By Jim Trelease
Principal, March/April 2014

Amherst College’s admissions director, Tom Parker, recommends an early, low-cost SAT prep course: Reading to a young child at bedtime. Parker has never met a “good college candidate who was not an avid reader and the surest way to create one is to read to the child daily.” The success of that strategy appears as early as kindergarten with larger vocabularies among those whose parents read to them.

By Lisa Kline
Principal, March/April 2014

Meet Jimmy, a sixth-grade student who just moved into the area. He had been retained and rarely volunteered to participate in class. His negative attitude toward learning and just being in school permeated his very being. And I was his teacher. My attempts to coax him to learn were met with groans and glares. But I never wavered in my attempts to engage him, despite his determination to not be a part of the class.

By Reneé Jackson
Principal, March/April 2014

Family engagement is an essential ingredient for student achievement and for school turnarounds. For students and school improvements to be successful, schools must treat family and community engagement as an integral, rather than just an “add-on,” activity.

The School Improvement Planning Handbook: Getting Focused for Turnaround and Transition. Daniel L. Duke, Marsha Carr, and William Sterrett. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2013, 287 pages.

The school improvement process can seem daunting to even the most seasoned administrator. Many school districts are focusing on turning struggling schools toward increased achievement. However, deciding where to start, what to include, and how to address the needs of a school community remains extremely challenging.

By Barbara Laster, Jennifer Jones, Julie Ankrum, Valerie Robnolt, & Barbara Marinak
Principal, March/April 2014

Response to Intervention(RTI) is a multi-year effort that attends to the needs of all students, helps students transition at key junctures, and builds professionalism when implemented thoughtfully. What can a principal do to nurture a successful RTI effort for learners?

By Jennifer Schwanke
Principal, March/April 2014

English-language learners at two schools succeed when educators accept responsibility and plan for success.
By George Theoharis and Joanne O’Toole
Principal, March/April 2014
Web Resources

A Title I School extends reading lessons beyond the classroom walls for struggling students.
By Joe Corcoran
Principal, March/April 2014
Web Resources

Follow these guiding tactics to retain high-quality teachers and prevent burnout.
By Regina Stewman
Principal, March/April 2014
Web Resources

By Perry Zirkel
Principal, January/February 2014

Food allergies, especially peanut and tree-nut allergies, are on the rise in terms of both national numbers and parental concerns. The typical legal issues concern eligibility and entitlement under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and its fraternal twin, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The following case and accompanying question-and-answer discussion illustrate major recent issues.

By Justin Tarte
Principal, January/February 2014

You’ve heard it before, you’ve seen it before, and you’ve most likely experienced it yourself before: technology integration frustration. Change is not easy. When we talk about change, especially technology changes that take us into the wide world of the unknown, things can quickly become even more complicated.

By Robert Dillon and Melissa Nixon
Principal, January/February 2014

Principal, January/February 2014

Formative Assessment in Practice: A Process of Inquiry and Action.
Margaret Heritage. Harvard Education Press, 2013, 164 pages.

By Anne M. Beninghof and Debbie Blair
Principal, January/February 2014

Teaching often resembles a tennis match when technology specialists and classroom teachers co-teach at Prairie Crossing Elementary School in Parker, Colorado. Teachers toss the ball back and forth from one teacher’s court to another, back each other up, and occasionally go to “the net” to revise their lesson plan in the moment. Both teachers use their unique talents to make sure that all students stay in the game.

By Karin Johnson
Principal, January/February 2014

Provide Teachers with an unobstructed view of how to enhance language development for English-Language Learners.
By Ivannia Soto
Principal, January/February 2014
Web Resources

Put all the pieces together with these tactics from the nation’s top principals.
Principal, January/February 2014

States and districts across the nation are moving to new teacher evaluation systems, and principals are tasked with making all the pieces— from observations and conferences to goal-setting and feedback—fit. The solution? Masterful time management, says Wendy Kelly Jordan, principal of Mineral Springs School in Ellerbe, North Carolina, and a 2013 National Distinguished Principal.

By Jacie Maslyk
Principal, January/February 2014

Comprehensive principal evaluation systems can be an effective way to support the professional growth of instructional leaders, helping them to learn, grow, and improve schools. As states and districts across the nation take steps towards developing systems and improving evaluation processes, Pennsylvania districts are implementing the Framework for Leadership set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Foundational, process, and outcome principles are essential components of principal evaluation systems.
By Joseph Murphy, Ellen Goldring, and Andrew Porter
Principal, January/February 2014
Web Resources

By Perry A. Zirkel
Principal, November/December 2013