Leadership plays an important role in determining organizational culture and maintaining a commitment to the collective goal. Leaders not only play a critical role in developing and implementing policies to direct an organization toward a goal, but also serve as role models for those with whom they work. Research has shown that relationships…

While federal law requires public schools to provide students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, students with extensive support needs are excluded from general education at alarming rates, raising concerns about equity of access to education. Purposeful school systems in which students'…

Purpose: This qualitative case study illuminates the leadership practices of four female Asian American administrators in urban schools. Due to their underrepresentation in leadership roles, the need is pressing for research to capture concrete exemplars on beliefs and practices of sympathy based on an asset-oriented approach to school leadership.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how elementary principals perceive their roles in the context of equity and historical inequality in public education. Three elementary principals of three different socio-economically and culturally diverse elementary school districts responded to interviews and questionnaires. They expressed…

This article examines how formal school leaders are positioned in their school's instructional networks based on an analysis of data from all 30 elementary schools in one mid-sized urban school district. Premised on the assumption that advice and information are key building blocks for knowledge development, we analyzed the instructional advice…

Principals in urban settings serve elementary schools often densely populated with highly mobile, ethnically diverse, and economically disadvantaged students. Due to the changing landscape of increasing accountability issues required by the "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)" (2001), principals must adjust the mission of the school…

The most effective schools have coaches. They meet with the principal on a regular basis to assess the progress of every teacher and student. In an effective school, everyone functions as a team and there is a laser focus on student achievement. This article illustrates how academic coaching produces more effective teachers and how effective…

This research described the retrospective formation of identity and manifestation of responsibility of four African-American female leaders who served as urban school principals. Cross (1971, 1991) determined that African-Americans undergo a four step process of identity development that he coined Nigrescence. Within these four stages of identity…

Describes ways principals can improve the learning environment in urban schools. (PKP)

The larger elementary schools become, the greater the principal's challenge. When managing megaschools, principals should set clear priorities, know their limitations, recognize the necessity of scheduling activities, celebrate school size, increase their visibility, provide for stress reduction, request central office support, and share…

"Family Circle" magazine editor visits a Brooklyn elementary school as "principal for a day" and learns about lighter and darker sides of school administration. Behind cheerful daily activities are some sad realities: children left at school long after final bell and teachers' realization that school provides only security and…

This study examined three inner-city public elementary school principals whose schools had most significantly improved across a 2-year period as measured by a district-wide index of performance, investigating their perceptions of organizational constraint and their resulting practices. The performance index was obtained using students' SAT-9…

Examines extent to which principal leadership for professional development at four urban elementary schools addressed three aspects of school organizational capacity: teachers' knowledge, skills, and disposition; professional community; and program coherence. Finds, for example, that effective principals can sustain high levels of capacity by…

Evidence from the Boston Renaissance Charter School suggests that the Edison Project is struggling fitfully to learn school management. Reliance on suspension and physical restraints demonstrates Edison Project's lack of experience with inner-city children. Test scores are up, but faculty are warring over school mission, teachers are struggling to…

An independent study of Baltimore City's Tesseract schools analyzes why the privately managed program failed. Results showed no gains on Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills scores. Baltimore was paying about 11% more per student than in comparison schools. EAI has succeeded in establishing the supremacy of Wednesday afternoons for staff development…