In recognition of the importance of effective school leadership, many states and districts have implemented policies and programs that aim to improve their capacity to attract and retain great principals. Too often, though, these policies and practices do not combine to form a coherent system that ensures effective leadership development. To be…

Policy makers at the federal level have embraced an educator effectiveness agenda, which in turn has driven many states across the country to rapidly develop and implement new and more complex teacher evaluation systems. It is increasingly clear that the success of these nascent teacher evaluation systems partly depends on the will, skill, and…

As principals' responsibilities increase in quantity and complexity along with accountability demands for improved student achievement, some researchers argue that one person can no longer successfully lead a school; rather schools should be led in a collaborative manner with school staff members in shared decision-making through a distributed…

Many urban schools struggle to retain their best teachers because of challenging work environments, poor salaries, and ineffective school leadership. The additional requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation for teachers to be highly qualified and the increased academic requirements of raising students to a proficient level in reading…