Relationships between and among school administrative team members are critical components of school culture. They serve as a guidepost for the behaviors and attitudes of staff and students. To invigorate these relationships, three embodied practices have high yield not only for the relationships among administrators, but also for fostering a…

Many professions have long runways to leadership, with mentorship and increasing levels of responsibility. In contrast, the path to school leadership has historically not been well-defined. But that is changing. The role of assistant principals has become a major stepping stone to the principalship. Once thought of primarily as disciplinarians,…

Protecting children and investing in their education and wellbeing can often feel like a battle. The seat that the author now holds at the proverbial education table is crucial in not only developing a well-rounded and well-equipped student body, but it is also in seeing herself as a role model to future leaders--both women and future leaders of…

Racism, social media, and free speech collide on a high school campus when a student creates an offensive poster that a classmate posts on social media. This case describes a school administrator's conversations and actions with students, teachers, and the community addressing bigotry, race, and free speech on campus. The scenario is presented…

School leaders, specifically principals, play a pivotal role in shaping student learning outcomes. The benefits of strong leaders extend beyond academic achievement, such as reductions in absenteeism and exclusionary discipline. While quality principals are critical for creating and sustaining quality schools, the staffing pipeline is facing…

This report introduces the topic of assessment centers, an increasingly common personnel selection and development tool. A description of assessment center usefulness and their role in the selection of Austin Independent School District assistant principals and principals is also provided.

This article summarizes lessons and examples from a learning community of leaders from 78 large and medium school districts across the U.S. that has been meeting monthly throughout the pandemic, that other educators might apply to their work as they continue to navigate difficult and ambiguous times. The learning community members have identified…

This report describes findings from the Austin Independent School District's (AISD) Department of Leadership Development 2018-2019 evaluation. The purposes of the evaluation in 2018-2019 were to update the Department of Leadership Development theory of change (ToC) and logic model and to evaluate the implementation of the newly developed assistant…

Many instructional leaders--superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum coordinators, principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches--forget how hard it is to teach. The real-life experience of teaching, with its day-to-day intensity, fades a little bit each month one is not in the classroom. There is, however, a way that…

The vice principal has the potential to significantly influence everyone in the school building. The expertise required to effectively carry out the duties of the role include interpersonal skills, leadership skills, reflective practice, and knowledge of the current research in the field of education. The position of vice principal requires a…

We share school leaders' perspectives on Zoom videos concerning the needs of immigrant and refugee families in Title I schools. In these videos, participants crafted and shared personal narratives about their leadership experiences during the COVID-19 era of education. Rooted in participatory design research methods, the process of designing these…

The purpose of this article is to examine a 'grow your own' model of leadership preparation and placement of educational administrators in the state of Tennessee. The growing need for school and district administrators in the rural counties of Tennessee mirrors a nationwide issue, and state policymakers and practitioners must respond appropriately…

The Listening Guide method was founded in opposition to other forms of interview coding which either put data into predetermined and/or binary categories. Feminist psychologists believed that other methods of qualitative research disappeared the undertheorized portions of subjects' narratives. This method does not seek to only hear voices of queer…

This case describes the dilemma of recently hired assistant principal, Fred Bates, who finds himself in a school with a negative and unsupportive school climate. There are significant trust issues between the teachers and principal. Bates struggles to navigate various obstacles and works to establish positive relationships with both his principal…

Shannon Kersey, principal of Alpharetta High School in Georgia and one of the authors of this article, believes in the benefits of building assistant principals' leadership capacity, not just for success in their current jobs but to support their eventual transition to principal. Three of her former assistant principals are now principals of…