"Professional Standards for Educational Leaders" introduces the foundations of the recently revised professional educational leadership standards and provides an in-depth explanation and application of each one. Written by the primary architect of PSEL, educational leadership expert Joseph F. Murphy, this authoritative guide to…

This article focuses on a development project led by the lead author in her primary school. Samantha's story provides insight related to the pedagogical focus of the project but importantly highlights the challenges and triumphs involved in the process of improving and changing practice in the school workplace. Two vital conditions of support for…

This case is designed to highlight issues related to data inquiry in education, the role of leaders (specifically building-level administrators) in setting conditions for effective data conversations on teams, and the challenge of developing and deepening data use in a school over time. It was created based on interviews with a real elementary…

Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. Secretary of Education, has a reform agenda to advance school choice. Her track record includes enabling charter school growth in Michigan at taxpayers' expense with little oversight or accountability. Although an effective advocate, DeVos represents a broader policy movement to privatize American education, much of it…

In a learning system, central office personnel assume collective responsibility for schools and go about their work very differently. They are responsible not only for departments and programs, but also for student learning. They demonstrate that responsibility by engaging in data informed conversations about student achievement. Central office…

Teachers in high-poverty schools often feel stressed and fatigued. We might expect that if we ask these teachers to take on even more work by meeting regularly in collaborative improvement teams, they will respond with skepticism, even resentment. But in a study of 83 teachers in six outstanding high-poverty schools, these researchers found the…

Experience from the fall 2020 semester suggests that fast, frequent testing can help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in a large and diverse university community, but it must also be emphasized that testing is only one component of a coherent mitigation strategy. A comprehensive approach requires the application of epidemiology and science; rapid…

The coronavirus known as COVID-19 has worked its way into nearly every corner of the globe and caused, among other restrictions, a shutdown of most schools across the United States. Desperate not to lose time away from the classroom, school officials are rushing to shift instruction to the Internet. Districts and schools face a daunting challenge…

In this brief, the perspectives of special education administrators from Massachusetts and Indiana, who have been engaged in college-based transition services (CBTS), are shared. It summarizes the conversations they had during a fall 2019 Think College webinar and a follow-up discussion in summer 2020. Each administrator has had extensive…

Work intensification has increased the workload and complexity of work performed by principals and vice-principals. This case narrative provides an account of work intensification on the secondary vice-principal role. The vice-principal role consists of administrating to various school operations and instructional leadership duties as assigned by…

The case describes an experienced principal's arrival at a new school, his observations of the school and its teachers, and his experiences as he attempts to ensure all students have access to education, particularly those requiring accommodations or assistive technology. The culture of the school is compartmentalized; early- and mid- to…

This paper presents states and districts with guidelines and recommendations for improving systems that support instructional practices. Because the quality of teaching is the most important school-based factor for student learning, a focus on instruction is essential for turning around struggling schools and districts and cultivating conditions…

Educators understand that an academic divide endures between groups of students, and schools often perpetuate inequities that result in unequal lives. There are effective strategies that any principal, in any setting, might consider implementing as a means to overcome the challenges faced by educators who aim to improve student learning in their…

Community college presidents often get advice about how to land a job or, once hired, how to be more effective leaders, but they do not hear as much about their role in preparing their institutions for life after their service. Three successful community college presidents share how they left a legacy at their respective community colleges by…

Niamh McQuillan, development and instructional coach at Windsor Mill Middle School in Baltimore County Public Schools, Maryland, writes here that, as a teacher, she always liked new learning, but more often than not, it was like a barnacle on her practice. She attended professional development sessions and took the handout back to the to-do tray…