Publications

Blog post Jon Schmidt-DavisSREB Senior Research Associate

The Eisenhower Matrix: A Tool to Help School Leaders Focus Their Time

The Eisenhower Matrix can help busy leaders make the most of their limited time to get things done. During World War II the matrix helped General Dwight Eisenhower plan and carry out the most complex military operation in history, the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He used it as a tool to ensure that he spent his time on the right work.

Blog post Jon Schmidt-DavisDirector, SREB Learning-Centered Leadership Program
Michelle Lampert

Unsung Heroes of America’s Schools
Assistant principals are critical to school success

Assistant principals supervise the hallways and the lunchrooms. They observe teachers and coordinate testing. They serve as the first line of response for discipline referrals, guide wayward students with humor and compassion — and do their best to make their principals look good.

It’s a lot, but most assistant principals truly love their jobs and know that what they do is critical to their school’s success.

Blog post By Jon Schmidt-Davis

Highly Qualified Turnaround Leaders Emerge in Florida

The Florida Turnaround Leaders Program is a big hit in Florida that will ultimately result in better principals, better schools, and higher-performing students. “This program has provided the best professional development I have ever experienced in my 25 years as an educator,” said one participant.

Publication Jon Schmidt-Davis 201244 Pages(12V10)

Turnaround High School Principals
Recruit, Prepare and Empower Leaders of Change

The publication takes an in-depth look at the kinds of principals required to turn around the lowest-performing 5 to 10 percent of public high schools in America. Schools stuck at the bottom of the performance chart need first-rate principals with the motivation, vision, skill and commitment to make dramatic improvements in schools and student achievement. The report describes how we can identify, prepare and support these turnaround principals.

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Publication August 201064 Pages(10V16)

The Three Essentials
Improving Schools Requires District Vision, District and State Support, and Principal Leadership

This report describes the findings of SREB’s study of the role of the district office in creating the working conditions that principals need to improve teacher effectiveness and student performance. The Three Essentials of school improvement described in the report emerged from close observations of the inner workings of seven school districts, as SREB’s Learning-Centered Leadership Program sought to answer this essential question: What are the conditions school districts can create that make it possible for principals to be more effective in leading school improvement?

Publication Jon Schmidt-Davis 201152 Pages(11V19)

Who’s Next?
Let's Stop Gambling on School Performance and Plan for Principal Succession

Each year, more than 18,000 principals in our nation’s public schools leave their jobs. Decades of school leadership research make it clear that these vacancies must be filled immediately and must be filled with school leaders who have the strength of character, the knowledge about learning and the leadership savvy to thrive in what is arguably education’s most challenging job. But who is next?

Publication June 201040 pages(10V14)

School Leadership Change Emerging in Alabama
Results of the Governor’s Congress on School Leadership

In 2004, Alabama Governor Bob Riley and State Superintendent Joseph B. Morton convened the Governor’s Congress on School Leadership to transform the state’s framework for educational leadership and provide Alabama’s schools with leaders who can improve instruction and achievement. This report outlines the ways in which Alabama has changed school leadership throughout the state, presents university and district partners’ perspectives on the reform, and provides recommendations for further reform to continue improving school leadership in Alabama.

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