How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research

Posted on April 19, 2022April 11, 2022 by coreeducation

Over the past two decades, the policy landscape and the research landscape of school leadership have experienced major shifts. High-stakes accountability, multiple-measure teacher evaluation systems, heightened policy attention to educational equity, and other changes have altered expectations for what leaders need to know, how they spend their time, and the outcomes—both what and for whom—they Read more about How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research[…]

Time to Lead: An Illustrative Look at how Elementary School Principals Spend their Workweek

Posted on November 2, 2021October 29, 2021 by coreeducation

Principals can improve their teachers’ classroom practice, either directly or indirectly by arranging resources, to support improvement. However, there is limited information about how principals spend their time. A snapshot from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) provides insights on workday time allocations for principals in 100 schools. Key findings in the snapshot include the Read more about Time to Lead: An Illustrative Look at how Elementary School Principals Spend their Workweek[…]

The Changing Role of School Leaders

Posted on August 31, 2021September 28, 2021 by coreeducation

Among all in-school factors that impact student learning, teachers carry the most weight — but school leaders are not far behind. Decades of research have proven the positive influence principals can have on student achievement, school climate and teaching quality. New evidence suggests that their impact may be even greater than previously thought, as principals Read more about The Changing Role of School Leaders[…]

Principal Diversity Affects Teacher Diversity

Posted on March 16, 2021March 13, 2021 by coreeducation

A new study focusing on Missouri and Tennessee shows that principals of color are more likely to hire and retain teachers of color. After five years, having a Black principal leads to a 5 percentage point increase in a school’s share of Black teachers. Findings not only demonstrate that principal diversity matters for increasing the Read more about Principal Diversity Affects Teacher Diversity[…]

Perceptions of School Leadership

Posted on June 4, 2019June 3, 2019 by coreeducation

Effective principal leadership practices improve school organization, teaching, and student achievement outcomes. These practices include framing and communicating a school’s goals and mission, creating shared expectations of high performance, clarifying roles and objectives, and promoting professional development. However, research demonstrates that teachers tend to rate principals lower on important leadership practices than principals rate themselves, Read more about Perceptions of School Leadership[…]

Principal Attrition and Mobility

Posted on August 16, 2018August 7, 2018 by coreeducation

The National Center for Education Statistics released a new First Look report entitled Principal Attrition and Mobility: Results From the 2016–17 Principal Follow-up Survey. This report presents selected findings from the Public School Principal Status Data File of the 2016–17 Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS). The PFS is a nationally representative sample survey of public K–12 Read more about Principal Attrition and Mobility[…]

Revisioning the Principal Supervisor Role

Posted on August 7, 2018August 3, 2018 by coreeducation

Principals and districts benefit when principal supervisors move beyond the role of administrator to coach and mentor, according to a new Vanderbilt University report. The report, “A New Role Emerges for Principal Supervisors: Evidence from Six Districts in the Principal Supervisor Initiative,” details the implementation of five key components to reshape the supervisor position in Read more about Revisioning the Principal Supervisor Role[…]

NAESP Study about the Principalship

Posted on July 10, 2018July 6, 2018 by coreeducation

Social-emotional learning, mental health, and student poverty are among the top student-related concerns of Pre-K through grade 8 principals, according to The Pre-K School Leader in 2018: A 10-Year Study. Since 1928, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has collected data on the climate, challenges, and conditions that mark the principalship. In Read more about NAESP Study about the Principalship[…]

Issue Brief: Effective School Leaders

Posted on May 23, 2018May 20, 2018 by coreeducation

School administrators serve as instructional leaders and set the tone for the culture of a school. The principal’s influence is pivotal. In Core Education’s May issue brief, we explore effective school leadership and recommendations for policy to improve the preparation, support, and evaluation of educational leaders. In addition, we review the research-based factors that make Read more about Issue Brief: Effective School Leaders[…]

Guiding Principals: State Efforts to Bolster Instructional Leadership

Posted on April 26, 2018April 23, 2018 by coreeducation

In her newest policy paper and accompanying data visualization, Roxanne Garza explores how support systems for principals vary across the country. Over the last decade, the term instructional leader has worked its way into the vernacular of the education community to describe the role of school principals. What people actually mean when using this term, Read more about Guiding Principals: State Efforts to Bolster Instructional Leadership[…]

School Leadership Counts

Posted on November 9, 2017November 4, 2017 by coreeducation

While the importance and impact of school and teacher leadership has been widely understood by policymakers and practitioners, the field has lacked a comprehensive, research-based analysis to identify the specific elements of school and teacher leadership that can increase student achievement. Through a grant from the Carnegie Corporation, the New Teacher Center (NTC) partnered with Read more about School Leadership Counts[…]

School Staffing Models Can Support Principals as Instructional Leaders

Posted on July 19, 2017July 14, 2017 by coreeducation

With the rise of new academic standards, more rigorous educator evaluation and support systems, and a growing population of students who need additional supports, expectations for public school teachers are rising and, in turn, so are expectations for school leaders. Principals are increasingly expected to focus on “instructional leadership” by engaging more deeply in areas Read more about School Staffing Models Can Support Principals as Instructional Leaders[…]

Promising Leadership Practices for Rapid School Improvement That Lasts

Posted on April 26, 2017April 22, 2017 by coreeducation

A new report from the Center on School Turnaround presents promising practices for how to sustain the advances made in schools that have demonstrated rapid improvement. The practices presented are derived from a comprehensive review of relevant literature, and from the experience of five school principals who not only facilitated school turnaround but also sustained Read more about Promising Leadership Practices for Rapid School Improvement That Lasts[…]

Providing All Students with a Well-Rounded Education through ESSA

Posted on March 7, 2017March 4, 2017 by coreeducation

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) have released a new interactive tool for principals: Principals Action Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Providing All Students with a Well-Rounded and Complete Education. Principals’ crucial voices are needed in ESSA planning. To support Read more about Providing All Students with a Well-Rounded Education through ESSA[…]

The Principal Story Video Series

Posted on February 15, 2017February 10, 2017 by coreeducation

School leadership matters. During the past decade, there has been a growing recognition among educators and policymakers that school principals must be instructional leaders who ensure that high-quality teaching occurs in every classroom. This view is backed up by a solid body of evidence showing that leadership places second only to teaching among school-related influences Read more about The Principal Story Video Series[…]