Strategies for Lasting, Schoolwide Change

Research commissioned by The Wallace Foundation highlights that principal leadership is second only to teachers in impacting student achievement. While teachers influence individual classrooms, principals have the capacity to implement changes that affect the entire school. That is why principals are uniquely positioned to drive lasting, schoolwide change.

There is no shortage of opportunities for principals to exercise their change leadership, from overhauling grading policies and shifting to competency-based education to adapting to new district initiatives and policies. This magazine issue provides strategies to support school leaders in navigating these shifts and transitions, especially drilling down on leadership behaviors that improve outcomes for all students.

In their article on spearheading change, authors Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher explain, “Part of our job as leaders is to monitor and expand our credibility with teachers and staff, so we can get the real work of schools done.” See “Keep Your Leadership Cred” to strengthen elements of your credibility such as trust, competence, dynamism, immediacy, and future thinking” (page 16).

Minnesota principal Brad Gustafson continues the dialogue with insight into navigating change and uncontrollable conditions. “With every challenge and change that comes our way, there is one thing we get to choose, and it might be more powerful than everything else combined,” writes Gustafson in “Choose Your Best Self” (page 22).

Regarding equity and continuous improvement, Kailanya Brailey points out that “principals can also update schools’ definitions of leadership to be inclusive of cultural perspectives and address each family’s unique needs” in “Crafting a Schoolwide Equity Initiative” (page 28).

Principals are at the forefront of leading meaningful and lasting change in schools. By embracing the role and leveraging their influence, principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders can create environments where both students and teachers thrive.

Kaylen Tucker, Ph.D. is Editor-in-Chief of Principal magazine.