Leading for Learning
This series—launched with a special report on instructional leadership in the Sept. 15, 2004, issue of Education Week—examines the new approaches to leadership in education at a time of increasing academic expectations on schools.
School & District Management
Guiding Hand
With expectations for student achievement at an all-time high, school district leaders say they are playing a more assertive role in shaping instruction, according to a national survey of superintendents commissioned by Education Week.
School & District Management
In Sharp Focus
When the Clarksville, Tenn., schools raised expectations for learning, the central office played a leading role in standardizing practice and monitoring data.
School & District Management
Forward Motion
The California district is not alone in seeking the right balance between site-based management and centralized decisionmaking, a key issue as superintendents concern themselves more with matters of instruction. Gilroy’s experience, in fact, shows how that balance can change over time.
School & District Management
Theory of Action
Not long ago, a popular theory about school improvement went something like this: Put in strong principals and dedicated staff members, and then get out of their way. When it came to improving teaching and learning, the thinking went, the central office had little to add.
Professional Development
Leaders Go to School on Business Practices
Lots of districts like to think they have close-knit leadership teams. But few school leaders can say they’ve ironed their clothes together, which became a morning ritual for a group from San Francisco that spent a week at the Harvard Business School here this summer.
Professional Development
Staff Investment Pays Dividends in Md. District
As districts seek ways to educate all children, Montgomery County, Md., has drawn notice for its unusual concentration on human resources.
School & District Management
Air Force General Leaves Fla. School District Flying High
While learning enough about instruction to hold his own with career educators, superintendent John C. Fryer built a districtwide system of school improvement based on staff training and data-driven decisionmaking.
School & District Management
Superintendents Gain Advice, New Insights From Network
For teachers, practical advice is as close as the room next door. When principals need to know how things get done in their district, they can pick up the phone and call one another. But a fact of life for most superintendents is that it’s lonely at the top.
School & District Management
An Edmonton Journey
Educators from the United States flock to the Edmonton, Alberta, district in Canada to learn about its experience with site-based management, an idea that is gaining new traction here.
School & District Management
The Education of Roy Romer
A former governor of Colorado runs the Los Angeles school district with a hands-on passion for high-quality instruction.
School & District Management
‘Weighted’ Funding of Schools Gains Favor
Interest in weighted-student funding, under which money is divvied up based on the actual number and kinds of students at each school, is growing among education leaders.
School & District Management
Chat
Chat Transcript: Leading for Learning—Instructional Leadership Today
A growing number of states and school districts are re-engineering principals’ jobs to emphasize their roles as instructional leaders, according to an Education Week special report. This chat explores the changing roles of school leaders.
School Climate & Safety
Putting Out Fires
For one typical elementary school principal, dealing with paperwork, student discipline, and routine duties consumes most of the day.
School & District Management
Tackling an Impossible Job
After years of hearing that a principal’s main job should be to raise the quality of instruction, districts and states are experimenting with ways to make that ideal a reality.