According to California's National Distinguished Principal, good leaders celebrate creativity and capitalize on others' creativity while building schools on foundations of trust, commitment, and fun. Successful leaders are optimistic, generate trust, reward innovation, create a safety net for risk-taking behavior, delegate authority, and lead…

Departures of child care staff often create an emotional climate that affects everyone. This article advises directors on communication strategies to inform parents of staff departures, including a case study on the well-handled departure of a staff worker who resigned without notice. A sample letter to parents is also provided. (EV)

Examines the extent to which faculty senate leadership provides exposure to important skills required for ascension to a presidency, along with preparation to succeed in various roles. Details survey data from a sample that included 150 community college presidents and 150 community college faculty senate leaders. (Contains 25 references.)…

Discusses four initiatives proposed by the Alliance for Excellent Education (www.all4ed.org) to improve student success in high school. Involves adolescent literacy, teacher and principal quality, college preparation, and smaller learning communities. Argues for more federal investment in secondary schools. (PKP)

Presents an annotated bibliography of current ERIC documents related to leadership skills and styles in community colleges. Provides nine articles covering such topics as strategies for effecting organizational change, qualities of effective leaders, and the relationship between gender and leadership style. (AJL)

Analyzes how 20 groups of management specialists in charge of a computer-simulated company behaved when confronted with complex problems that arose. Difficulties stemmed from an incorrect use of available knowledge, a tendency to avoid risks and reduce uncertainty, and a motivational process which sheltered the subjective sense of competence. (AEF)

Offers guidelines for selecting and using criteria to evaluate community college administrators, focusing on the accomplishment of job responsibilities and previously agreed upon objectives; performance as a manager; the methods used and results achieved; qualitative and quantitative measures; flexibility; and the weighting of criteria. (DMM)

Through sharing and collegiality, teacher empowerment, and effective leadership, the principal and staff at DeKeyser Elementary School, in Sterling Heights, Michigan, have created a culture for change. The school's cultural elements include Tuesday meetings, planning sessions, schoolwide themes, cross-age teaching, schematic displays, and…

After principals have involved all stakeholders in developing a school mission and identifying critical success factors, the planning team must analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within and outside the school; establish strategic goals (outcomes) to support the future vision; and develop objectives and target dates. Includes…

The principal's office is frequently a collection point for problems and demands. Secondary school principals often average 1,000 interactions daily. Principals can manage stress by declining to solve every problem, delegating responsibility, reexamining their supervisory role, developing networks of trusted friends, and engaging in…

Principals capable of turning a troubled school around share certain characteristics that make them successful. Vision and dedication are just two of these traits. (SI)

Effective principals are actively engaged in the continuing education of their teachers and the improvement of instructional performance. Professional development programs designed to improve principal effectiveness should be comprehensive, long-term, and research-based. (IAH)

When executive action is necessary to assist marginal principals, the superintendent should appoint a central-office helper and work with this person to develop and implement a principal induction program. The principals' helper should maintain close contact with principals, proffer alternative forms of assistance if required, confront principals'…

Examines various ways that principals provide leadership for school improvement and the relationship of these "change facilitator styles" to school effectiveness in different work contexts. Results of this study of 472 Louisiana elementary teachers indicate that principals exhibited different leadership styles across effectiveness and…

Examines the extent of headteachers' powers to influence managerial arrangements in British secondary schools, using interview data from 20 headteachers. Principals' powers are limited by the national salary and promotion structure for teachers and by recent education legislation. Despite these constraints, some headteachers are engaging in…