This case explores a newly implemented Strategic Education Plan, spearheaded by Principal John Barlow, which has added some tensions and sparked concerns among parents and teachers that the myopic focus on standardized test scores risks erasing the cultural richness that defines the school. The narrative explores the complexities of balancing…

The purpose of this study was to understand teachers' perceptions regarding principals' supervision and evaluation in eight high-performing elementary schools. An online survey was sent to teachers in select elementary schools and findings suggest principals engaged in all seven supervision and evaluation constructs measured, with teachers rating…

Within-school climates and culture are predicated on organizational structures, distributions of power, and roles that are highly interactive. Hierarchical structures and uneven power distributions, primarily those of teacher-principal, have been found to challenge levels of trust. School interaction patterns form the basis of much of the school…

This paper reports on the status of instructional supervision within the current New York City school reform movement. Reports from interviews with New York City public school teachers demonstrate the prevalence of directive, checklist and narrative approaches to supervision, raising serious questions for the future of instructional supervision.…

Addressed is the administrative dilemma of principals' and teachers' sharing decision-making and its effect on strong instructional leadership. The findings were developed as part of an exploratory field study conducted in six public middle schools in a large urban school system. The sample consisted of five black male and one white female…

Relying on his experience as an urban principal, the author relates several vignettes to illustrate the importance of a smoothly working school team of administrators, teachers, and counselors. (Author/JM)

An account of an assistant principal's efforts to assist new and inexperienced teachers to remain in education, focusing on solving the problems of 3 basic types of new teachers: (1) the scared to death, but tries to teach them anyway teacher, (2) the managerial efficiency teacher, and (3) the idealistic teacher. (EH)

This study explores the principal's role as instructional leader in four urban schools showing improvement in test scores. Data gathering procedures included ethnographic observations and interviews of principals; principals' logs of time use; interviews with teachers, school administrators, and students; and faculty surveys. The findings were…