School Climate: Missing Link in Principal Training?

Suzanne E. Scallion, the superintendent in Westfield, Mass., says school leaders ignore the importance of school culture "at our peril and our students' peril."

—Charlie Mahoney/Prime for Education Week

Leadership groups seek to fill in gaps

By Sarah D. Sparks

Improving a struggling school's climate can be both the foundation of long-term school improvement and a source of immediate, visible progress for a new principal. The tricky part for many principals, experts say, is translating an idyllic vision into classroom reality.

That's why groups preparing so-called "turnaround leaders" increasingly say principals need more training—not just on data and academics—but also on how to build relationships and support for learning among staff and students.

"We have found the training on culture and climate inadequate in most places," said Bob Hughes, the executive director of the Washington-based National Institute of School Leadership. "Universities are trying to respond and change now. That is beginning to happen,...