The current student achievement gap can be attributed, in part, to the perceived and actual shortage of highly qualified principals prepared to be effective instructional leaders (Kearney, 2010). Most school districts within do not offer consistent targeted professional development programs for mid-career principals that will develop…

This study examines principal mentoring practices in Wisconsin. Particular attention is paid to practices deemed promising in the literature on mentoring for improving principals' capacity for instructional leadership. The implementation of Wisconsin's policy for teacher and administrator mentoring (PI 34) is also examined. Wisconsin's…

The career of educational administrator does not lend itself well to allowing new principals to practice their skills. Because of the element of responsibility for administrators, most principals are reluctant to relinquish power to interns in fear of their failure. As a result, educational leadership programs struggle to find appropriate methods…

When I was a beginning principal, I never was under the illusion that I knew everything. However, I did feel the heavy burden of responsibility to make decisions for matters that were constantly being brought to my desk. You know the ones: "How can we avoid several classrooms needing to use the water fountain at the same time?"; "Should the…

The role of the school-building principal is vital to the school's overall success and the need for excellent educational leaders is urgent. When school districts are faced with school-building principal succession, the process of replacement can be extremely stressful, so it is critical that the appointment be successful. While much has been…

Two key insights guide Rhode Island's work to support principals. First, leaders at all experience levels need support from a network of colleagues. Second, leaders grow when they work with colleagues of diverse experience levels. That led Rhode Island to create a continuum of support that enables principals to address their learning needs through…

This article examines the decisions made by one principal in her first year as a school turnaround specialist in a low-performing urban elementary school. Researchers focused on decisions related to the principal's three high-priority concerns: (1) elimination of an ineffective instructional program; (2) creation of a culture of teacher…

Are new school administrators prepared for the surprises, obstacles, and opportunities they are likely to encounter during the first-year in their new role? Sadly enough, too many new leaders do not feel prepared to meet the challenges of their new role as an administrator. In 2006, the National Center for Education Statistics (2006) reported that…

The transition from the comfort of a familiar role, that of teacher, to the discomfort of a new role, that of school administrator, is a transformative process. Transforming oneself requires leaving what is known and venturing into the unknown. Researchers have illuminated women's struggle to attain school leadership positions, but the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a discussion of one element of a principal preparation graduate program that uses visualization as a technique to practice decision making. Design/methodology/approach: The author analyzed information collected from participants who created personal case studies using a visualization technique. Data…

A large, urban public school district has been engaged in high school reform over several years. The reform involves creating small learning communities (SLC) from large underperforming neighborhood high schools. In many cases, brand new principals have been chosen to found and lead the SLC schools into reform. The district has had some difficulty…

This study attempted to determine the perceptions of beginning principals regarding their need for induction experiences and the relationship of principal responsibilities to those perceived induction needs. Beginning principals were denied as principals in their first through third years as a principal in a school. The study further examined…

Describes how an executive coach nicknamed Mac helped a beginning principal develop her leadership skills. Also provides list of questions to ask oneself before hiring an executive coach. (PKP)

Although there is a recurrent call for substantive reform in graduate programs in educational leadership, little has been written from the perspective of the new principal. This article reports the results of a survey of first-, second-, and third-year principals and assistant principals in which participants were asked to identify the knowledge…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the literature on principal preparation by examining the experiences of novice principals and what their experiences mean for principal preparation in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers employed qualitative methods to examine the experiences of four novice principals over a two-year…