Principals Should Be Instructional Leaders—Not Compliance Managers

Authored by Greg VanHorn, Ph.D.

Most principals entered administration because they wanted to improve teaching and learning. Yet many spend increasing amounts of time ensuring compliance with district requirements instead of coaching teachers and observing classrooms.

District leaders can change this. Every reporting requirement, meeting, or new mandate should be examined through one lens: Does this increase or decrease a principal's ability to improve instruction? The most successful districts intentionally protect principals' instructional leadership time because student achievement improves when principals spend more time developing teachers than managing paperwork.

Read the full article, “Leadership Reflections: Exploring strategies for balancing innovation with implementation capacity in K-12 schools” at https://www.vanhornconsultants.com/resources.