Effective school leaders focus on identifying the changes needed to improve student learning. However, school improvement is often reduced to a checklist of compliance activities, and, consequently, achievement gaps continue to stay the status quo, or even widen. This paper reports on a qualitative case study analyzing how professional learning…

The incorporation of professional development (PD) activities for PK-12 teachers has long served to advance competency in the profession. With changes in requirements for continued teacher certification, student performance, and state-level testing, superintendents are faced with maximizing PD opportunities of their faculty. This primary…

For much of the last two decades, beginning with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, the top political leaders have shown concern about children stuck in failing public schools. NCLB required districts to do something -- not enough, but something -- about those schools. Millions of children still languish in low-performing schools,…

Students will face enormous challenges in the coming years--from an economy shaped by ever-advancing technologies to the impact of globalization--and need the strongest foundation of academic, technical, and problem-solving skills we can offer. In an effort to improve their educational experiences, schools across the country are exploring and…

Almost daily, residents of Michigan read newspaper headlines announcing another school district laying off principals and teachers to address the ever-shrinking available funds from state government to fund public education. Schools are feeling the direct impact of the mix of financial tsunamis that have hit the Michigan economy. The state has…

The purpose of this study was to describe and conceptualize the view small-town secondary principals have of their role. The method used was indepth interviews, with researchers going to 30 small-town high schools in Michigan and spending some hours with each principal. The accumulated data consisted of 324 single-spaced pages of verbatim…

Although it is unreasonable to expect the schools to build a new social order, nonetheless the humanizing of education in the pluralistic American tradition is a legitimate and worthy goal. The people who run our schools must lead the way. Too many educational leaders, however, have been unwilling or unable to make difficult decisions that seemed…