Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/55384
FEATURE WHAT MAKES GOOD SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Story by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Every school employee knows that a principal can either create a dynamic learning environment where staff feel valued and fulfilled — or make life extremely difficult for teachers and classified staff. HEN VISITING CTA MEMBERS, I am usually greeted first by principals. Some extend warm welcomes, give tours of the school and invite me into their offices to proudly discuss their talented staff. Others, well, are sometimes less welcoming. One prin- cipal whom I remember fondly, Sheryl Weaver in Fresno (see profile on facing page), actually gave me the keys to the enormous campus and suggested I visit all teachers in their respective lunchrooms to ask staff what they think of her leadership! (They love her.) So what does make a good principal? At schools I have visited, teachers who like their principal say there is less turnover and fewer teachers leaving the profession. They tell me that having a good principal makes the difference between looking forward to going to work each day — and feeling dread. Principals, like teachers, deserve to be judged on more than just test scores. Unfortunately, when a school is labeled as "failing," a principal's head may roll, even though the school is making steady academic progress. I have visited numer- ous sites where teachers were devastated because their beloved principal was being replaced by the superintendent for failing to instantly close the achievement gap, even though strong progress was being made in that direction. 18 California Educator / February 2012