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Growing support for principals

Principal supervisors collaborate and problem solve in learning communities

By Jill Baker and Gary S. Bloom
April 2017
Vol. 38 No. 2
There is clear consensus that school site leadership is second only to teacher quality in its potential to impact student achievement positively. It is also clear that, despite the fact that principal supervisors can contribute to the effectiveness of site leadership, principal supervision has been a neglected, even haphazard practice in America’s schools. Many principal supervisors in the United States work in relative isolation and experience no professional development designed to support them. Principal supervisors, many of whom have other high-stakes responsibilities ranging from the superintendency to positions in areas such as human resources and curriculum and instruction, have not been asked to make principal development a priority. Principals often only hear from their supervisors when there is a problem, complaint, or operational issue. One

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Authors

Jill A. Baker and Gary S. Bloom

Jill A. Baker ([email protected]) is deputy superintendent of schools for the Long Beach (California) Unified School District. Gary S. Bloom ([email protected]) is senior program consultant and co-founder of the New Teacher Center in Santa Cruz, California.

References

Bloom, G., Castagena, C., Moir, E., & Warren, B. (2005). Blended coaching: Skills and strategies to support principal development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Council of Chief State School Officers. (2015). Model Principal Supervisor Professional Standards. Washington, DC: Author.


Gary bloom

Gary Bloom is the lead author of Blended Coaching: Supporting the Development and Supervision of School Leaders and Powerful Partnerships: A Handbook for Principals Mentoring Assistant Principals, along with numerous other publications. He has served as a bilingual teacher, principal, university instructor, and superintendent, and was a co-founder of the New Teacher Center at University of California Santa Cruz. Gary currently balances his time between a national consulting and training practice focused upon leadership development, international and local volunteer work, and life beyond meetings.


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