By Perry Zirkel
Principal, November/December 2014

By Pamela M. Stanfield
Principal, November/December 2014

By Jim Dermody
Principal, November/December 2014

The PLC conversations at Lewis Central Middle School this school year will focus on three essential questions: What do we want kids to learn? How do we know kids are learning? What do we do when kids do or don’t learn? Student learning will be at the core of all of our conversations. Unfortunately, teacher attendance is a constant hurdle to effective PLC collaboration and student learning.

Hedy Chang and Cecilia Leong
Principal, November/December 2014

By Victoria A. Reed
Principal, November/December 2014

Principals’ professional development needs have never been greater than they are today. Yet research indicates that not even 4 percent of Title II “allowable use” funding is spent on principal professional development. Given the myriad district, state, and federal initiatives, there is a widening chasm between the professional development needs of principals and the instructional tools and skills required to do the job well.

By Mary C. Clement
Principal November/December 2014

Principals know when a teacher is having difficulty with classroom management. Weak classroom management results in a chaotic environment and lower student achievement, and often brings parent complaints directly to the principal’s office. While it is easy to see the problem, it is more challenging to resolve the issue. When you need to intervene in a teacher’s classroom to improve organization and management, consider following a four-step intervention process.

NAESP’s Gail Connelly sat down with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to discuss early learning (pre-K-3), teacher leaders, and the importance of principal leadership.
Principal November/December 2014
Web Resources

A Kentucky elementary school uses technology to personalize learning for its youngest students.
By Mary Evans, Jennifer Hawkins, and Patrice McCrary
Principal November/December 2014
Web Resources

Stimulate teaching by structuring meaningful observations and feedback that will improve instruction schoolwide.
By Sandra A. Trach
Principal November/December 2014
Web Resources

National Distinguished Principals share models for effectively working with teacher leaders.
By Susan McLester
Principal November/December 2014
Web Resources

Ideas form the 2013-2014 Champion Creatively Alive Children grant winners.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

A+ School Focuses on Arts-Integration
Community Charter School Charlotte, North Carolina
Anissa Miller, Principal
Partnering with North Carolina A+ trainers, this school used visual art and dance as the foundation for professional development and everyday teaching.

Develop teachers’ creative confidence and students’ creative thinking skills.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

Students’ quilts piece together art, history, and social justice.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

Quilts—reclaimed fabric pieces stitched together for a renewed purpose—weave layers of personal and community history into designs. A traditional art form that provides insights into the artists’ lives, quilts involve math skills of measurement, symmetry, and geometric patterns, as well as crosscurricular studies in resourcefulness, recycling, and fabric art.

Art-based learning strategies bring new curriculum standards to life.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

Embrace the Reggio Emelia approach to teaching.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

Validate students’ voices by helping them craft characters.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

I see the story when I hear it,” says an excited fourth grader from Gardens Elementary School. Stories are fundamental to the way humans communicate with one another. “Give students a microphone and an audience, [and] you’ll hear the ancient art of storytelling come alive,” explains Vicki Lenio, assistant principal of the Pasadena, Texas, school.

Assess school culture by what you see on classroom and hallway walls.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

Assess school culture by what you see on classroom and hallway walls.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2014

By Perry Zirkel
Principal, September/October 2014

To improve both school safety and student achievement, school districts across the country have implemented policies mandating school uniforms. Approximately 21 states and the District of Columbia have passed policies authorizing districts or schools to require uniforms if they choose.

By Kaivan Yuen and Heather Wolpert-Gawron
Principal, September/October 2014