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About the Principal as Instructional Leader Spotlight

"No longer can a principal be judged solely on how well he or she manages the administrative duties of a school. The quality of the principal must relate to a school's capacity to ensure achievement for all children."

From Leading Learning Communities - NAESP Standards for What Principals Should Know and Be Able To Do

This Knowledge Loom spotlight evolved through the work of the Principals' Leadership Network. The Principals' Leadership Network (PLN) is a regional program of The Education Alliance at Brown University in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The network allows K-12 principals to explore solutions to the leadership challenges they face during this time of educational change, and bring their voices to the reform table.

The role of the school leader today is directly tied to the quality of the school and the achievement of its students. Not only are principals increasingly held accountable for every student's success, but research is demonstrating that schools and students cannot be successful without a competent and caring school leader. Richard Elmore (2000) describes five principles that lay the foundation for a model of leadership focused on large scale improvement:

• The purpose of leadership is the improvement of instructional practice and performance, regardless of role.
• Instructional improvement requires continuous learning.
• Learning requires modeling.
• The roles and activities of leadership flow from the expertise required for learning and improvement, not from the formal dictates of the institution.
• The exercise of authority requires reciprocity of accountability and capacity.

Two national organizations, the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) have studied effective instructional leadership. Both have published lists of standards embodying best practices for principals. Using this dual set of standards, the spotlight allows you to

• read about the practices
• gain insight into successful strategies
• review research that supports the practices
• view stories about the practices in real schools and districts
• add your own stories and bits of wisdom
• browse questions answered by specialists in the field
• view an online panel discussion
• discover supporting organizations and resources

The collection is enhanced by the active partnership of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Southern Regional Education Board.

We hope you will find this a useful, personal, professional development tool.

This spotlight is based on work sponsored wholly or in part by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES - formerly, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)), U.S. Department of Education, under contract number ED-01-CO-0010 (Northeast & Islands Regional Educational Laboratory, 2000-2005). The content of this site does not necessarily reflect the views of IES, the Department of Education, or any other agency of the U.S. Government.

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This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu