The Principal Factor

Perhaps many of us can remember the terror we felt whenever a teacher threatened to send us to the principal's office. As adults, some of us may still feel intimidated by the person who runs our child's school.

Don't be. First, the principal is not as powerful as you may think he or she is, and second, the principal can be one of your best allies in your fight to change and reform your school. The key is finding the right approach to the school's leader.

However, parents should realize that the job of principal has changed dramatically. With centralized school administrations micromanaging schools and school boards deciding questions of discipline, assessment and teacher quality, principals serve with a lot less autonomy than previously. In addition, collective bargaining agreements can have a grave impact on their ability to hire promising teachers, fire under-achieving ones, and make day-to-day decisions within the walls of the school.

This makes school improvement enormously challenging. Experts concede that strong leadership is the key to an effective school. There are a whole host of new organizations devoted precisely to that task, such as New Leaders for New Schools, that have found that the difference between a really good school and a bad one often comes down to leadership, particularly in more disadvantaged areas.

Though there's no longer need to fear them, don't think good principals are necessarily loveable pushovers. They have restrictions on what they can and cannot do, but strong leaders are often willing to bend rules and make accommodations for children that many schools may never consider. If you have one of these principals, strike a partnership and work together to back their action. If you have a less than enthusiastic principal, you may have to work slowly to determine whether working together you can effect change.

Other tips for parents include:

• Build a relationship with the principal. Make an appointment, stop by to say hello, and be sure to connect your child with the principal.
   
• Make yourself a known entity in the school. Be willing to take on responsibility or even leadership of a project or committee. If you can't, just make sure you make your presence known when you can.
   
• While maintaining an open attitude, recognize that unresolved issues may have a lot to do the absence of the right kind of leadership skills. Sometimes parents have to weigh in with higher school officials if they have repeated concerns that the principal is not good for the institution.
   
• For the less serious issues, if you have questions about how to talk to a principal or have a concern about your child's education, visit the National Association of Elementary School Principals at www.naesp.org.