Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools is one of six urban districts participating in an effort to redesign the role of principal supervisors. The Wallace Foundation's Principal Supervisor Initiative provides four years of support for these districts to transform the role, which has traditionally focused on operations and compliance, into one that…

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…

Scholars of educational change agree that leaders need to develop a vision, build capacity and ensure ownership of change by staff. We argue that understanding the actual work that leaders must do in order to convert these categories into action, requires a social practice approach. Taking the notion of sense-making as a social practice, drawn…

This paper tells the remarkable and compelling story of Leonard Covello, a ground breaking progressive educator who worked tirelessly to shape public education in New York City during the first half of the 20th century. Covello was the founding principal of Benjamin Franklin High School (BFHS) in East Harlem in the 1930s. The author invites…

Discusses the lack of discipline which allows large numbers of students to stay in the hallways rather than attend classes at Chicago's all Black Westside High School. Suggests that the administration does not enforce teacher discipline and that teachers, thus, do not fulfill their own duty to control students. (GC)

Principals in urban high schools can play an important role in improving school effectiveness by adopting an educational philosophy that focuses on development of the students' sense of self-worth. (PGD)

Relying on his experience as an urban principal, the author relates several vignettes to illustrate the importance of a smoothly working school team of administrators, teachers, and counselors. (Author/JM)

Discusses how two urban school principals used nontraditional administrative approaches as strategies for connecting home and school and for improving the literary achievement of their culturally diverse students. Describes how these principals made a personal and caring investment, served as strong instructional leaders, reconceptualized the real…

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)

The key to improving teacher performance and, ultimately, pupil achievement is to encourage principals to develop effective and positive leadership behaviors. Urban school systems must thus accelerate the development of principals who can work with teachers in ways that foster growth and productivity. (Author/GC)

An interview with an experienced, inner-city elementary school principal. Discusses forms of creative-insubordination, a practice by which local administrators disobey district orders for the good of the school. Weighs the advantages and dangers of discretionary decision-making. (KH)

The Director of Evaluation Services of a mid-sized urban school district describes her job exchange experiences as an assistant principal in a junior high school. The background of the writer and description of the district, evaluation training in the district and returning to the field, and how evaluation fits are discussed. The purposes of the…

Presents an overview of ways in which urban school bureaucracies constrain and can impede educational change, and attempts to illuminate some principles for working effectively for change. (APM)

Reflects on one person's experiences as the principal of an urban professional development school, contending that establishing supportive interpersonal relationships and creating a positive organizational culture are the primary responsibilities of the principal. One of the lessons learned from this experience is that stakeholders are more likely…

Monroe Community College (MCC) is located in a county with over one million residents, where over 40% of the workforce is employed in manufacturing and where a number of major corporations are engaged in high technology production. Strong links existing between MCC and local industry are illustrated by the degree programs offered in high…