Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, has nearly 20 years of experience in educational leadership, primarily in urban school districts. Her previous roles included superintendent in Austin, Texas, from 2009 to 2014 and administrator in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. She serves as a commissioner and…

In this webinar, Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of Learning Forward, presented the research on effective PLCs and shared her experiences in creating, assessing, and leading PLCs. This Q&A addressed questions participants had for Dr. Hirsh following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint presentation are also available.

This article shares the author's experience in writing a school improvement plan. The author and other department chairs were charged to develop a plan that would guide their decision making and professional development throughout the school year. They were also charged with developing department goals and working with individual teachers to…

Discussion of instructional design in large organizations highlights a project management approach. Topics addressed include the role of the instructional designer; project team selection; role of the team members; role of the project manager; focusing on what employees need to know; types of project teams; and monitoring time and responsibility.…

Suggests the small school provides an excellent environment for successful mainstreaming and that the principal can provide intervention and leadership for professionals, which leads to interaction with each other and on behalf of the special students. Discusses team teaching, the principal as a model, and shared leadership. (AH)

Summarizes results of a study conducted in several elementary schools to determine how extraordinary principals guide the educational change process. Principals' interview responses were categorized into four interactive domains: principals' roles, teachers' roles, the change process, and contextual factors. Findings affirm the key role of…

Many middle schools do not use one of the most important strategies to improve student achievement and create socially equitable, developmentally responsive middle schools: becoming a professional learning community. This article summarizes the five disciplines which are vital for learning organizations -- systems thinking, personal mastery,…

School desegregation has added changes, uncertainty, and disruption to the factors already contributing to the public's declining confidence in public schools. Desegregation plans typically bring together two diverse communities--the white middle class and the minority poor--and often effect cataclysmic change. In this circumstance, the principal…

The role of the local, state, and national supervisor is explored in these six articles. Specifically, they discuss changes in the supervisor's role, a team approach to national leadership, responsibilities of state supervisors, the role of the state supervisor, qualifications needed by a supervisor, and the local agriculture education supervisor.…

The two authors from their respective leadership/administration and library/media specialist's backgrounds share their thoughts about a "Team Approach" to improved instruction. Basic elements of a shared approach are discussed with attention to the changing role of the library/media specialists in schooling.

It is argued that the traditional model of the heroic leader is no longer appropriate for complex higher education institutions and that presidential power should be limited to participation in a leadership team. Leadership is seen as the creation of partnerships between and among constituencies. (MSE)

Self-directed work teams need coaches, not managers. The process of turning middle managers into coaches involves sensitivity, negotiation, and training in adjusting to the new role. (SK)

Discusses ways to create and sustain strong teaching teams, including matching curriculum goals, complementary professional strengths, and exercise of autonomy. Elaborates the administrator's role in nurturing and supporting teamwork. (JPB)

This paper asserts that traditional leadership models are inappropriate for Catholic schools and offers a new paradigm based on transformational Christian leadership. Christian leadership is a function of the group that is not synonymous with position or authority. Everyone has the potential to be a leader. Such leadership is communal, generative…

Developing cooperative structures such as cooperative learning in classrooms, collegial teacher support groups, and collegial administrative relationships within the district will contribute to school effectiveness. Necessary elements are positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, social skills, and group…