In this article, a principal is inspired to change the conversations with students and staff members from discipline and deficit to hope and planning for future achievement. He wants conversations to be more about academic goals and decision making and less about discipline and random acceptance of postsecondary plans. He has asked all staff…

This book examines issues and questions surrounding student achievement, combining research with practice to present an overview of current efforts to foster student learning in the United States at local, state, and national levels. Following the preface and introduction, which stress the importance of focusing on students, chapter 1 examines the…

Principals' job orientation has recently changed from school management to instructional leadership, though research indicates principals are instrumental in influencing student achievement gains. Effective schooling characteristics are synthesized, a diagnostic instrument of principals' training relative to instructional leadership is discussed,…

A school district's board of education is a governing body that has the responsibility of creating vision and direction, setting policy, providing resources, and monitoring the results of student achievement initiatives for its district. The board and superintendent must work together as a leadership team for the district, modeling to the staff…

Until faculty evaluation is handled matter-of-factly, is based on clearly prescribed outcomes, and is conducted fairly, the community college will never fulfill its promise to its community. (Author)

An analysis of several schools adopting a new curriculum for math is presented. A discussion on the effectiveness of the main characters (the principal, teachers, and consultants) involved in the implementation of a new curriculum and how they affect the student's attitude to the curriculum change. (TLJ)

Describes a framework for moving from the general school effectiveness factors to specific practices and behaviors focusing on strong leadership by the principal. Outlines the general functions of instructional leadership, then narrows to one function, monitoring student progress, and derives specific principal behaviors. (MLF)

Implementing recommendations derived from research and literature on school effectiveness, 20 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) schools have set and enforced standards that reflect their belief in their students' ability to achieve. (Author/JM)

Describes efforts by the Michigan State Board of Education to implement a Six Step Accountability Model as a method for developing goals for public education. (RK)

"Professional Standards for the Superintendency" underscore the importance of the superintendent's role in developing well-educated young people and document the extraordinary range of skills, competencies, and values required of today's superintendents. Ethically defining these requirements, without homogenizing them, will help produce school…

For more than 25 years, researchers have described the critical roles leaders play in creating effective schools and school districts. If U.S. schools are to close achievement gaps, their leaders must possess the appropriate knowledge, dispositions, and skills to assume these critical roles. The Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium…

The author began her career as a classroom teacher, and for the last 20 years has focused on improving teaching and learning in urban school districts. Now, as a principal of the Connections Academy virtual K-8 public schools in Colorado, her day may look different from that of a traditional school principal, but there are actually a lot of…

Today, over a third of the nation's English language learners attend school in California, where they comprise more than a quarter of all its students. However, one million 18- to 24-year old Californians, about 30 percent of this age group, do not have a high school diploma. Regarding high school graduation rates, California ranks 45th among the…

This resource examines the role of the central office in improving instruction and therefore improving student achievement. Mac Iver and Farley-Ripple provide a comprehensive review of the available research (since the 1970s) on the role of the central office in student achievement. First, they review the research chronologically, and then by…

An ever-increasing proportion of high school students in the United States today aspire to graduate from college. Yet statistics indicate that the percentage of college students receiving bachelor's degrees has remained relatively constant over the past 25 years, that it now takes on average 6 years to get a four-year college degree, and that…