally, those influencing the quality of schools. Growing numbers of principals outside Massachusetts, having attended the center as visiting practitioners, are founding centers in their own areas; the Harvard center itself is creating…

Examines ways principals can make more effective use of their central place in the professionalizing of teaching. Suggests that principals ought to create environments that enable teachers to discover their own skills and talents. Principals' support groups and centers can be helpful in facilitating this process. (DR)

This paper describes a new approach devised by the Harvard Principals' Center for improving professional development for practicing principals. The approach is predicated on a novel conception of principals as life-long learners and on the proposition that principals themselves can and should assume major responsibility for all aspects of their…