Research indicates that principal turnover is increasing and urban districts are struggling to retain their principals. This study used multiple regression analysis to examine seven independent variables and their relationship to principal turnover in Colorado urban schools. This study used longitudinal data from the Colorado Department of…

Increasingly, states and districts are combining student growth measures with rigorous, rubric-aligned teacher observations in constructing teacher evaluation measures. Although the student growth or value-added components of these measures have received much research and policy attention, the results of this study suggest that the data generated…

This article describes a comprehensive strategy for developing a larger corps of effective principals, "The Principal Pipeline Initiative," launched by the Wallace Foundation in 2011. Its purpose is working to strengthen school leadership by documenting and evaluating leadership development in six urban districts (Charlotte-Mecklenburg…

School district officials have faced the urgent task in recent years of ensuring that all schools, not just a lucky few, benefit from sure-footed leadership by professionals who know how to focus on instruction and improve it. The question boils down to this: How can districts develop a pipeline of great school principals? Research about a Wallace…

School district officials have faced the urgent task in recent years of ensuring that all schools, not just a lucky few, benefit from sure-footed leadership by professionals who know how to focus on instruction and improve it. The question boils down to this: How can districts develop a pipeline of great school principals? Research about a Wallace…

The third in a series of reports evaluating a multi-year Wallace initiative documents ways in which six districts are working to improve school leadership districtwide. It describes several new measures districts are implementing, including systematic support for assistant principals; the use of performance standards to hire and evaluate…

September 11... Virginia Tech... Columbine... Hurricane Katrina... Traumatic events with long lasting consequences. Lives are upended, safety is threatened, and all are forced to find a way to adapt to a new normal. Educators in schools where students have experienced trauma face difficult challenges, for how are they to promote academic growth…

This first report of an ongoing evaluation of "The Wallace Foundation's Principal Pipeline Initiative" describes the six participating school districts' plans and activities during the first year of their grants. The evaluation, conducted by "Policy Studies Associates" and the "RAND Corporation," is intended to inform…

This dissertation examines the levels of and relationships between technical leadership, adaptive leadership, and defined autonomy among Denver school leaders along with their combined effects on school growth gains over time. Thirty principals provided complete responses to an online survey that included existing scales for technical leadership,…

Established in 2006 by New Leaders for New Schools[TM], the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) initiative rewards high-need urban schools showing significant gains in student achievement. In exchange, schools agree to share the practices helping to drive those gains, which they do through an in-depth study of practice, aided by the EPIC…

This second report of an ongoing evaluation of "The Wallace Foundation's Principal Pipeline Initiative" describes the six participating school districts' activities in school leader preparation and support and analyzes their progress over two years. The evaluation, conducted by "Policy Studies Associates" and the "RAND…

The rationale for taking bold action on the nation's persistently failing schools can be summed up in one dramatic and disturbing statistic: half of the young Americans who drop out of high school attend just 12 percent of the nation's schools. Ending the cycle of failure at schools is a daunting challenge and a surprisingly controversial one.…

An effective school requires an effective leader, but great principals rarely just happen. They are cultivated. This Wallace Perspective draws on a decade of foundation research and work in school leadership to show how urban school districts can play a major role in ensuring they have principals who can boost teaching and learning in troubled…

Schools and districts rarely have a fair distribution of teacher talent. Poor children and black children are less likely to be taught by the strongest teachers and more likely to be taught by the weakest. Several districts have implemented programs to reduce the teacher quality gap. Hamilton County, Tennessee, launched an initiative that included…

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…