learners , but Principal Patty Martel is determined that all of her students will be proficient in reading in English by the time they move on to middle school . In support of this goal , she allocates money from her limited school budget to pay for an early intervention literacy program as soon as a student begins struggling with reading . She also requires that all programs at her school include an element of literacy . Reading and writing are integrated into art , science , and everything else the students do .
Principals must also understand what test scores and other data say about their students ’ learning and use the information to help teachers set goals and improve instruction .
When test scores at Alvarado Elementary School showed that some groups of students were not reading and writing as well as others , Principal David Weiner helped teachers develop a new plan . Teachers across the school coordinated their reading and writing instruction , so that struggling students could receive direct instruction from a literacy specialist in addition to the classroom teacher .
Successful principals must constantly evaluate what is working and what is not , and use that information to make improvements .
Great principals hire , develop , and retain excellent teachers
One of a principal ’ s most important roles is ensuring that every student is taught by an excellent teacher . Although it can be time-consuming , principals must actively recruit good teachers to their schools . Principals can visit teacher education classes to find promising new teachers ; they can open their schools to student teachers and try to hire the good ones ; and they can talk to teachers and other principals to find quality experienced teachers who might be looking for Convert webpages or entire websites to PDF - Use PDFmyURL !