Developing the Skills of Principals in Low-Performing Schools

摘要

TLewis Carroll famously noted that "if you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". This capstone project joins the dialogue of the importance of adapting the principal preparation programs at colleges and universities to adequately provide aspiring principals the skills needed to lead the work in low-performing schools. Since the onset of high stakes accountability testing as a result of the No Child Left Behind Legislation of 2001, states have been ranking their schools from first to worst based on student performance. The schools that are consistently ranked at or near the bottom of these rankings most generally struggle to make any type of significant gains on the accountability tests if there is not a strong instructional leader who possesses the skills and attributes to lead the work. Many new school principals, who are hired in low-performing schools, are quickly overwhelmed with the many facets, and sometimes layers of dysfunction, of the school they serve. They often find themselves ill-equipped to adequately handle the constant pressure of issues that commonly accompany low-performing schools. This capstone, which consists of two principal preparation courses, will provide the leader with a road map that will increase their likelihood of success. The first of the two principal preparation courses developed as a part of capstone will provide future principals the knowledge and skills to lead the comprehensive changes needed to improve systems within the organization, school culture, and student achievement. The second course will provide the aspiring principal with the ability to use data to make informed decisions through careful analysis of data, including root cause analysis, planning, and implementation.