The principal's impact as an instructional leader influences many elements that keep a school building running effectively. Assistant principals, as emerging school leaders, must be prepared and cultivated with the proper support and resources to thrive in principalship positions. Support through school district-based principal preparation and…

Disproportionate enrollment of minorities in special education has been an equity issue in the United States for decades (Artiles, et al., 2010), often leading to case law and policy changes to provide corrective action. For example, in the 2004 amendments to the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA), the federal government mandated states to…

This policy brief presents evidence that historically underserved students in Texas are less likely to be assigned to the most qualified and effective educators. Prior research and policy efforts have focused on teacher and principal sorting across schools in the same district, and districts' employee transfer provisions. Yet this study…

"The Rewards of Perseverance" tells the story of a district with a clear vision, stable leadership, and deliberate evolution in response to change. Located just north of Houston, AISD has faced daunting challenges since the 1990s--including a significant increase in high-need students, and more rigorous state tests. At the same time, the…

Because of the importance of developing highly skilled school leaders, statewide assessments of 784 Texas public school administrators were compared in a causal-comparison study to determine how leadership skills varied by type of campus (urban, suburban and rural) and by campus student achievement ratings. Data were collected from a 2006-2008…

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the impact of principal participation in a leadership capacity building and support program on educational leaders' practice and the professional practice of teachers. The two examined principals participated in the Duncan Principal Coaching Initiative (DPCI), a comprehensive, research and…

Eric Hanushek and Steven Rivkin examine how salary and working conditions affect the quality of instruction in the classroom. The wages of teachers relative to those of other college graduates have fallen steadily since 1940. Today, average wages differ little, however, between urban and suburban districts. In some metropolitan areas urban…

The Science and Mathematics Alliance for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers (SMARRT) is a collaborative partnership pursuing aggressive strategies to recruit high quality minority teachers to teach in high-need schools in urban school districts. This partnership is dedicated to recruiting, preparing, and retaining high quality teachers with strong…