New York Times: “Good Leaders Make Good Schools”

An op-ed by columnist David Brooks in The New York Times, Good Leaders Make Good Schools, delves into the role of the principal in school improvement. It quotes a major Wallace-commissioned research report, whose authors say they “have not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the absence of talented leadership.”

Brooks’  piece includes a link to a Wallace-written report containing the story of how Kentucky educator  Dewey Hensley successfully led improvements at a high-poverty school in Louisville.  It also highlights pioneering work in Chicago and New Orleans.

To learn more about innovative school leadership efforts, see also:

• The Illinois Story, a video highlighting a state, district, university, and school collaboration to attract and retain a core of effective principals.
• The Principal Pipeline Podcast, offering lessons from practitioners who are building strong principal pipelines. 
• Pipeline Pipelines: A Job That Urban Districts Can Do, describing considerations for districts and states interested in building principal pipelines.