Professional Growth and Development for Beginning Principals
One of the keys to school improvement is to have a personalized professional development plan. As a new leader, this is especially important. If you try to learn everything, you will be able to use nothing; if you do not further develop your leadership skills, you will never be effective. In addition, new principals should never expect teachers to do something they would not do themselves. Get your plan started by selecting your topic of interest from the list below.
NASSP Webinars
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NASSP offers webinars addressing a broad range of topics on an ongoing basis. Interested principals can either participate live or can view the webinars at a later time if that is more convenient. Visit Current Webinar Videos to see what is new. Check back regularly; new webinars are posted each month. Recent webinars include:
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The Common Core State Standards and Instructional Rigor: Just the Beginning, presented by Barbara Blackburn, noted author and speaker. Join Barbara for this special webinar examining the impact of the upcoming Common Core State Standards (CCSS) on instructional rigor. In this webinar, Barbara will discuss the meaning of instructional rigor, elements of a rigorous classroom, and examples of strategies for all subject areas. |
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Improving Leadership Through Connected Learning, presented by Eric Sheninger, noted educator, author, and social media leader. In this special webinar, join Eric for an exploration of the ways school leaders can use social media to their advantage. The real-time web provides avenues like never before for school leaders to grow through connected learning. Nonetheless, leaders often express skepticism at the idea of harnessing the power of social media. This webinar will examine the facets of a connected learning model that can help leaders grow professionally and expose educators to the many free, readily accessible tools at their disposal. |
NASSP Podcats
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NASSP also offers multiple podcasts as part of the podcast series School Leaders Review. Recent interviews include several 2012 MetLife/NASSP Breakthrough Schools Principals discussing topics such as overcoming disasters, working with diverse populations, implementing ‘no-zero’ policies, using social media, and more. There are also interviews with experts from the field, such as Doug Reeves and Rick Wormeli. Be sure to also check back here often; new podcasts are posted regularly. |
New! Rethinking Principal Evaluation
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NASSP and NAESP have recently collaborated to produce Rethinking Principal Evaluation: A New Paradigm Informed by Research and Practice (Dec 2012). The document’s call to action is grounded in the need for an evaluation framework that reflects the complexity of the principalship, includes the voice of experienced principals, and identifies the competencies needed in leadership for student and school success. This framework will be a valuable resource to help identify critical competencies and standards that should be the focus for professional development for any new principal. |
Top Tips
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Consider being a mentor to an aspiring leader during your first year. It will help you reflect on your leadership, build your confidence, and help build leadership capacity in another. Read more here. |
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Successful school leaders delegate tasks to appropriate personnel and do not micromanage or redo the work others do for them . This and 14 other important principles to help you create and further develop your leadership style can be found here. |
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The capacity to improve schools depends on the quality and effectiveness of the leaders in each school. You must plan a highly personalized PD plan, using a variety of resources. A good induction program and a mentor are essential. Read more here |
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If you love being a principal and want to survive and thrive in the job, you have to get smarter. Being the instructional leader is just the start, that principals are also expected to wrestle with tough legal questions, oversee multiyear building projects, reinvent learning on a shoestring budget, learn about the teachers’ contract, understand student mental health issues, and implement teacher evaluation and dismissal procedures. Read more here. |
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Qualities of vision, perseverance, knowledge and passion and love of service are essential qualities for success as a beginning principal. Practices essential to turning a school around are a focus on standards, promoting effective teaching, maintaining a culture of a professional learning community and creating pyramid of interventions for students. Read more here. |
Words of Wisdom
- We all know that good principals are the instructional leaders of their schools. An equally important thing to remember is that the principal should also be the LEAD LEARNER. There many new programs, initiatives, ideas and strategies that pass through our schools. Whatever it is your faculty is learning, get your hands dirty and jump in there with them.
Brad Teague, Principal
East Rutherford High School, North Carolina
NCASSP Middle School Principal of the Year 2012 MetLife/NASSP High School Principal of the Year: North Carolina
- My words of wisdom to new principals would be to stay constantly connected to the teachers and students through ongoing professional development and classrooms visits. These two things often do not happen enough but are key to success.
Steven Morrone, Principal of Ashaway Elementary School (K-4),
Chariho Regional School District
Rhode Island Ist Year Principal Award Winner
NASSP Resources
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NASSP offers a comprehensive web-based assessment of leadership skills, complete with a self assessment, feedback from others, and a customized report that leads you to a personalized professional development plan. Check out the “Leadership Skills Assessment” here. |
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Customized professional development is also available through NASSP. A wide variety of topics are available, and can be offered at your site or the NASSP headquarters in Reston, VA. |
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10 Skills for Successful School Leaders (2010) Webinar here. |
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Check out the NASSP “Professional Development’ page here. |
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Special topics resources, available here. |
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The entire January 2011 volume of PL was “Leading to Improvement”, and focused on the development of leadership skills. Check it out here. |
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The November 2004 edition of Principal Leadership was titled “Support Systems for Principals”. You will find another great set of suggestions for your own professional development here. |
Links to Outside Resources
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NEW! Wallace Foundation Videos: “Great School Leadership in Action”. These videos ask, “What makes for an effective principal?” And they answer: Five practices, done well. Listen as 13 school leaders talk about how they have put those practices to work. Identified by local administrators for their efforts to boost teaching and learning, often under difficult circumstances, the principals come from districts receiving Wallace Foundation grants to improve school leadership. |
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Interested in learning more about those 5 practices? Download the Wallace Perspectives research report/executive summary The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning (2013). This Wallace Perspective summarizes a decade of foundation research and work in school leadership to identify what it is that effective school principals do. It concludes that they carry out five key actions particularly well, including shaping a vision of academic success for all students and cultivating leadership in others.
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State Departments of Education: See what various State Departments of Education are doing for principals and new principals. |
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State Affiliate Resources: Take a look at what NASSP affiliates, and other professional affiliates, are doing to support new principals. Note: Some resources are members only. |
Book Recommendations
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The Breaking Ranks Series text 10 Skills for Successful School Leaders (2010) will help you self assess your leadership skills and develop a plan for improvement. It is perfect for the person who wants to work with a mentor and develop a highly individualized plan. |
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Now, Discover Your Strenghts (2001). Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. The Free Press. The book claims to be based on years of research from the Gallup organization, provides a self assessment and report, as well as good information on how to capitalize on your natural strengths to be a better leader. |
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Strengths Finder (2007). Tom Rath. Gallup Press. This is another quick and easy way to do a self assessment of general leadership strengths. |