Distinguished Principal Qualities
(Performance Areas)

Principals must be knowledgeable, highly skilled, and have the right qualities and dispositions to successfully lead school reform. The Distinguished Principals Faculty of the national Aspiring Principals program, and subsequent participants in the School Leadership Project and The Principal Residency Network have identified critical qualities, or performance areas:

Human Relations – places equity at the center of the work.; pays attention to the personal in all aspects of the work; able to support, educate, and when necessary, outplace; thoughtful, understanding, good listener, just.

Moral Courage – able to stand alone; does what is best for students, not just what is dictated, fashionable, traditional or convenient; willing and able to challenge traditions and assumptions; keeper of the dream in the face of all obstacles.

Vision – has a clear vision of educational excellence and equity and keeps people moving toward that vision; all work is transparent and consistent with the vision; uses data to identify those aspects of the school not in keeping with the vision; knows where the school is headed and what the outcomes should be.

Public Support and Engagement – effective in engaging the public; recognizes the need for and engages in political work of school reform; uses data astutely; able to articulate school results and the rationale for change initiatives; effective fundraiser and developer.

Partnering with Family and Community – creates a vision of family-school and community-school partnerships and articulates the connection between family engagement and equitable student outcomes for the community; implements institutional structures and practices for family engagement.

Communications and Information – asks the right questions; collects and disseminates the right information; aware of what is happening in all facets of the school.

Flexibility and Efficiency – adept at multitasking and thrives in the doing; patient but action oriented; follows through.

Love of Learning and Leading – uses humor and affection to create joy and pride in the work and in daily interactions; thrives in the environment; willing to lead in learning and growing with others.

Inquiry and Reflection – has a clear vision for decision-making based on a cycle of inquiry and reflection, using a variety of data collected systematically at the school level; works to make a wide variety of data accessible to teachers and families and supports teachers in using data based inquiry at the classroom level.

Authentic Relationships and Facilitation – shows respect for staff, students, families and the community; promotes democratic collaborations and consensus building; fosters collective ownership of problems and issues; knows how and when to trust and rely on others; open to and recognizes strength in diverse perspectives; knows how to give feedback, delegate, and let go.

Model Teacher/Learner – able to get the best from staff; sets standards that staff can understand and buy into; intuitive and insightful; understands young people and relates well to them; careful with language and tone; able to confront and defuse conflicts; doesn't take him/herself too seriously; recognizes burdens and paradoxes of leadership.