Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
Blog Posts, and Publications
Redefining the Role of the Principal: Innovative Approaches to Empower School Leaders
School leadership ranks among the most influential factors in student learning. Yet, principals contend with complex challenges every day, including teacher shortages, student well-being and safety concerns, resource constraints, and much more. It’s no surprise they are reporting unprecedented levels of job-related stress. To position principals to overcome these obstacles and reach their full potential as leaders, we must adopt a fresh perspective on how they are prepared, supported, and developed.Our paper examines how five districts and states are empowering principals to focus on the leadership work only they can do—cultivate positive school climates and deliver rigorous academic experiences for every student:
Evaluate Principal Readiness Through Authentic Tasks Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Increase Principals’ Capacity to Focus on Strategic Priorities District of Columbia Public Schools
Design Responsive Principal Professional Development Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Develop Differentiated Professional Learning for Principals Long Beach Unified School District
Support Principals with Content Specialists Tulsa Public Schools
This publication is the second in a series that explores how education leaders can update the role of the principal to better meet the needs of our current context. The first paper, Rethinking the Role of the Principal, outlines six school and district-level shifts to make the principalship more impactful and sustainable. The final paper will examine how policymakers can support the role of the principal.
Rethinking the Role of the Principal offers actions that education leaders can take for the role of the principal and district systems to make the role more impactful and sustainable, starting with alignment to a vision and research for school leadership to better serve students, schools, and society.
School leadership ranks among the most influential factors in student learning. Yet, principals contend with complex challenges every day, including teacher shortages, student well-being and safety concerns, resource constraints, and much more. It’s no surprise they are reporting unprecedented levels of job-related stress. To position principals to overcome these obstacles and reach their full potential as leaders, we must adopt a fresh perspective on how they are prepared, supported, and developed.Our paper examines how five districts and states are empowering principals to focus on the leadership work only they can do—cultivate positive school climates and deliver rigorous academic experiences for every student: