Presents competencies the school site administrator must have in order to foster the appropriate learning environment and suggests an integrated system of preservice and inservice training to foster these competencies. (Author/JM)

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)

To promote strong parent/teacher relationships, principals must articulate a vision and find ways to support it, use regulations and research to battle resistance, provide forums for parents, use parent volunteers in meaningful ways, build networks for parents and students, work with students, and express appreciation for partnership efforts. (MLH)

Assistant principals are jacks-of-all-trades who must be ready for anything. Successful vice-principals build positive relationships, know their role, are good listeners, discover where to get help, maintain their composure, respect parents' feelings, commit to excellence, and learn how to handle stress. (MLH)

This digest of assertiveness training research advises principals of their professional rights and recommends assertiveness techniques for maintaining authority over manipulative staff while preserving a collegial relationship. Such techniques as broken record, fogging, negative assertion, and negative inquiry are illustrated. (MJL)

Results of a study indicate that children from one-parent families tend to move more, have lower achievement, are less healthy, and are more often involved in disciplinary action than are students from two-parent families. (IRT)

Discusses research that supports proposition that the more children read the greater their vocabulary growth and cognitive skills. Offers several suggestions for how principals can promote more independent reading during and after school. (Contains 2 tables and 14 references.) (PKP)

Principals can provide input and feedback during the planning stage for building or renovating schools. Questions to ask focus on potential number of students, grade configuration, student grouping, length of school days and years, and instructional materials to be used. Describes a Virginia school built to meet the specific needs of an innovative…

Summarizes findings of report "Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development," released in 2002 by the Arts Foundation Partnership. Report describes certain important relationships between the arts and academic and social skills. Describes what principals can do to link the arts with other subjects. (PKP)

Summarizes results of an in-depth study of 25 elementary and middle schools in 11 districts in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some schools were actively restructuring; others were going through the motions of school-based management with little instructional change. The most successful SBM plans were those that empowered new decision…

In a recent study, 18 Iowa and South Dakota elementary principals said the major reasons for developing a site council are to build broad-based accountability, create a results-oriented improvement agenda, and enhance a sense of community. Lack of adequate time and collaborative leadership training are obstacles to success. (MLH)

An administrator's first year as an elementary school principal provided unexpected problems that could not be solved by applying clearcut rules or logical thinking. Among the problem areas were student and staff discipline, relations with parents and the PTA, and teacher evaluation. (PGD)

Integrated software is available to help with many of the small- to medium-sized school's management tasks requiring data analysis. Typical integrated programs include spreadsheet, database, graphing, and word processing components and cost less than the price of all the components purchased separately. (PGD)

A dedicated principal and staff have created an award-winning arts and music program in a poor rural community--only to run up against the crippling reality of budget cuts. (JM)

After spending five months observing the daily activities of an elementary school principal, the author paints a lively picture of a real principal by presenting selections from the resulting dissertation that recorded actual conversations and events. (JM)