Current research points to five essential categories defining principals' responsibilities: defining and communicating a mission, managing curriculum and instruction, supervising teaching, monitoring student progress, and promoting an effective instructional climate. The Illinois Administrators' Academy offers a statewide leadership development…

If trainers do not understand the implications of the research into people at work that has taken place over the past 60 years, their visions are going to be flawed and incomplete. The key to the future and effectiveness of managements and organizations lies in that research. (Author)

A comprehensive administrator evaluation program is essential for improving overall job performance, determining how well annual goals are achieved, pinpointing specific performance strengths and weaknesses, identifying specific professional development needs, and increasing understanding of the evaluation process. This article outlines procedures…

Inspired by Niccolo Machiavelli, this column offers beleaguered school executives advice on looking good, dressing well, losing weight, beating the proper enemy, and saying nothing. Administrators who follow these simple rules should have an easier life, jealous colleagues, well-tended gardens, and respectful board members. (MLH)

Identifies six steps that an effective mentor/principal should follow in face-to-face sessions with a protege, including framing issues, identifying goals, promoting self-directed learning, establishing limits, empowering for action, and summarizing mutual agreements. (MLH)

Attempts to estimate a critical level of market concentration within the educational sector for Kentucky. The critical Herfindahl was estimated at 0.50. Counties experiencing a Herfindahl index at or above this number can expect, on average, a 1.6 percentage point decrease (or a 3% reduction) in student achievement scores. (MLH)

Humor cannot solve every problem facing school administrators, but it can reduce the psychological gap between boss and staff, create camaraderie, increase problem-solving abilities, and help people cope. Administrators can look for humor, find a model, develop perspective, get support, revamp the office environment, start a "funny" file, swap…

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform shows that principals gain valuable insights into teaching and learning from peer study groups. Groups are generally small, with designated "peer" or outside facilitators to convene the group, facilitate agenda making, and keep members on task. Participants build knowledge by examining their own…

Illustrates how the development of an effective competencies framework and a complimentary performance management program provide an opportunity for enterprise and individual growth and in increased shareholder value. Identifies key elements such as training and development and a supportive and motivating culture. (Author/JOW)

Describes a study of 38 school leaders who participated in a technology-enhanced collaborative leadership program at California State University at Los Angeles. Four key program ingredients included identifying collaborative challenges, using collaborative technology to create an appropriate environment, facing collaborative challenges with…

Discusses the significance of distributed leadership and management effectiveness; provides background for primary-school senior management teams research; reports headmasters' criteria for judging the effectiveness of senior management teams; reports findings from case studies of four senior management teams; discusses an inductively derived…

Asserts that the way schools organize instructional practice often inhibits teaching and student learning. Offers suggests for improving the organization of instruction. (PKP)

Educational leadership is ranked as the key variable associated with effective schools, but the principal of an effective school must be the leader for all programs within the school--including special education services. Over the next 5 years, districts may replace more than 60% of all principals. The result is that many schools will be led by…

Research indicates that a sound performance appraisal process for school administrators contains key mechanisms that manifest themselves through dimensions of effective planning, assessment, and evaluation; effective use of resources; and communicating clear expectations. This article documents the development of a contemporary model of…

How do you simultaneously renovate a grocery store into a state-of-the-art resource library, supervise the daily operations of five libraries, lead a team in reimagining reference service, and plan your wedding? Ask Lois Langer, coordinating librarian of Hennepin County Library. Her answer: "Project management--you can do anything,…