The job of the school principal has become much more complex and demanding over the past several decades. Many university-based principal preparation programs -- which prepare the majority of school principals -- have struggled with how to make the fundamental changes needed to prepare principals for today's schools. This report shares lessons…

This report in brief shares findings from the RAND Corporation's five-year study of The Wallace Foundation's University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). The job of the school principal has become much more complex and demanding over the past several decades. Many university-based principal preparation programs (PPPs)--which prepare the…

Nationally, as well as in Kentucky, the growing challenges and responsibilities faced by Directors of Special Education (e.g., DoSEs) and early childhood coordinators are daunting (Bellamy & Iwaszuk, 2017). The need to deliver high quality services to infants, toddlers, and youth with disabilities places a premium on highly skilled local…

State policymakers, including state leaders, districts, and professional associations, play a role in fostering an environment that supports the development of effective school principals, with the broad policy objective of achieving high principal quality across the state. This report examines how seven states use state policy levers to advance…

States play a role in fostering an environment that develops and supports effective school leaders. Prior research has highlighted opportunities to enhance state involvement in supporting school leadership through a range of policy levers, especially by promoting improvements to principal preparation (Manna, 2015; Davis, 2016). The Wallace…

Listening is a critical communication skill and therefore an essential element of management education. "Active" listening surpasses passive listening or simple hearing to establish a deeper connection between speaker and listener, as the listener gives the speaker full attention via inquiry, reflection, respect, and empathy. This…

A performance management system can help the state education agency (SEA) become more intentional about what it does and does not do, how work is done, and when to change course. Performance management does not define goals or identify specific strategies, but it puts in place systems that enable learning and adaptation to drive improvement and…

In elementary and secondary education governance, the need to build an effective system of public education is the driving force behind the selection of a state's key education leaders. This paper provides a snapshot of what state K-12 governance looks like in SREB states. (Contains 7 tables.)

Although the principal is critical for the success of the school and the school district, many school districts lack a structured and systematic means for identifying and selecting principals. This paper presents a collaborative model for principal selection, which is based on a valid job description, advertisement of the position, interview…

This handbook includes teacher preparation and certification regulations adopted by the Kentucky State Board of Education through March 1983. State standards are delineated for: (1) statutory provisions relating to teacher education and certification; (2) teacher certification procedures; (3) ranking of teacher qualifications; (4) evaluation and…

The Kentucky Beginning Principal Intern Program provides supervision, assistance, and assessment for determining the effective instructional leadership abilities of new/beginning principals, emphasizing instructional leadership, school management, interpersonal skills, and professional responsibilities. Supporting intern committees complete three…

Employment patterns for educational administrators in southeastern Kentucky are shaped by the impending retirements of a large proportion of educational personnel; the changing nature of the principalship; shallow candidate pools for elementary and secondary principalships; and increased collaboration between elementary-secondary schools and…

Public school teachers (N = 189) role-played as members of school councils making principal selection decisions by rating simulated candidates for principal vacancies. The independent variables were principal candidate job experience, candidate person characteristics, and teacher school level. The dependent variable was teacher rating of the job…

This handbook sets forth the regulations of the Kentucky State Board of Education that relate to teacher education and certification. The following topics are covered: (1) selected statutory provisions relating to teacher education and certification; (2) teacher certification procedures; (3) ranking of teacher qualifications; (4) procedures for…