Strong, well-prepared school leaders are a well-known lever for improving student achievement and retaining teachers, but principal retention has received less attention even as principals are leaving at worrying rates. State leaders can help develop strong principals in their states by investing in evidence-based professional learning…

Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

The purpose of this research was to investigate a formal principal mentoring program and report on perceived learning benefits and the well-being of the participants. The study highlights aspects of the mentoring relationship evidenced in the explicit and intentional development of school leaders. The empirical investigation used…

Mentoring may best be defined as "a process where one person provides individual support and challenge to another professional (Bush, 2009, p.379). The importance of mentoring new teachers and administrators has long been recognized. For example, since 2000 more than half of the states have passed laws requiring mentoring of new principals…

Over the years, most states and districts have focused professional development on teachers rather than principals. However, evidence suggests that principals can play an important role in reaching our national goals of high achievement for all students. School leaders are powerful levers for change--when given the right training and support. But…

Two reports have recently been published that are critical of higher education and its preparation of school leaders. One of these reports entitled "Educating School Leaders" by Arthur Levine (2005) offered a 9-point template for judging the quality of school leadership programs. The other by Hess and Kelly (2005) entitled "Learning…

The Missouri Professors of Educational Administration (MPEA) initiated the Leaders for Learning project to create technology based instructional materials aligned with the standards of the Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). With funding from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), faculty from…