Qualities of Effective Principals » (New Edition)

What does it take to be a good school principal? No two principals work in exactly the same way, but research shows that effective principals do focus on a core set of factors that are critical to fostering success for all students. In Qualities of Effective Principals, James H. Stronge, Holly B. Richard, and Nancy Catano delineate these factors and show principals how to successfully balance the needs and priorities of their school and continuously develop and refine their leadership skills. Throughout the book, the authors provide readers with helpful tools and extensive research that will help them to

Develop a blueprint for sustained school leadership
Create an effective school climate for learning
Select, support, and retain high-quality teachers and staff
Assess instructional high quality
Build a foundation for organizational management
Create, maintain, and strengthen community relationships
Make contributions to the professional educational community
Define their critical role in student achievement

This book also includes practical skills checklists, quality indicators and red flags for effective leadership, and an extensive annotated bibliography. Qualities of Effective Principals is an excellent resource for both experienced and new principals committed to developing and leading strong schools that help all students succeed.

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

Part 1 What It Means to Be an Effective Principal 1

Chapter 1 Instructional Leadership: Supporting Best Practice 3

Chapter 2 School Climate: The Heart of the School 16

Chapter 3 Human Resource Administration: Selecting, Supporting, and Retaining Quality Teachers and Staff 35

Chapter 4 Teacher Evaluation: Assessing Instructional Quality 65

Chapter 5 Organizational Management: Building a Foundation for Teaching and Learning 88

Chapter 6 Communication and Community Relations: Working with Internal and External Constituencies 110

Chapter 7 Professionalism and the Principal: Making a Contribution to the Educational Community 123

Chapter 8 The Ultimate Challenge: The Principal's Role in Student Achievement 138

Part 2 Principal Effectiveness: Tools You Can Use 147

Section I Principal Skills Assessment Checklists 151

Section II Principal Quality Indicators and Red Flags 163

Section III Annotated Bibliography 181

References 227

Index 245

About the Authors 249