As leader, the principal is accountable for the continuous growth of students and increased school performance as measured over time by state standards and locally determined indicators. After spirited discussions and debates on the many issues surrounding the principal's changing role, the task force has hammered out the following list of the essential support and authority principals must have in order to succeed in the current reform climate. Principals express a need to receive ongoing professional development, especially in the areas of assessment and evaluation in a performance-based system. There is strong support for training before holding the principal accountable for knowing, in much the same way that principals guide and assist staff members with knowledge and skill before holding them accountable for knowing. Authority to Select and Accept Transfers of Teachers Based Upon Proven Positive Performance with Student Achievement.
Principals clearly understand their accountability for student achievement.
To truly cause that to happen, principals must be diligent and vigilant in recruiting and selecting the very best staff. Simply accepting a transferring teacher because he or she is the most senior, as is the case with many current contractual agreements, does not ensure that the best quality teachers are teaching our children. A revision of contract and conferring of authority to staff the building without seniority as the main means of placement is a critical factor in principal, teacher, and student success. Authority to Appropriately Respond to Building Data. Just as authentic classroom assessment informs future instruction and may require the teacher to make important and necessary adjustments to the lesson plan, so the principal wants the authority to respond to the realities identified in the building data.