Serving as a new principal is not only demanding, it can also be a lonely job. But successful leadership doesn't happen in a vacuum, and principals need to know from their peers best practices about everything from focusing on instruction to planning fire drills. With this in mind, "Principal" magazine created a virtual roundtable--between…

The controversy over the decentralization of schools focuses essentially on the issue of community control. This article explores the current status of decentralization and evaluates its effectiveness as a vehicle for community influence and educational reform. (Author/WD)

Naysayers should realize test scores show schools better than ever; public education is a bargain for all taxpayers; schools serve community and are safe places that do more for all children than before. Recent study shows that businesses use more supervisors than does public education. School and community are same. In sidebar, Dennis Birr…

A principal who survived only two years in a new school candidly explains the reason for his firing: he neglected to take into account how different his new school, school system, and community were from those he had left. (JM)

In an interview with "Principal," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and NAESP Executive Director Vincent Ferrandino agreed that schools should become community centers. Principals' major challenges include welcoming and involving the community, envisioning improvements, building consensus, valuing teamwork, and pursuing…

Improvement of a school's discipline program can begin with the opinion inventories published by the National Study of School Evaluation. Once teachers, students, and parents have assessed strengths and weaknesses, an appropriate plan can be chosen. This article outlines five approaches. (WD)

When the Rincon Valley School District realized that a sixth-grade teacher's lengthening absences were due to Acquired Immune Deficiency Disease, the district and the teacher chose to handle the case in the open. The experience with the school, students, families, and the community has been positive while providing a supportive environment for the…

Provides testimony from five elementary school principals concerning the Skills for Growing Program piloted in U.S. and Canadian schools during 1987-1988. Principals stress the program's beneficial effects on student self-esteem, community involvement, curriculum enrichment, and staff morale. (MLH)

No matter what the local district offers in the area of school-community relations, the principal can make or break a school's public relations program. Principals can win teachers over by giving them time off for brief, unplanned breaks or for attending their own children's special events. Friendliness toward students, parents, and support staff…

Argues that despite the social changes that affect the schools, which the schools cannot change, the public schools are doing a good job. Outlines steps for an intensified campaign to improve the image of public education. (IRT)

Successful 21st-century teachers will be proficient at mentoring and managing relationships and will possess excellent skills in managing classrooms and designing and delivering lessons. A successful school will be administered by a principal who has mastered similar skills and who dares to take charge and do what is right. Supporting teachers and…

As educators move from the 20th-century Industrial Age to the new Information Age, they keep tripping over remnants of the past, old ideas that need changing. The future will demand increased understanding and effective use of educational technology, bonding to the community, concern for values and character education, and a more professionalized…

Urban parents, particularly those who are poor and members of a minority group, are intimidated by the schools that serve their children and, therefore, do not participate in school programs. This article suggests steps urban principals can take to establish an effective parent involvement program. (Author/WD)

Documents the rapid expansion of after-school programs and emphasizes the importance of program quality. Identifies the characteristics of quality programs and offers four "principles for principals" for those who wish to introduce or improve after-school programs in their schools. (Author/MLF)

Reviews the history of citizens' advisory councils and the attitudes toward them, the uses to which they are put, common problems they pose for principals, and their potential for contributing to the schools. Notes that principals usually view such councils negatively, and that principals' attitudes determine council effectiveness. (PGD)