Center Focus
The Center for Innovative Leadership works to highlight transformative and innovative practices and strategies that serve as a catalyst for shaping the long-term impact of school improvement efforts.
The Center works to create a network of leaders who are in pursuit of the highest and most meaningful results for children, families and communities.
Leaders engaged in the work of the Center for Innovative Leadership are typically interested in learning about and implementing non-traditional approaches to learning that have the potential to result in significantly different outcomes.
Get Involved
Join the Community of Practice
Learn, grow, and connect with peers when you join the Center for Innovative Leadership’s community of practice.
Meet the Fellows
Liz Garden
NAESP Center for Innovative Leadership Fellow and Principal
Scott McLeod
NAESP Center for Innovative Leadership Fellow and Professor of Educational Leadership
Resources
Be Your School’s Inspirational Leader: Key Steps
Read MoreAt #naesp16, Baruti K. Kafele, author of The Principal 50: Critical Leadership Questions for Inspiring Schoolwide Excellence, spoke passionately about student,…
An All-Hands Approach to Implementing Schoolwide Change in Wellness
Read MorePrincipal Wendy Ellen Starwalt has transformed her school of over 400 students to get more active and healthy through a grassroots approach that swept up stude…
Principal Magazine Recognized For Excellence
Read MoreNAESP understands how important recognition can be for students, teachers, and principals. So we’re excited to share that Principal magazine, which brings educ…
Effective Principal Practices
Read MoreNAESP is committed to providing the research and best practices to promote leadership skills in all principals and school leaders. Through our programs, commun…
What Great Principals Do Differently
Read MoreWhat do great principals do differently? The 18 steps outlined in this infographic—based on Todd Whitaker’s book, What Great Principals Do Differently—matter m…
Black History Month and the Elementary School Principal
Read MoreIt’s that time of the year again: Black History Month. In schools across the U.S., this is the time we teach about, read books about, write book reports about …
Principals Share Leadership Practices
Read MoreWhat makes a principal effective?Any principal knows that being an effective school leader is a complex, multifaceted job. According to The Wallace Foundation,…
Strengthening Afterschool Programs Through Collaboration
Read MoreThis month, a groundbreaking compendium—featuring the work of more than 100 thought leaders—has been released, highlighting the bold and persuasive evidence th…
Four Critical Questions for PLCs to Address
Read MoreYou’ve built the foundation for a professional learning community (PLC), but how do you successfully bring the vision and the words to life? In The School Lead…
Measures of Student Achievement
Read MoreWe all know that standardized student assessment scores don’t provide the complete picture of student achievement, but we may have divergent ideas on what othe…
Modeling Differentiation—For Students and Teachers
Read MoreCoaching and Supporting Teachers in Differentiated InstructionBetty HollasSunday, April 10, 12-2 p.m., Convention Center, 1st Floor, Room 24-25Is differentiate…
Survey: Definitions of Effective Principals
Read MoreIn September, the Department of Education proposed definitions of “effective” and “highly effective” principals—a scant 200 words that, if enacted, could be us…
President Barack Obama’s Back to School Speech
Read MoreOn September 14, President Barack Obama addressed America’s students from Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration school in Philadelphia, Pa.Watch the …
What Does It Take to Become A Principal?
Read MoreThe May/June issue of Principal magazine includes a Speaking Out article that reveals the type of preparation the author believes a teacher needs to become a p…
Pay Teachers More Than Principals?
Read MoreA New York City charter school set to open in 2009 plans to pay its teachers $125,000, while the principal’s starting salary will be $90,000, according to The …
Restoring Humanity Through Lifelong Learning
Read MoreOne of the strategic issues for the Vision 2021 initiative is advocating for early childhood education and networks of support. Research has repeatedly shown t…
Doing Whatever It Takes
Read MoreTo the delight of many students, principals nationwide are submitting to the silly, outlandish, and sometimes embarrassing activities that they promised if stu…