After reading the report by the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Balanced Leadership Framework (Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003), we were struck by the fact that even small improvements in the leadership behaviors in principals can be directly correlated with improved student achievement. Because leadership preparation programs are expected to provide meaningful course and field experiences so that future leaders effectively promote the success of every child, we felt it important to test whether or not the clinical supervision experiences that leadership candidates were engaging in would be effective. To do so, we used specific leadership responsibilities identified in the Balanced Leadership Framework (BLF) and asked the candidates to tell us what they thought they had gained or not gained from the experiences. The BLF was chosen because each of the 21 leadership responsibilities is correlated with student achievement.

All administrators face challenges in acquiring success. The challenges associated with the principalship of Black principals are often a unique set of challenges associated with race, attitudes, organizational structure, and policies.

This work revisits the work of Frederick Herzberg and translates his landmark research into eight practical leader-behaviors consistent with the research. Those behaviors are: (1) creating a leadership platform; (2) becoming the principal-learner and principal-teacher about leadership; (3) affirming and teaching the powerful roles of organizational beliefs, vision, and mission; (4) leading and modeling reciprocity of accountability; (5) building collegiality around problems of practice; (6) emulating the actions of successful coaches; (7) developing the cultural understanding and affirmation that leadership and growth bring discomfort; (8) developing a sense of professionalism throughout the organization consistent with professionalism as demonstrated in and expected of other learned professions.

Additionally, and at least as importantly, this work begins by challenging a number of the profession’s long held human relations beliefs and cultural expectations which are inconsistent with Herzberg’s landmark research.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an Illinois metropolitan program that prepares teachers for administrative and supervisory positions in schools by analyzing, over a 10-year period, its employment outcomes. Overall, from 1995 to 2005, 503 students graduated from the program, 451 of whom with Illinois principal certificates. By Fiscal Year 2007, 168 of the certified candidates had held administrative positions in public schools in Illinois; 38 had served as principals. This rate falls short of the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) 2.0 ratio of new certificates issued to new positions filled upon which educator supply and demand projections are made each year. It was recommended that the program continue strengthening practical experiences for its candidates, and expand networking relationships, not just within the city’s public school system, but also with suburban school districts. Candidates will then have exposure to more prospective employers. Because of the competitive nature of the administrative sector, it was also recommended that the program work with the schools to develop mechanisms for valorizing and utilizing the leadership skills and technical competencies of the ever-increasing numbers of teachers with administrative certificates, but employed in non-administrative positions.

Assistant high school principal Elise Abbott is disturbed by the autocratic decision-making of the interim principal Marla Richardson. She meets with Marla to discuss Marla's approval of the English department chair's removal of master teacher Alice Tremont from gifted/talented courses. The chair reassigned the courses to herself. Although the department chairs are supervised by the principal, the English department teachers are supervised by Elise. Prior to being named interim principal, Marla had been an assistant principal. She and Elise had both been selected as assistant principals two years earlier. Both of them had taught for years in the English department. Until Elise became an assistant principal, she had been the English department chair. This case is designed to provoke student discussion about power, decision-making, and the relationships among school personnel. Students are encouraged to reflect on their own assumptions about power and leadership as they consider the conduct of the assistant principal and principal.

The principal new to the school enters an environment that is oftentimes a mix of excitement and apprehension. Before the new principal can begin to initiate an agenda for change that will have long-lasting effects, it would be wise to clearly understand not only the current status of the school but also the best path to take toward success. The adage applies, “If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else” (attributed to Yogi Berra). By following a framework for collaboration and action, the new principal can frame a support network based on observation, assessment, formulation, activation, and reflection.

In this case study the author explores legal, ethical, leadership and community issues arising from the banning of prayer before football games in Alabama past and present. The modern legal history of the elimination of a long-held tradition in many Alaba

With over six million school age children in special education programs, educators are concerned about delivering special education services in an effective manner. A qualitative study was designed to investigate practitioners’ perspectives on the effectiveness of implementing special education programs in the Midwest region of the United States. The data collected indicate a need for a concentrated effort to prepare principals in the area of special education and the need for more leadership with the implementation of special education programs.