Educational Leadership Philosophy

School Vision

A principal should be student-centered, and their school vision should center around the
betterment of the students. You want every activity that occurs in your building to revolve
around what is best for the students. If it is not beneficial for the students, then there is no
reason that it should continue or even begin to happen. Your vision is to create a society of
learners where students are being constantly challenged by teachers as well as their peers. You
also want teachers who accept a challenge to be the best they can be on a daily basis. You want
teachers to be facilitators of learning opportunities for students. You want students to
experience meaningful personal growth every day. You also want to involve the community in
the learning process, because there are many community resources that can be utilized to
promote growth throughout a school.

School Mission Statement

Vision has to be implemented in small steps. If you approach it as one large step, then it will not
only be overwhelming, but it will overwhelm your faculty, staff, and students. It is important to
take the necessary steps for change one at a time within the school mission. The first thing you
have to do is to sell your vision to the teachers and get them to invest in it. Once they truly buy
into your plan, then they can help you carry out the rest of the vision. You want every teacher
to believe that each second of the school day centers around what is best for every student.
Once they are sold on that concept, then together you will be able to create a society of
learners. You have to do the same thing within the outside community. You have to go out and
sell them on the fact that they can be a significant part of the learning process in the school.
Once community members realize they can have an impact on students that they will climb on
board as well.

it is necessary that you always protect yourself and follow the set guidelines and policies for
handling finances.

School Community
As a principal, it is necessary to establish a sense of community within and around your building
site. A sense of community will promote growth among all members of your school community
which includes administrators, teachers, support staff, students,parents, businesses, and all tax
payers within the district. It is beneficial to include every aspect of a community within the daily
school life. Too many times we only focus on the community inside the building, when the
outside community has many positive rewards that they can offer that will benefit you, your
teachers, and your students. It is necessary to implement strategies to use outside resources for
your school to be successful. It is essential to have such strategies in place to make sure that
the entire community is involved with the education of your students.

Effective School Leadership

Effective School is transcended through qualities that enable an individual to step to the
forefront of a situation and take command by overseeing, delegating, and providing guidance.
As a principal, you want to be the kind of leader that people trust and respect, but that does
not come through a title alone. It is something that you will earn with time and hard work. If
you expect to gain the respect of my teachers, students, staff, etc., you have to give respect
first. That is why it is important as a leader to have an attitude of servitude. That does not mean
that you allow people to step all over you or do their job, but you make yourself readily
available to help people out should the need arise. By doing this, you set up a basis for success
as a building principal because the people under you are more likely to accept changes,
solutions, and advice if they respect you.

As a leader, it is also crucial for you to be prepared to make tough decisions that go against the
grain. There are going to be times when it is necessary to make these types of decisions. As a
leader, you have a responsibility to make choices based upon what is best for your students. It
is important to realize that you will step on people’s toes and that some will be angry with you.
Know that if it is best for the students, then you have a rational reason for making those
decisions. When making a tough decision, then believe that you have earned enough respect
that the majority of your decisions are not questioned. However, as a leader you should be
prepared to defend a decision if it has the best interest of your students in mind.

As a leader, it is also crucial for you to be prepared to make tough decisions that go against the
grain. There are going to be times when it is necessary to make these types of decisions. As a
leader, you have a responsibility to make choices based upon what is best for your students. It
is important to realize that you will step on people’s toes and that some will be angry with you.
Know that if it is best for the students, then you have a rational reason for making those
decisions. When making a tough decision, then believe that you have earned enough respect
that the majority of your decisions are not questioned. However, as a leader you should be
prepared to defend a decision if it has the best interest of your students in mind.

Education and Legislation

As a principal, you should realize the importance of adhering to all laws governing the school
including federal, state, and local school board policy. If you do not follow the law, then
understand that you could be held liable and/or insubordinate for your actions. You cannot
expect your faculty, staff, and students to follow my rules and regulations if you in turn are not
willing to follow the rules and regulations set for you to follow. You can only trust that there is
compelling reason for a specific law or policy to be put in place, but realize that you must follow
it accordingly. However, if you believe that a policy is detrimental to your students, then work
to do anything in your power to have the policy rewritten or thrown out. You will still adhere to
that policy until that happens. It is also necessary to check before reacting. If there is a topic
that you do not have a lot of knowledge about, then I need to consult other administrator,
lawyers, or legal guides before you address that issue. If you value your job and care about the
students under your care, then you will always remain within the confines of what is legal.

Principal Duties
A principal has two main tasks that their day should revolve around. The first of these principal
duties is to provide an atmosphere that promotes high amounts of learning on a daily basis. The
second is to advance the quality of the daily activities for each person within the school. All of
your tasks should be prioritized based on seeing those two things take place. If those are your
priorities, then you will have happy and enthusiastic people in the building that are teaching or
learning on a daily basis.

Special Needs Education

Understanding the importance of special needs education is vital to a school administrator. As a
principal it is essential to know and care about the legal guidelines established by Public Law
94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1973, and other such laws. You also
need to make sure that all of those laws are being carried out within your building and that
every student is given fair treatment based upon theirIEP. It is critical that you make the
students who are being served by special education relevant and that you value their learning
as much as any other student in your building. It is equally pertinent to work with the special
education teachers in your building hands-on and be willing to assist them with any problems,
struggles, or questions that may arise

Teaching Evaluation
The teaching evaluation process is a significant part of a school administrator's job. The
evaluation of teachers is an ongoing assessment and supervision of what is going on within and
around an administrator’s school facility. This process should not take place on a one or two
time basis, but should be something that is done either formally or informally every day.
Administrators should have a clear idea of what is going on in their buildings and within each
individual classroom at all times. This is not possible without constant monitoring.

When you supervise and evaluate teachers you want to enter their classroom with the idea that
they are an effective teacher. This is essential because you want to build on the positive aspects
of their teaching ability. However, understand that there are going to be areas in which every
teacher can improve. One of your goals should be to build a relationship with each member of
your faculty where you can comfortably offer them advice and ideas on how to improve in
areas where refinement is needed. You should encourage your staff continuously to look for
better ways and be ongoing in their pursuit of quality education for all students. An important
part of supervision is to motivate your staff to improve in every area of teaching. You also want
to have a large quantity of resources and strategies available in areas where teachers might
want or need assistance.

School Atmosphere
Administrators should create a school atmosphere of respect among all administrators,
teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members. If mutual respect is truly
present among all players within a school community, then student learning will be increased
substantially. An important concept in this theory is that respect is a two way street. You have
to respect your teachers, but they also have to respect you. With mutual respect, your goals
will line up, and you can proceed with doing what is best for the students. An atmosphere of
respect is conduciveo student learning at a greater rate and at a higher level.

A principal should work to build a positive school structure and environment. Learning can

occur under a variety of circumstances and conditions. Understand that what works best in one
place will not always work in another. As an administrator, you will have to get a feel of a
particular building before you change the structure of it. On the other hand, you know that
significant changes often promote strong resistance towards those changes. If it is the best
alternative for the students, then you should try to implement it. Nevertheless, a change such
as a new grading system should not be done without significant research as to how it will affect
the students.

School Finance
When dealing with school finance as an administrator it is essential that you always follow the
guidelines and laws of the state and district. It is also important to understand the intricacies of
school finance such as ad valorem, passing school bond issues, etc. It is pertinent to receipt any
monies that come into the school immediately and to deposit those monies on a daily basis.
Understand that because money is such a powerful entity that it only takes a small amount of
wrong doing or even the perception of wrong doing to get you fired. Therefore, it is necessary
that you always protect yourself and follow the set guidelines and policies for handling finances