Many professions have long runways to leadership, with mentorship and increasing levels of responsibility. In contrast, the path to school leadership has historically not been well-defined. But that is changing. The role of assistant principals has become a major stepping stone to the principalship. Once thought of primarily as disciplinarians,…

The importance of dedicating time for teacher's professional learning is known, but dedicating adequate time for principals' learning and development is often neglected. The author recommends that superintendents take the following steps to guide their efforts to support principals' learning: (1) get to know principals as individual learners, (2)…

While there has been national attention to the crisis of retaining teachers, principal turnover is also high. In this artile, five education leaders highlight how principal supervisors can improve principals' job satisfaction and retention.

The Learning Forward Academy is Learning Forward's flagship deep learning experience, committed to increasing educator and leader capacity and improving results for students in the ever-changing landscape of education. For over 30 years, the academy has supported the problem-based learning of teachers, teacher leaders, instructional coaches,…

How do principal learning opportunities need to change, and who should be leading this change effort? The school district central office plays a vital role in principal learning by providing supervision and support for principals. Just as teachers need ongoing learning opportunities and support from their principals to provide high-quality…

Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools is one of six urban districts participating in an effort to redesign the role of principal supervisors. The Wallace Foundation's Principal Supervisor Initiative provides four years of support for these districts to transform the role, which has traditionally focused on operations and compliance, into one that…

The school principal has long been recognized as a critical driver for school improvement and student success, but new research supported by The Wallace Foundation has found that principals have an even greater impact than previously stated. A synthesis of two decades of studies builds on previous research about how principals impact student…

Project I4 is a federally funded SEED (Supporting Effective Educator Development) grant, a partnership between East Carolina University and the Institute for Educational Leadership. It is a cohort-based, yearlong professional learning experience aimed at reimagining instructional leadership through an equity lens. Specifically, school leader…

Coaching principals is a unique role. It is not facilitation, mentoring, or modeling. It involves the powerful skill of becoming a sincere thought partner with the coachee. Coaching principals is a calling and a commitment. It's a calling because it is humbling and other-centered. It's a commitment because seeing new practices emerge in principals…

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on professional learning structures for teaching and finding ways to embed this learning into the daily work of teachers. This is premised on the understanding that one-shot professional development yields little transfer or change of practice to ultimately impact student learning. But how has…

Computer simulations can provide essential practice at making a wide range of decisions facing education leaders, filling gaps in experience with relevant virtual on-the-job training. Simulations can help administrators prepare for difficult conversations about students in crisis, racial tensions, teacher evaluations, and other sensitive topics.…

After 12 years as a building administrator, the author became Executive Director of School Leadership in Littleton Elementary School District #65, Avondale, Arizona. The district created this position to focus on the professional and personal growth of building leaders while ensuring district initiatives were implemented with fidelity. The…

In Texas--specifically in the greater Houston area--Clear Creek Independent School District is a destination district. Families with young children seek to move into the Clear Creek ISD district boundaries when looking for housing in the area. State accountability requirements, coupled with slow changes in student demographics, have caused Clear…

Principal evaluation systems without explicit and aligned professional learning simply re-create a system of compliance and fail to improve leadership capacity. Given the complexity of the role of today's principals, they must learn a new set of skills and knowledge to create innovative learning environments. To use principal evaluation as a tool…