This back-to-school issue of Principal was mailed along with two additional resources that will take your leadership to the next level. The first is a 20-page Champion Creatively Alive Children special supplement, which for the second year is generously sponsored by Crayola. The second resource is PRincipal Communicator, a new newsletter brought to you in partnership with the National School Public Relations Association, which is designed to help you tell your school’s story, especially championing the “Power of the Principal.”

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

Principal Roundtable: On the Front Line of the Common Core
Principals share solutions, tips, and top resources for school-level Common Core implementation.
(Article available to public.)

Forging Connections and Finding Resources Online—Jessica Johnson

Leading Common Core Implementation
Terry Holliday and Felecia C. Smith
Kentucky prepares principals to integrate the standards with leadership networks and a new technology platform.

Slicing and Dicing the ELA Common Core Standards
Virginia Goatley
As schools move toward implementing new English language arts standards, research-based ideas help address critical issues. 

Access to the Common Core for All
Margaret J. McLaughlin
Six principles for principals to consider in implementing CCSS for students with disabilities.
(Article available to public.) 

FEATURES

Early Career Principals: Working Productively With Difficult and Resistant Staff
John F. Eller and Sheila A. Eller
By employing strategies for getting the most out of eight employee types, principals can successfully move ahead on school improvement efforts.
(Article available to public.)

Nine Practices of Second Order Schools
Bill Brown, Thomas Williams, and Patrick Tucker
Principals should implement these strategies to differentiate instruction schoolwide.  

IN EVERY ISSUE

From the Editors
Take It Up a Notch
(Article available to public.)

Snapshots
(Article available to public.)

Practitioner’s Corner
Navigating the Social World
James Dillon

Raising the Bar
Hiring the Best
Mary C. Clement

Principal’s Bookshelf

The Reflective Principal
Becoming a Connected Leader
Chris Wejr

Ten to Teen
Brain Changes from Tween to Teen
Richard M. Marshall and Sharon Neuman

Speaking Out
Perils of Pay for Performance
Mike Connolly
(Article available to public.)

Innovation
Flipped Classrooms 101
Jerry Overmyer

It’s the Law
Parent Issues Revisited
Perry A. Zirkel

Postscript
A Call to Action
Gail Connelly
(Article available to public.)