Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Principal as Instructional Leader
Certificate Standards. The knowledge and skills identified in this section must
be used by an educator preparation program (EPP) in the development of
curricula and coursework and by the State Board for Educator Certification as
the basis for developing the examinations required to obtain the standard
Principal as Instructional Leader certificate. The standards also serve as the
foundation for the individual assessment, professional growth plan, and
continuing professional education activities required by §
241.30 of this title (relating to
Requirements to Renew the Standard Principal as Instructional Leader
Certificate).
(b) School Culture.
The principal:
(1) ensures that a positive,
collaborative, and collegial school culture facilitates and enhances the
implementation of campus initiatives and the achievement of campus
goals;
(2) uses emerging issues,
recent research, demographic data, knowledge of systems, campus climate
inventories, student learning data, and other information to collaboratively
develop a shared campus vision;
(3)
facilitates the collaborative development of a plan in which objectives and
strategies to implement the campus vision are clearly articulated;
(4) supports the implementation of the campus
vision by aligning financial, human, and material resources;
(5) establishes processes to assess and
modify the plan of implementation to ensure achievement of the campus
vision;
(6) acknowledges,
recognizes, and celebrates the contributions of students, staff, parents, and
community members toward the realization of the campus vision;
(7) models and promotes the continuous and
appropriate development of all learners, including faculty and staff, in the
campus community;
(8) uses
strategies to ensure the development of collegial relationships and effective
collaboration of campus staff;
(9)
develops and uses effective conflict-management and consensus-building
skills;
(10) establishes and
communicates consistent expectations for staff and students, providing
supportive feedback to ensure a positive campus environment;
(11) implements effective strategies to
systematically gather input from all campus stakeholders, supporting innovative
thinking and an inclusive culture;
(12) creates an atmosphere of safety that
encourages the social, emotional, and physical well-being of staff and students
and creates an inclusive school environment; and
(13) ensures that parents and other members
of the community are an integral part of the campus culture and fosters parent
involvement.
(c) Leading
Learning. The principal:
(1) creates a campus
culture that sets high expectations, promotes learning, and provides
intellectual stimulation for self, students, and staff;
(2) prioritizes instruction and student
achievement by understanding, sharing, and promoting a clear definition of
high-quality instruction based on best practices from recent
research;
(3) routinely monitors
and improves instruction by visiting classrooms, engaging in formative,
evidence-based appraisal processes and conferences with teachers, and attending
grade or team meetings;
(4)
facilitates the use of sound research-based practice in the development and
implementation of campus curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular
programs to fulfill academic, developmental, social, and cultural needs,
including the needs of students with disabilities;
(5) facilitates campus participation in
collaborative school district planning, implementation, monitoring, and
curriculum revision to ensure appropriate scope, sequence, content, and
alignment;
(6) implements a
rigorous curriculum aligned with state standards, including college and career
readiness standards;
(7) analyzes
the curriculum to ensure that teachers align content across grades and that
curricular scopes and sequences meet the particular needs of their diverse
student populations, including curriculum and instruction management for
students with disabilities;
(8)
monitors and ensures staff uses multiple forms of student data to inform
instruction and intervention decisions to maximize instructional effectiveness
and student achievement;
(9)
ensures that effective instruction maximizes growth of individual students and
student groups, supports equity, and eliminates the achievement gap;
(10) ensures staff have the capacity and time
to collaboratively and individually use classroom formative and summative
assessment data to inform effective instructional practices and interventions;
and
(11) facilitates the use and
integration of technology, telecommunications, and information systems that
enhance learning.
(d)
Human Capital. The principal:
(1) invests and
manages time to prioritize the development, support, and supervision of the
staff to enhance student outcomes;
(2) ensures all staff have clear expectations
that guide them and by which they are assessed, including the use of and
familiarity with evidence-based appraisal rubrics, where applicable;
(3) uses data from multiple points of the
year to complete accurate appraisals of all staff, using evidence from regular
observations, student data, and other sources to evaluate the effectiveness of
teachers and staff;
(4) coaches and
develops educators by conducting conferences, giving individualized feedback,
and supporting individualized professional growth opportunities;
(5) facilitates the campus's professional
learning community to review data, processes, and policies in order to improve
teaching and learning in the school;
(6) creates opportunities for effective staff
to take on a variety of leadership roles and appropriately delegates
responsibilities to staff and administrators on the leadership team;
(7) collaboratively develops, implements, and
revises a comprehensive and on-going plan for professional development of
campus staff that addresses staff needs based on staff appraisal trends, goals,
and student information;
(8)
ensures the effective implementation of a continuum of professional development
by the appropriate allocation of time, funding, and other needed
resources;
(9) implements
effective, legal, and appropriate strategies for the recruitment, selection,
assignment, and induction of campus staff; and
(10) plans for and adopts early hiring
practices.
(e) Executive
Leadership. The principal:
(1) reflects on
his or her practice, seeks and acts on feedback, and strives to continually
improve, learn, and grow;
(2)
engages in ongoing and meaningful professional growth activities to further
develop knowledge and skills and to model lifelong learning;
(3) uses strong communication skills,
understands how to communicate a message in different ways to meet the needs of
various audiences, and develops and implements strategies for effective
internal and external communications;
(4) develops and implements a comprehensive
program of community relations, which uses strategies that will effectively
involve and inform multiple constituencies;
(5) establishes partnerships with parents,
businesses, and other groups in the community to strengthen programs and
support campus goals;
(6)
demonstrates awareness of social and economic issues that exist within the
school and community that could impact campus operations and student
learning;
(7) gathers and organizes
information from a variety of sources for use in creative and effective campus
decision making;
(8) frames,
analyzes, and creatively resolves campus problems using effective
problem-solving techniques to make timely, high-quality decisions;
(9) develops, implements, and evaluates
change processes for organizational effectiveness;
(10) uses effective planning, time
management, and organization of work to maximize attainment of school district
and campus goals; and
(11) keeps
staff inspired and focused on the campus vision while supporting effective
change management.
(f)
Strategic Operations. The principal:
(1)
assesses current campus needs, reviewing a wide set of evidence to determine
the campus's priorities, and sets ambitious and measurable school goals,
targets, and strategies that form the campus's strategic plan;
(2) outlines and tracks meaningful goals,
targets, and strategies aligned to a school vision that continuously improves
teacher effectiveness and student outcomes;
(3) allocates resources effectively (e.g.,
staff time, dollars, and tools), aligning them to the school priorities and
goals, and works to access additional resources as needed to support
learning;
(4) establishes
structures to regularly monitor multiple data points with leadership teams to
evaluate progress toward goals, adjusting strategies to improve
effectiveness;
(5) implements
appropriate management techniques and group processes to define roles, assign
functions, delegate authority, and determine accountability for campus goal
attainment;
(6) implements
strategies that enable the physical plant, equipment, and support systems to
operate safely, efficiently, and effectively to maintain a conducive learning
environment;
(7) applies local,
state, and federal laws and policies to support sound decisions while
considering implications related to all school operations and
programs;
(8) collaboratively plans
and effectively manages the campus budget;
(9) uses technology to enhance school
management;
(10) facilitates the
effective coordination of campus curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular
programs in relation to each other and other school district programs;
and
(11) collaborates with district
staff to implement district policies and advocates for the needs of district
students and staff.
(g)
Ethics, Equity, and Diversity. The principal:
(1) implements policies and procedures that
encourage all campus personnel to comply with Chapter 247 of this title
(relating to Educators' Code of Ethics);
(2) models and promotes the highest standard
of conduct, ethical principles, and integrity in decision making, actions, and
behaviors;
(3) ensures that reports
of educator misconduct, including inappropriate relationships between educators
and students, are properly reported so appropriate investigations can be
conducted;
(4) models and promotes
the continuous and appropriate development of all learners in the campus
community;
(5) ensures all students
have access to effective educators and continuous learning
opportunities;
(6) promotes
awareness and appreciation of diversity throughout the campus
community;
(7) implements special
campus programs to ensure that all students are provided quality, flexible
instructional programs and services to meet individual student needs, including
instructional and curricular supports for students with disabilities;
(8) articulates the importance of education
in creating engaged citizens in a free democratic society;
(9) communicates productively with all
audiences through strong communication skills and understands how to
communicate a message in different ways to meet the needs of various audiences;
and
(10) treats all members of the
community with respect and develops strong, positive relationships with them to
create an inclusive school environment.