Although, there are other purposes of schooling such as creating productive citizens maintaining a desired culture, it is mainly preparing students for life and providing them with skills necessary to survive and succeed in the society that they live in. The desired outcome of schooling is learning. The person who plays the most profound role in making sure that learning takes place in a school is the school leader. Effective schools that produce the desired and expected results are created and sustained largely through effective leadership. Both education lore and research on leadership agree on one point: when it comes to creating effective schools, it's the principal that matters the most.
However, in the past twenty-five years, the definition of "strong leadership" has evolved from a traditional, take-charge style of influence to a more facilitative model. The principal's job in today's schools is far more difficult and demanding than it has ever been. It has been made especially hard by the need to empirically demonstrate continuous improvement in student achievement for all students through "wall chart" data.
First and foremost, I believe, that school leaders should establish clear goals and expectations and keep those goals in the forefront of the school’s attention. The most effective way to do so in a school is to create a common vision that is shared by stakeholders of the school; teachers, students, parents, and the larger community.
Effective school leaders establish strong lines of communication with teachers and among students. One of the critical requirements of effective leadership is being responsive to others—teachers, support staff, parents, and the community. School administrators demonstrate this responsiveness through frequent and thoughtful communication. School leader should know that effective communication is essential in developing “a climate of trust, mutual respect, and clarity of function.
Culture affects every aspect of schools from what faculty talks about in the lunch room, to the type of instruction that is valued, to how professional development is viewed, to the importance of learning for all students, to the policies and regulations under which school is run. Therefore, effective principal realizes the importance of a positive culture in a school and takes the necessary steps in forming such a positive culture in his/her school. Mission and purpose as central features of cultures, rituals and traditions, ceremonies, history and stories, and celebrations are some of the key factors in building a positive culture in a school and effective principals pay a great deal on them.
School leaders should also have the necessary management skills and “laser-like” focus on student achievement. They need to spend quality time on highest value activities in their schools. One of the most important management skills that effective principals have is the use of data to monitor student progress. Effective principals constantly gather data on student progress and expect teachers to use diagnostic instruments, practice tests, and frequent in-class questions to monitor how students are doing – and follow up when students are struggling.
Effective school leaders should have more than a passing familiarity with the curriculum: They need to know it thoroughly in order to assess the degree to which it is being effectively taught.
School leaders are generally reluctant to give public recognition to individual staff members with a concern that it might be regarded as favoritism or that be recognizing some individuals other will feel slighted. School leaders should find every excuse to recognize their staff. In addition to recognition and celebration, they need to develop annual rituals that bring staff members together, provide extensive, ongoing orientation programs for new staff members, and most importantly develop a reward system to recognize accomplishment of their staff and students.
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