Principal March/April 2011: Student and School Improvement

Lessons From Peers
Turning around a school is no easy task. It takes planning, examining, re-evaluating, and—most important—time and patience. But time is what many principals are competing with when state and federal lawmakers, state departments of education, and even parents demand swift, significant gains in student achievement. And since there’s no easy or established formula that works consistently for all schools across the board, improving achievement becomes even more challenging.
STUDENT AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
School Turnaround Success: Focus on Implementation
Reform efforts require stakeholder support, but more importantly, a strong leader to see them through.
Robert Manwaring
Extreme Makeover: Reading Edition
Seven significant changes led this school on the path toward achievement.
Rachel Ray
Rethinking Teaching and Learning
A Phoenix school focuses on aligning curriculum and instruction to earn big academic gains.
Daniel V. Salaz
Nowhere to Go but Up
Anything is possible if you put your mind, heart, and data into it.
Lucille Keaton
Ready for Change
We must all try to figure out how the federal government managed to take control of our nation’s schools while no one was paying attention.
An interview with Diane Ravitch
(Article available to the public)
FEATURES
Research Report: Performance Pay for Teachers
Research on merit pay has provided some answers—but also has identified questions that still need to be addressed.
Nancy Protheroe
What Works
Best practices in evaluating teaching, assessing learning, and effectively leading schools.
An interview with Robert Marzano
IN EVERY ISSUE
From the Editors
Lessons From Peers
(Article available to the public)
Snapshots
(Article available to the public)
Practitioner’s Corner
Group Interviews
Steven A. Forte
Raising the Bar
The Whale Done! School
Cynthia R. Zurchin and Jim Ballard
Principal’s Bookshelf
Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way by Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn
Reviewed by Sonya Hemmen
Process Management in Education: How to Design, Measure, Deploy, and Improve Educational Processes by Robert W. Ewy and Henry A. Gmitro
Reviewed by Jeffrey Carroll
The Reflective Principal
A Death in the Family
Sheryl Boris-Schacter
Ten to Teen
Transition Is a Process, Not an Event
Chris Toy and Jill Spencer
Speaking Out
How Inclusive Is Systemic Change in Education?
Felecia Nace
(Article available to the public)
Parents & Schools
The Principal’s Shadow
Bonnie J. Cangelosi
It’s the Law
Parent Issues
Perry A. Zirkel
Postscript
Only a Principal …
Gail Connelly
(Article available to the public)