Principals are instrumental to successful school improvement efforts and positive student outcomes. However, recent workforce trends, increased accountability, demands of the job, and turnover rates for school principals are worrisome. Succession planning is a systematic approach that involves all aspects of identifying and retaining leaders…

Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAPs) are a key piece of connected career advising that align learners' career and life goals with academic, postsecondary and career pathway options. ICAPs have different names in different states, including Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) and Individual Graduation Plans (IGPs). They refer to both the…

This article features Mapleton Public School District, located in Adams County, Colorado. In policy and practice, the school system in Mapleton has committed to a positive, long-term institutional legacy by developing future leaders. In fall 2007, Mapleton's board of education unanimously passed a simple, single sentence aimed at maintaining…

Over the last two decades policymakers and researchers of most "stripes" have come to conclude that teachers make the most difference in raising student achievement, and strong principals are key to school improvement. As a result, a wide array of initiatives have been launched to attract non-traditional recruits to education, measure…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of principals whose schools were granted innovation status in accordance with the "Colorado Innovation Schools Act of 2008" (CISA). The CISA created a statewide system that allowed individual schools and entire districts to increase autonomy and…

In this paper the author summarizes some of the most relevant issues, evidence, and divergent thinking relative to the strategic management of human capital in education. This paper has been built upon the most recent research, interviews with 20 of the leading experts around the nation, and structured conversations with leading-edge educators in…

Outlines the first part of a two-phase process for developing a student teacher evaluation model. A listing of the nine "core tasks" comprising the evaluation instrument is provided. (MD)

Nationwide, school district administrators are puzzling about how to increase the number of high quality principal candidates. Some districts have started programs to grow their own administrators. These districts, sometimes in conjunction with university programs, are providing training and mentoring for future school leaders. Some districts are…

While many studies have reported the predictors of teacher attrition, we know little about what predicts the attrition of school leaders. Using the Colorado state data on elementary school principals' and assistant principals' career paths from 1999 to 2001 and school achievement-level data, we addressed two research questions: 1) How do the…