The skills needed by the principal for developing and maintaining good school/community relations are synthesized from recent research and presented in this brief document. These universal concepts are applicable to both large and small schools. The topics included are the principal's responsibility to the community, necessary political skills,…

In rural areas the responsibility for good school-community relations rests with the principal, who must develop a strategy for community relations, understand the people of the community and their values, and know their formal and informal leaders. School principals can use various strategies to increase community involvement. They can simply…

Chapter 8 in a volume on school leadership, this chapter is a revised version of "Communications in the Open Organization." It offers suggestions from a number of authorities for administrators who want to learn how to communicate more effectively with a variety of groups within and outside the school. It begins by explaining the human…

Five key issues can serve to summarize the complexity of the restructuring process and some of the challenges being faced: (1) developing a vision that unites projects; (2) identifying outcomes that will be assessed; (3) obtaining the active support of the community; (4) redefining the role of principals from power-wielders to facilitators; and…

Chapter 4 of a volume on school leadership, this chapter is a revised version of the issue of "School Management Digest" entitled "School Based Management." It draws from the work of many authorities to define, explain, and make a case for school-based management, a system of educational administration in which the school is…

Chapter 9 of a revised volume on school leadership, this chapter focuses on the principal's instructional leadership goals and functions. Leading the instructional program requires both an understanding of educational technique and a personal vision of academic excellence that can be translated into effective classroom strategies. Research shows…

Chapter 11 of a revised volume on school leadership, this chapter offers suggestions for administrators desiring to communicate more effectively with various groups within and outside the school. The most valuable business executives excel at giving employees timely feedback, accepting criticism without being defensive, speaking clearly and…

The 11 items in this annotated bibliography on school-based management provide information on the pros and cons of the decentralization of budgeting, the administrative role, site management, and decision-making. Also discussed are the autonomy of schools, principals as educators with managerial skills, and education vouchers. The publications…

Many educators advocate school-based management, a method of decentralization wherein the school, instead of the district office, becomes the primary unit of educational decision-making. This shift is part of American education's long-term oscillation between administrative centralization and decentralization. Centralization, say its critics, has…

When created and operated appropriately, school-site councils can be a very useful component of school renewal. Councils are difficult to create, since members must shift roles, compromise strongly held beliefs, and invest considerable time, energy, and know-how. Advantages of group decision making are bringing diverse experience and expertise to…

This monograph is written to help school administrators and policy makers, in addressing the question of safe schools, separate analytically what is "school" and what is "society" in order to better understand the real span of the school's control. The central question is: what are the characteristics of safe and effective…

A review of relevant available literature divides the functions of rural principals into six categories (instruction/curriculum leadership, personnel guidance, school/community relations, administrative responsibilities, evaluation, professional improvement) and provides suggestions on helpful material for each. Recent research on principals and…