The role of the K-12 principal is one that is vast and diverse in its range of responsibilities. This qualitative study examined the current challenges specifically facing small rural school district principals and the access available to support for professional growth in that role. McREL's Balanced Leadership Framework was used as the…

25 years on, the PLC at Work® process continues to produce results across the United States and worldwide. In this fourth edition of the bestseller "Learning by Doing," the authors use updated research and time-tested knowledge to address current education challenges, from learning gaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic to the need to…

Job satisfaction significantly impacts teachers' overall well-being and mental health. Research reveals a strong connection between employment status and mental health, with teaching being a particularly stressful profession. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges, with the shift to online education and limited support causing…

Accessibly written and specifically designed for secondary schools, "Implementing Systematic Interventions" provides you with the tools you need to successfully organize for and smoothly implement schoolwide intervention strategies. Discover how to: (1) organize administrative support and leadership teams; (2) create effective…

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…

School districts shape the conditions in which schools operate and as such can support or undermine school success and thus student success. All of which is to say that school districts matter. This article looks at the success of two districts whose low-income and minority students beat the odds in academic achievement. Lessons from these…

This study explored the extent that the Houston Independent School District's (HISD) assistant principal leadership training program (AP1/AP2) facilitated reflective learning of the 2014-2015 cohorts. In addition, the evaluation examined the academic achievement of students in schools of AP1/AP2 cohort participants. Leadership training applied the…

Ninth Grade Academies (NGAs)--also called Freshman Academies--have attracted national attention as a particularly intensive and promising approach for supporting a successful transition for high school freshmen. An NGA is a self-contained learning community for ninth-graders that operates as a school within a school. NGAs have four core structural…

Leadership matters. Principals are the primary drivers of school improvement and the best long-term investment to ensure effective teaching and learning at scale. Principals are central to State efforts to implement new college and career-ready standards, execute teacher evaluation and support systems and turn around low-performing schools. These…

The following document represents a Problem Based Learning Project (PBL) focusing on school leadership practices leading to increased student achievement. Current research findings indicate effective principals recognize the importance of building teacher capacity through promoting collaborative team work. School principals effectively leading…

Fort Wayne Community Schools continue to increase student learning and meet state and national standards and expectations annually based on several factors that have made a difference for educators within the system: district and principal leadership, learning teams, effective learning designs, and deep commitment to a culture of learning. Fort…

The Transformational Coaching Team in Oakland Unified School District provides differentiated, sustained, job-embedded support to the district's school leaders. In this article, members of the team describe how they work with principals to transform the culture of schools. Student achievement data show above-average improvement in schools in which…

SWIFT is a national center whose mission is to help educators provide academic and behavioral support resulting in excellence in education for all students, including boys and young men of color. This mission presumes all educators, school and district staff, family members, and the local community have shared responsibility for the teaching and…

This paper presents the results of a study of three long-term rural superintendents and their districts. The districts were selected due to the academic successes of their students as indicated by high school graduation rate, percent of students receiving advanced designation diplomas, and percentage of graduates planning to attend college.…

Although specific, common characteristics have been found among high-performing schools, the predominant finding in the research literature is that there is no single, clear-cut recommended approach to attaining these characteristics. The position proffered in this paper is that: (1) a school leader can create a powerful, high-performing school by…