Critical Issue: Creating High-Achieving Learning Environments - "School leaders need to help teachers create high-achieving learning environments for all students, where the most advanced curriculum and instruction techniques combine to support learning. In a high-achieving learning environment, teachers engage students in complex problem solving and exploring ideas and issues, and classroom activities draw on students' culture, experiences, and knowledge."
Education Quotes - a large range of quotes related to motivation and education.
Leadership in Learning at St Peterâs Primary School - from Gay Nicholls, Literacy Co ordinator, St Peter's Primary School. "St Peterâs Primary School in Epping, Victoria, has won a number of national awards over the past three years. One of them was given to the principal, Katherine Hudson, who has this year received a National Award for Quality Schooling in the category of âExcellence by a Principal Highly Commendedâ. Katherine has been the principal at St Peterâs for six years. During this time she has demonstrated her deep commitment to Catholic education, engaging the mind and nurturing the spirit of all members of the St Peterâs community. The strategic direction she has offered, and the high expectations for quality teaching and learning she has set, have made the school a leader in literacy, numeracy, elearning, student wellbeing and teacher professional learning and leadership."
Effective School Leadership - "Relatively few research studies have sought information from heads recognised as effective, and fewer still have sought educated opinion from those who know most about them. In 1998, the National Association of Headteachers, the largest in the UK, commissioned such a 360-degree study." (Note: this is a PDF file).
The Harristown Story - Read about the initiatives undertaken at Harristown School in Queensland. "Harristown State School (Toowoomba) is a PY-07 campus of 386 students with an increasingly diverse multicultural background including 75 Indigenous students and 19 Sudanese students. urrently, there is a staff of 39 teachers and teacher aides and one Indigenous teacher aide (fraction 0.2). The school is currently undertaking a Parent School Partnership Initiative (PSPI) federally funded through the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). In 2006, Harristown became an IDEAS school and is currently in the Envisioning Phase."
Re-examining Management by Walking Around - This article has been contributed by Ray Boyd, principal of West Beechboro Primary School, Western Australia and Neil MacNeill, principal of Ellenbrook Primary School, Western Australia.
Principals Offer Practical, Timely "Time Management" Tips - "Have you mastered the 3 D's (Delegate it, Dump it, or Do it)? Could a "closed-door policy" help you better manage your time? Maybe you should set up "satellite offices" or find a hiding place?"
Issues of Management and Accountability in Parent-Controlled Christian Schools - a paper by Lorraine Scott. Synopsis: "a preliminary paper which reports on the first of three case studies which looks at the problems encountered by schools of this genera and seeks solutions based on the charter school concept and processes as developed and implemented in the State Education Department in Victoria, as a means to review their current practice, to set future directions and identify means to improve their performance."
Preparing Students for Their Future - by Willard R. Daggett, Ed.D., President of the International Center for Leadership in Education, presented at June 2005 Model Schools Conference.
Effective School Leadership: The contributions of school effectiveness research - Eight areas have been identified as important in determining the quality of leadership. (127Kb PDF file)
What Does Smart Leadership Look Like? - "What does leadership really look like in the year 2004? What qualities are essential for effectively leading students into a future we can't yet clearly imagine?"
Principal Leadership Standards - High Performing leaders have a personal vision for their school and the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop, articulate and implement a shared vision that is supported by the larger organization and the school community.
Principals on the Move: Tips for Making a Smooth Move. "Want to make a good impression in your new school?"
Leading and Managing in Education - a South Australian Centre for Leaders in Education article that draws on the work of Bolman and Deal, (Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal, Reframing Organizations, Jossey-Bass, 1991) who developed a very useful template for analyzing the culture of schools.
"How I Handled ..." - situations that are familiar and at times tricky to deal with and achieve a positive result.
Emotional Leadership - by Daniel Goleman - recent findings on the social nature of the brain and how principals can use this new knowledge to strengthen school cultures.