This article presents a brief conversation with Denise Khaalid, the 2012 NASSP/Virco National Assistant Principal of the year. Khaalid shares the various responsibilities of being an assistant principal at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, SC. She talks about her greatest accomplishments in her role as assistant principal for curriculum and…

This multiple case study explored the experiences of school principals and the usefulness of Peters' (2011) succession planning model. Ten purposefully selected principals from varying grade levels were interviewed; none reported a formal succession plan, and all had been assistant principals. The study concluded the assistant principal position…

School leadership is second only to teaching among school influences on student success, according to research. So what can a school district do to produce a large and steady supply of top-notch school principals--and support their effective supervision? This Wallace Update describes two related Wallace Foundation initiatives seeking answers to…

School administrators who are hired to lead and guide schools and districts must possess a number of characteristics that allow them to become successful leaders. The presence or absence of a strong educational leader can make all the difference in school climate and student achievement (Kelley, Thornton, & Daugherty, 2005). Educational…

The following case is inspired by real-life events that the authors experienced while working in the K-12 public school system. This case describes the experiences of Mrs. Hodge, a seasoned assistant principal who was unexpectedly assigned to be principal of her elementary school. The case follows Mrs. Hodge through her first 3 years as the…

This case describes the leadership role and challenges in moving a school in a more inclusive direction for students with disabilities. Assistant Principal Mosier plays a key role and in that role meets Charles, sixth grader, who has been educated in self-contained special education. While 58% of the students at Reynolds are African American and…

Guided by Standpoint Theory, researchers conducted this case study to identify factors influencing access to Oklahoma's secondary school principalship for four female first-time principals. Regardless of equity legislation and increasing numbers of females with advanced degrees, the numbers of men and women who hold secondary school administration…

This case study examined leadership exercised in detracking restructuring efforts in a large suburban high school, to reduce racial inequities. Theoretical grounding includes Oakes' political, normative, and technical obstacles to detracking and Heifetz's adaptive leadership, where leaders simultaneously surface and attend to competing…

This critical ethnographic study investigated how gentrification processes shaped an elementary school's community and two-way bilingual education (TWBE) program in Central Texas. Findings revealed how these gentrification processes impacted the principal and vice principal at the ontological and epistemological levels, as their ways of being and…

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that school leaders--including principals, assistant/vice principals, and building leaders--can take to support school climate improvements. Key action steps are provided for the following strategies: (1)…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the professional development needs of assistant principals in the northern Kentucky region in preparation for the launch of the Northern Kentucky Assistant Principals' Network, a unique and innovative program to support their leadership development. Using the Educational Leadership Policy Standards:…

The purpose of this case study was to investigate if teacher morale increased, as measured on the Staff Morale Questionnaire (Smith, 1976), after the implementation of a fantasy football league on a secondary campus in southeast Texas. Teaching is an occupation with a high turnover rate (Briggs & Richardson, 1992; Ingersol, 2003; Rafferty,…

In February 2018, the Education Week Research Center fielded an online survey to more than 500 school leaders, including principals, assistant principals, and deans. The questionnaire focused on screen-time, personalized learning, social media, cyber-bullying, media literacy, sexting, and the Computer Science for All movement. Highlights of survey…

College readiness refers to factors that both prepare students for college and that enable them to succeed in college. According to the research, the elements that lead to college readiness include institutional academic preparation (Conley, 2008; Pike & Saupe, 2002; Schomaker, 2011; Gewerts, 2009; Adelman, 2006; Rogers, 2010; Edmund &…

This qualitative phenomenological narrative research study strives to better understand the challenges Hispanic administrators face when working with high minority populations. According to the Pew Foundation (2008), schools where students fail to do well academically, tend to have a larger population of Hispanic students. In a brief from the…