The concept of actively leading constituents, internal and external, is second nature to many university administrators in most areas, except one: fundraising. For many university presidents and academic deans, it's a part of the job that is not well defined or well understood. They know there is an expectation that private funds will flow into…

The public school superintendent is undoubtedly a difficult position to fulfill. It is becoming more challenging each year (Goodman & Zimmerman, 2000). While the demographics of students of color continue to rise, the numbers of Superintendents of color have not increased at the same rate. Specifically, the number of Black Superintendents has…

A principal's effectiveness impacts both teachers and students. Effective principals improve the retention of effective teachers and the outcomes of students. Although all schools can benefit from an effective school principal, there is an emergent need for schools that are chronically low-performing. As states look for ways to turn around…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the length of superintendent tenure, longevity, and continuity relative to student achievement as evidenced by the 2008-2009 3rd Grade New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) in language arts. Achievement in the study was defined as those students who…

The Ohio Principal Evaluation System (OPES) was collaboratively developed by Ohio superintendents, school administrators, higher education faculty, and representatives from Ohio's administrator associations. It was designed to be research-based, transparent, fair and adaptable to the specific contexts of Ohio's districts (rural, urban, suburban,…

Directors of early childhood programs are an amazing lot! There's so much dedication, such hard work and creative problem solving. But then that inevitable undertow of deadlines, crises, and illness begins to suck directors down. With crisis management becoming a way of life, they don't even recognize their vital signs slipping away. The author…

The author has been musing on how directors perceive their roles and choose their leadership style, particularly when changes are needed in their centers. In community-based ECE programs the author typically sees a preference for the idea of director as a facilitator, rather than a supervisor, and for shared leadership rather than a ship's…

The Transformational Coaching Team in Oakland Unified School District provides differentiated, sustained, job-embedded support to the district's school leaders. In this article, members of the team describe how they work with principals to transform the culture of schools. Student achievement data show above-average improvement in schools in which…

Leadership coaching is now seen as a valuable tool to assist school leaders. Through a survey of school principals, this study identified specific coaching competencies used by leadership coaches that were perceived by principals to influence key best practices for schools. These best practices have in turn been correlated to increased student…

This study explored the challenges facing 1st-year alternatively certified teachers of mathematics and science in urban middle schools. Four teachers, participants in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, were followed from preservice training through their 1st year of teaching, having taken part in…

Making robust and reliable information about schools accessible is one of the most powerful ways to foster engagement and promote informed decisions that will shape our communities. Though education data is frequently collected and aggregated at the state level, data is rarely synthesized across cities. This report provides comparable information…

This article reports on selected findings from the project "Revisiting Successful Principals". The authors revisited some of the schools which participated in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) five years ago. In this article they focus on how the principals are positioning themselves as leaders, and how they are…

The study sought to find out the predictive effect of self-concept, self-efficacy, self-esteem and locus of control on the instructional and motivational leadership roles performance effectiveness of administrators of public secondary schools in Cross River State of Nigeria. The relative contribution of each of the independent variables to the…

Designed to be used by facilitators and participants in seminars, book study groups, or other professional development events, this book guides critical thinking, collaboration, and professional growth based on the concepts in Todd Whitaker's best-selling title, "What Great Principals Do Differently" (2nd edition). Each chapter includes: (1) Key…

The vital role of principalship in improving schools in general and enhancing student achievement in particular has been well documented. Given its importance, there is a need for tools to improve principalship, particularly ones emphasizing those dimensions associated with student achievement. Given the accountability movement, with its…