a good principal essay

Essay on Principal

Students are often asked to write an essay on Principal in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Principal

Role of a principal.

The principal is the backbone of a school, guiding its academic and cultural journey. They oversee the school’s operations, curricula, and staff, ensuring a positive and enriching environment for students.

Principal’s Responsibilities

A principal’s responsibilities are vast. They include setting educational goals, hiring and managing staff, and interacting with parents and community members. Their role is pivotal in shaping a school’s ethos.

Impact of a Principal

A good principal can transform a school. They can improve academic performance, encourage student participation, and foster a culture of respect and inclusivity. Their leadership directly influences the school’s success.

250 Words Essay on Principal

The role of a principal.

The principal, often seen as the linchpin of an educational institution, is tasked with the responsibility of steering the school towards its mission. They shape the educational ethos, fostering a conducive environment for holistic learning.

Academic Leadership

A principal’s primary function is to provide academic leadership. They set high educational standards, develop curriculum, and establish performance objectives. They are instrumental in creating an environment that nurtures intellectual curiosity and critical thinking.

Administrative Duties

Beyond academics, the principal’s role extends to administrative duties. They are responsible for managing budgets, ensuring safety regulations, and overseeing daily operations. They also act as the liaison between the school and the community, government bodies, and parents.

Building Relationships

A principal’s effectiveness lies in their ability to build and maintain relationships. They need to connect with students, staff, and parents, fostering a sense of community. This involves understanding diverse perspectives, resolving conflicts, and promoting a culture of respect and inclusivity.

Professional Development

Principals play a significant role in the professional development of teachers. They encourage continuous learning, provide constructive feedback, and recognize outstanding performance. This not only improves teaching quality but also contributes to a positive school culture.

Challenges and Opportunities

The role of a principal is multifaceted and challenging. It requires a balance of educational expertise, managerial skills, and emotional intelligence. However, it also presents opportunities to make a profound impact on students’ lives and shape the future of education.

In conclusion, a principal’s role is pivotal in the functioning of a school. Their leadership guides the institution towards achieving its educational goals, making them the cornerstone of the academic community.

500 Words Essay on Principal

Introduction.

The role of a principal in an educational institution is pivotal, serving as the connecting link between students, teachers, staff, parents, and the broader community. The principal’s leadership and management skills directly influence the quality of education and the overall school environment.

The Multifaceted Role of a Principal

A principal’s role is multifaceted, encompassing administrative, pedagogical, and community-building aspects. Administratively, they are responsible for managing the school’s resources, setting and implementing policies, and ensuring compliance with educational standards and regulations. Pedagogically, they oversee curriculum development, teacher training, and student performance. They also play a significant role in fostering a positive and inclusive school culture, promoting student welfare, and maintaining strong ties with parents and the community.

Leadership and Vision

One of the principal’s most crucial roles is setting a vision for the school and leading its realization. This vision should align with the educational philosophy, societal demands, and the unique needs of the student body. The principal must inspire and motivate teachers and students to strive towards this vision, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and unity.

Building a Strong Educational Environment

Principals play a significant role in shaping the school’s educational environment. They must create an atmosphere that encourages learning and intellectual curiosity, while also promoting social, emotional, and physical well-being. This involves developing effective teaching strategies, creating supportive learning spaces, and implementing programs that address diverse learning needs.

Championing Professional Development

A principal is also a mentor and a coach to the teaching staff. By encouraging professional development, they ensure that teachers are equipped with the latest pedagogical skills and knowledge. This not only enhances the quality of teaching but also contributes to teacher satisfaction and retention.

Engaging the Community

Community engagement is another important aspect of a principal’s role. By fostering strong relationships with parents and community members, principals can create a supportive network around the school. This engagement can take many forms, from parent-teacher meetings to community service projects, and contributes to a sense of shared ownership and mutual respect.

In conclusion, the role of a principal is complex and demanding, requiring a balance of administrative acumen, educational expertise, leadership skills, and community engagement. As the backbone of the school, the principal’s effectiveness directly impacts the quality of education and the overall school environment. Therefore, recognizing and supporting the essential role of principals is crucial for the success of any educational institution.

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A blog of people and ideas that seeks to ensure that gains from emerging innovations — the work of the future — contribute to equality of opportunity, social inclusion, and shared prosperity., qualities of highly effective school principals.

The Qualities of a Great Principal

Behind every great teacher is a great principal. In fact, principals are the most important factor in attracting and retaining high-quality teachers . A teacher impacts learning in one classroom, while principals influence high-quality instruction schoolwide. Some principals see consistent gains in their schools while others see pockets of excellence. What accounts for these differences?

In the past 20 years, New Leaders has trained 8,000 equity-focused leaders who impact over 2 million students in our K-12 system every year. We’ve seen first-hand what it takes to be a great principal. Our Transformational Leadership Framework™ identifies key leadership actions that drive sustainable school improvement, regardless of school size, location, or student demographics. And our alumni bring these practices to life in their schools each day.  

In honor of National Principals Month, here’s what we know—and what research confirms—to be the qualities of a transformational school leader:

A relentless focus on teaching and learning

It all starts with a vision of instructional excellence and academic success for all students. Many studies, including over a decade of Wallace Foundation-supported research , tell us that great principals have a laser-like focus on the instructional quality in the schools that they lead. Effective school leaders have a data-informed understanding of what's driving success for their students and encourage collaboration to move towards their vision. They know what’s going on in classrooms and can differentiate teacher support accordingly.

Effective principals zero in on equity. They promote a mindset in their staff that all children are capable of learning at high levels. They also ensure the curriculum is both academically rigorous and culturally responsive. And they remain resilient in the face of adversity, removing barriers to student success.

A high-expectations school culture

When leaders have high expectations of staff and students, they instill the confidence and agency needed to strive for higher levels of performance. Working together, they create a learning environment in which everyone feels safe, valued, cared for, and seen.

The first step to building a high-expectations culture and shared accountability? It all comes back to that vision of student achievement and learning for all students. From there, great principals define the values, expectations, and support that staff members need to realize their belief that all students can learn. This leads to our next point.

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Exceptional teacher support and shared leadership

Teachers play an important role in carrying out the vision. Great principals share leadership with their teams. In turn, teachers become more engaged, fulfilled, productive, and effective. New Leaders alum Felipe Jackson, reflecting on the impact of leaning on his team during the pandemic , explains: “What I realized is that the more I gave my team opportunities to lead and be a part of the process, the more I knew we were going to be okay.”

Great principals build and nurture trusting relationships when they have high expectations of teachers and communicate with them on a regular basis. To build more trust and motivate teachers, great school leaders prioritize coaching and provide constructive feedback in a timely manner. When feedback is consistent, frequent, specific, and actionable, the impact on teacher growth—and student learning—is much greater.

Great principals share leadership with their teams. In turn, teachers become more engaged, fulfilled, productive, and effective.

Self-reflection, passion and continuous growth

This is where the heart of the transformational leader lies. The secret sauce. The X-factor. Whatever you call it, it is cultivated when leaders remain focused on their vision and also dedicate time to reflect on their own practice and then move forward differently .

Personal leadership is further demonstrated when principals lead by example and gain the respect of their team. You can improve your personal leadership, no matter your role, by taking small actions to model the behaviors you’d like to see, even if it’s as simple as asking a student how they are doing on a given day. Great leaders gain respect by keeping students at the core of decision-making, remaining consistent, and communicating the reasoning behind their decisions.

Leadership is also synonymous with learning. The University of San Diego puts it well when they describe that the best leaders are “ humble in their knowledge, yet confident in their abilities .” A successful school leader is always pushing past personal boundaries to continue to learn and grow, which couldn’t be a better behavior to model for staff and students.

The structures for success

Great principals put the appropriate systems into place to achieve their vision. This includes systems that support teacher growth, distribute resources equitably, and create decision making processes that honor all voices. Great principals also keep their eye on school performance, working to convert pockets of excellence into schoolwide excellence. Systemizing collaboration, for instance, ensures that teachers are sharing best instructional practices. This positively impacts instructional quality and student achievement across the school.  

The qualities of a great principal share a common thread: they don’t work without a vision.

Commitment to the vision

After Hurricane Katrina, students were displaced across the country and many had fallen behind. Some standout principals, like New Leaders alum Karen Bryan-Chambers, led post-Katrina school communities to rapid success despite the circumstances. When asked what could be attributed to her student gains , Bryan-Chambers didn’t hesitate. “Our vision drove our work...we believed that it was the responsibility of every adult in our school to make sure our students achieved. Together, we did whatever it took to make that vision a reality for our children.”

The qualities of a great principal share a common thread: they don’t work without a vision. Without a vision, a leader doesn’t have the people. Leadership is hard work. It’s a lifelong journey. But when principals hold tightly to their vision and inspire others to get behind it, the rest falls into place with time and practice.

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What Makes a Great Principal?

Great principals lead effective schools. Under their leadership, teachers thrive, students engage with core content and school administrative functions run smoothly. Conventional wisdom recognizes the value of school principals, and research backs it up. A report by the National Association of Elementary School Principals found that, of the most important factors affecting students’ academic achievement, leadership comes second only to instruction.

This finding makes sense as principals serve as the head of their schools, and their decisions affect school culture , parent involvement and overall community satisfaction. The level of influence a principal possesses, along with the benefits that can accompany the position, make it a post that many motivated educators aspire to hold. Not everyone has what it takes to execute the job effectively, however. Serving as a principal requires specific skills and characteristics that positively affect the school as a whole.

The Importance of a School Principal

Before considering the qualities of a great principal, it’s important to realize just how vital a principal’s role really is. Research published in the Hechinger Report showed that school principals account for 25% of students’ academic gains, and only teacher effectiveness had a greater impact. Researchers now believe that what makes a great principal also makes a great school. Setting clear direction, mentorship and investment in professional development – these things matter in the classroom, at the school level and at the district level.

An article written by The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement stated that leadership’s effects show the greatest impact in the areas where they are most needed. A troubled school, for example, is unlikely to turn around without an effective leader’s guidance. Increasing awareness of a school principal’s influence on student and teacher performance is reshaping how educational leaders and thinkers view school reform.

Rigorous testing, with its system of teacher-directed rewards and punishment, is being replaced by a growing consensus that the key to school reform lies in effective leadership. Districts and private schools are recruiting top-quality educational leaders and empowering them to create the educational changes the public demands. As leadership expert John Maxwell famously put it, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Since the evidence suggests this is as true in schools as it is in businesses and nonprofits, educators now have to ask, What makes a great principal? 

The 7 Priorities of a Great Principal

1. Collaboration

A great principal fosters a collaborative school culture. Education consultant Steve Barkley has identified six distinctive school cultures , three of which – toxic, fragmented and balkanized –clearly emerge from and perpetuate organizational dysfunction.

Another of the six cultures, contrived-collegial culture, enforces collaboration from the top down, which may be necessary in an organizational transition, but without teacher buy-in, forced collaboration rarely works in the long term. Instead, a truly collaborative school culture emphasizes working together within the common framework of strong educational values. The goal of a collaborative school culture is effective instruction, and great principals engender this kind of culture in their schools. 

2. Listening

Traditional models of leadership focus on a single charismatic leader who tells others what to do, but contemporary leaders listen to the people around them, consider a variety of ideas and then make their decisions. Great principals spend time listening to students, teachers, parents, other administrators and educational researchers.

This kind of listening goes beyond simply paying attention while others talk. It requires understanding a speaker’s motivations, listening for what they are not saying and asking powerful questions.

Be A Great Principal

Learn what it takes to be a great principal with East Central’s Online Master’s in Educational Leadership. This program will help you gain the confidence and skills necessary to carry out your new responsibilities effectively.

3. Leadership

When asked what makes a great principal, many teachers and parents may give their answer with a single word: leadership. Though definitions of leadership vary, their common thread is influence . A principal holds a title, and with it, the authority to implement their will on teachers and students. However, a great principal uses influence, as opposed to demands, to illicit the desired behaviors and attitudes from their team and students. People follow an effective leader because they want to, not just because they have to.

4. Visibility

Effective principals make it a priority to spend time in the classroom, the lunchroom, the hallway, the bus line and the main office. Essentially, they get out of the office. This approach used to be called management by walking around, or MBWA.

By simply walking around their workplaces, leaders can glean a lot from observing their team, resources, student behavior and how teachers respond to students in formal and non-formal settings. An article in Forbes said, “Companies (and schools) could benefit significantly if senior leaders would get out more — get away from their offices, the unnecessary meetings and the power lunches and see what’s going on elsewhere in the organization.”

5. Relationships

Nearly everyone wants to maintain relationships with other people, but meaningful relationships go deeper than maintaining. They have purpose. To build meaningful relationships, great leaders need to know how to set and respond to relational boundaries. They don’t isolate themselves or let their teachers hunker down in their classrooms all alone. But they also don’t force all teachers to act or teach alike.

Great principals establish high, reasonable and clear expectations that don’t keep teachers guessing. This approach creates trust, allowing teachers to be comfortable with taking ideas or problems to the principal. By creating meaningful relationships with parents and students, principals can often curtail problems or conflicts before they begin. In so doing, these principals keep teachers from having to manage too many emotionally draining situations on top of their regular work.

Many classroom educators leave the profession every year because they feel unsupported by their administrators. There’s even a saying: “teachers quit principals, not schools.”

Research backs that up. An article published by the Brookings Institution said great principals do an exemplary job of retaining effective teachers , but not ineffective ones. The article went on to say that the best principals practiced “strategic retention.” A great principal must be abile to discern between high- and low-performing teachers. They must be able to create an environment in which high performers flourish and low performers can grow and improve.

7. Learning

Great principals never stop learning. Common sense dictates that the best educators and leaders are also lifelong learners. Research from the National Education Association (NEA) revealed the same thing. According to the NEA’s landmark report, Great Teaching and Learning , educators can take charge of their professional development through a specific series of steps. They start by taking an initial self-assessment, setting career growth goals, working toward those goals and finally conducting a post-activity self-assessment.

For a principal, working toward a career growth goal might mean conducting and publishing research in an academic journal or assuming a leadership position in an educational or community organization. Teachers who aspire to serve as great principals can also set ongoing learning goals, such as obtaining additional formal education through an online master’s degree in educational leadership . This kind of advanced degree prepares teachers to transition out of the classroom and into administrative roles.

The online Master of Education in Educational Leadership program from East Central University will help you gain the confidence and skills necessary to carry out your new responsibilities effectively. Our program was designed with working teachers in mind, and because of the online format, its flexible to fit around your busy schedule.

Academic Degrees , Career Tips , Choosing a Job , Education Degree News

What Qualities Make A Great Principal?

Updated: February 8, 2024

Published: April 23, 2021

Principals are to schools as CEOs are to businesses. This means that their leadership has a great impact on the success of the institution. Principals play a large role in how students, administrators, and teachers go about their day-to-day academic activities. Knowing what makes a great principal helps pave the way to success.

We’ll touch on the impact of a principal, why relationships are so important, and the top qualities that make a principal outstanding.

The Impact of a Principal

Second only to teacher effectiveness, school principals have been shown to account for 25% of students’ academic growth. 

This is because a principal serves as the top leader for an academic institution, by which all policies and attitudes stem from. A principal impacts the direction of a school, involvement in professional development, mentorship , and leadership.

A principal is often responsible for overseeing all administrative tasks, supervising and hiring teachers, planning academic calendars, creating school policies, designing programs, managing the budget, and disciplining unruly students. The decisions of a principal are both large and small. As such, it’s easy to see how a principal impacts all functioning within a school.

Why Relationships Mean So Much

Every day, a principal has to communicate with lots of people. Being good at building and maintaining relationships, as well as having strong communication skills, is a non-negotiable for a principal to possess. Principals work with other administrators, staff, teachers, students, community members, and parents.

Oftentimes, principals are approached with big problems that need solutions. Having to deal with varying emotions from good to bad, principals have to be open to talking to anyone that needs them.

Top Qualities of a Good Principal

When everything rests on the skills of a leader, it’s best to know what makes a leader skillful. Here are some of the top qualities that good principals should display:

Accept Responsibility

Principals will undoubtedly face both highs and lows. Good principals know how to tackle challenges and accept responsibility when things don’t turn out as planned. This means that they are adaptive and ready to try other solutions if their first approach doesn’t work. Additionally, because principals are at the top of the pyramid, when things fail that wasn’t their own doing, they still have to accept responsibility as the leader.

Promote Collaboration

Schools are made up of many moving parts. Each school has a culture. In the best cases, a principal promotes collaboration between teachers, students, parents, and community members. By working together in support of the educational framework, schools that are collaborative in nature can benefit greatly.

Listen Well

When you think of a leader, it’s all too often that people think of one person who delegates tasks and may boss others around. But contemporary leaders are great listeners. They give time to every person to share their thoughts, feelings, and concerns. Besides just hearing the thoughts of others, they make an effort to incorporate the ideas of others into action. Great principals also ask all the right questions to better understand a contributor’s reasoning.

Get Involved

Good principals are involved in the day-to-day inner workings of their school. They spend time in classrooms, hallways, and the administrative offices to see how things are going. While they need to be in their office to take care of business, they should be visible around the school to show their investment in their team and students.

Build Relationships

Meaningful relationships are rooted in purpose. Principals build relationships with their teachers and students to achieve goals. They are able to clearly communicate expectations, provide actionable feedback, and talk to others without struggle. With strong relationships , principals are privy to problems before they blow out of proportion and can help to keep the school running smoothly.

Offer Support

One of the most crucial characteristics of being a good principal comes down to offering support to staff and students. In many cases, when a teacher feels unsupported, they may quit their job. This isn’t a reflection of the school, but rather the leadership. Principals need to bridge the gap between inefficient and efficient teachers and help guide professional development.

Continue Learning

Successful people tend to be endlessly curious with a strong desire to learn. When it comes to being a principal who wants to continue to learn, this could mean publishing research or taking on a leadership position in a community organization. It could also mean gaining more certifications or enrolling to earn a Master’s Degree in Education , if they don’t already have one.

Celebrate Big and Small Wins

The celebration of victories, both small and large, helps to boost school morale. Celebrating small wins is especially important because it recognizes teachers who are trying their best to help students. For example, a principal can celebrate a teacher who hasn’t missed a day of work or has witnessed a boost in their students’ capabilities.

Develop Leaders

Principals often become mentors for their teachers and students. As a leader, it’s important to give time and guidance to the teachers who have the will to better themselves. The job of a good principal isn’t over once they hire a teacher; in fact, it’s just beginning. Next comes the opportunity to offer advice, help them solve problems, and serve as a guiding light.

Have a Vision

Good principals have goals for their school. Not only do they set up a plan to reach their vision, but they share their vision with others so people can be on the same page. By having a strong vision and approach, good principals can guide their school to greatness.

Good Principals Follow Principles

Good principals are guided by their strong foundations, principles, and desire to achieve greatness. From being strong listeners to investing in their own growth, a principal plays a huge role in how a school is run. Their leadership is one of the most highly cited determinants of a school’s overall success.

Of course, it takes strong teachers and motivated students to do well, but the school’s culture and programs are often decided by the principal at the top.

The aforementioned characteristics are just a few examples of what makes a great school principal. While every principal brings their own style of leadership to their school, these characteristics help to sum up how a principal can go from being mediocre to great.

Related Articles

School Principals as Leaders

Introduction, synthesis of key ideas.

Nowadays, researchers actively discuss the role of a principal as an effective school leader because of the overall tendency to reconsider leadership practices that can contribute to students’ achievements. The Wallace Foundation (2012) presented five critical functions performed by school principals that are associated with their leadership: forming a vision of academic success, creating a positive climate, stimulating leadership in other people, improving instruction, and managing resources to improve performance. However, in spite of formulating these five responsibilities as major ones, it is almost impossible to limit modern school leaders’ roles in educational organizations only to these specific tasks as today they have the potential to serve as transformational leaders and role models for both teachers and students.

From this perspective, school leaders can directly influence the academic achievements of students and support is an important component of a positive climate. Additionally, leaders need to inspire professional communities as they promote the change and effectively manage resources. The purpose of this paper is to discuss why school principals, who focus on performing five key responsibilities, should be viewed from a wider perspective of transformational leadership.

In spite of teachers’ impact on students’ achievements, school principals can have even more influence on others as transformational and visionary leaders indicating a standard level for students and educators and creating a positive atmosphere. According to the report by the Wallace Foundation (2012), “developing a shared vision around standards, and success for all students is an essential element of school leadership” (p. 6). Furthermore, principals can contribute to changing a school climate to a positive one in order to promote learning through avoiding teacher isolation, negativism, and creating a welcoming environment (The Wallace Foundation, 2012).

As a result, a leader in a school can serve as a role model for teachers to know what standards to follow and for students in terms of identifying paths to success. The current tendency of referring to principals as influential leaders make them responsible agents in improving diverse students’ learning in an appropriate environment.

Principals as leaders are expected to stimulate leadership in others and inspire professional communities, creating change in instructions and effectively managing available resources. Thus, “Principals play a major role in developing a ‘professional community’ of teachers who guide one another in improving instruction” (The Wallace Foundation, 2012, p. 7). As a result, leaders create a group of followers around them who can influence the realization of necessary changes in a school environment.

Additionally, effective leaders work to improve instructions and effectively manage data to assess outcomes and propose action steps, supervising changes and inspiring others to act. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that principals as real leaders need to perform even more tasks in order to achieve an effective transformational change in their organization.

Currently, I can assess my progress as a leader positively in relation to the following tasks: creating an appropriate climate for teaching and learning, improving instruction, and managing resources, such as people and data, to reach goals. However, I cannot state that my skills in creating a vision of academic success for all students and promoting leadership in others are developed enough. From this perspective, the areas of improvement I can identify at the current stage are the work on formulating and promoting expectations regarding students’ academic success with reference to diverse children and students with disabilities as I need to research and practice this aspect.

Furthermore, I need to work on building my image of an influential leader who can stimulate the professional development of educators in the context of acting in professional learning communities. To complete these tasks, I can refer to the information from the report by the Wallace Foundation (2012) and determine the areas for further examination and analysis to develop my potential as a leader. Consequently, I will identify other areas that I need to improve in order to perform as an effective educational leader.

The important implications of the discussed report for my practice are that principals are the most influential leaders in the sphere of school education. In addition, a climate viewed as hospitable to learning should be not only adjusted for students’ needs and safe but also supportive to promote students’ positive experiences in interacting with educators. Moreover, it is important to set high expectations for all students in order to guarantee their higher achievements, as is noted in the literature on the problem.

Principals today should be viewed as influential leaders oriented toward changing the organization while promoting more opportunities for students to achieve academic success and for teachers to develop professionally. Although researchers determine five key tasks of a school leader, it is possible to identify even more critical responsibilities. However, to guarantee to achieve success on the path of school leadership, it is necessary to perform these activities: form a vision of academic success for students, create a positive and supportive climate, promote leadership in other educators, improve instruction, and manage people and resources to improve performance. These steps will help principals to develop as effective transformational leaders.

The Wallace Foundation. (2012). The school principal as leader: Guiding schools to better teaching and learning . Web.

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The Role of the Principal in Schools

ThoughtCo / Hilary Allison 

• School Administration
• An Introduction to Teaching
• Tips & Strategies
• Policies & Discipline
• Community Involvement
• Technology in the Classroom
• Teaching Adult Learners
• Issues In Education
• Teaching Resources
• Becoming A Teacher
• Assessments & Tests
• Elementary Education
• Secondary Education
• Special Education
• Homeschooling
• M.Ed., Educational Administration, Northeastern State University
• B.Ed., Elementary Education, Oklahoma State University

The role of the principal covers many different areas including leadership, teacher evaluation, and student discipline . Being an effective principal is hard work and is also time-consuming. A good principal is balanced within all her roles and works hard to ensure that she is doing what she feels is best for all constituents involved. Time is a major limiting factor for every principal. A principal must become efficient at practices such as prioritizing, scheduling, and organization.

School Leader

A school principal is a primary leader in a school building. A good leader always leads by example. A principal should be positive, enthusiastic, have his hand in the day-to-day activities of the school, and listen to what his constituents are saying. An effective leader is available to teachers, staff members, parents, students , and community members. He stays calm in difficult situations, thinks before acting, and puts the needs of the school before himself. An effective principal steps up to fill in holes as needed, even if it isn’t a part of his daily routine.

Student Discipline Chief

A large part of any school principal’s job is to handle student discipline. The first step of having effective student discipline is to ensure that teachers know the expectations. Once they understand how the principal wants them to handle discipline issues, then her job becomes easier. Discipline issues a principal deals with will mostly come from teacher referrals . There are times that this can take a large part of the day.

A good principal will listen to all sides of an issue without jumping to conclusions, collecting as much evidence as she can. Her role in student discipline is much like that of a judge and a jury. A principal decides whether the student is guilty of a disciplinary infraction and what penalty she should enforce. An effective principal always documents discipline issues, makes fair decisions, and informs parents when necessary.

Teacher Evaluator

Most principals also are responsible for evaluating their teachers’ performance following district and state guidelines. An effective school has effective teachers, and the teacher evaluation process is in place to ensure that the teachers are effective. Evaluations should be fair and well documented, pointing out strengths and weaknesses.

A good principal should spend as much time in classrooms as possible. He should gather information every time he visits a classroom, even if it is just for a few minutes. Doing this allows the evaluator to have a larger collection of evidence of what actually goes on in a classroom than a principal who make few visits. A good evaluator always lets his teachers know what his expectations are and then offers suggestions for improvement if they are not being met.

Developer, Implementer, and Evaluator of School Programs

Developing, implementing, and evaluating the programs within the school is another large part of the role as a principal. A principal should always be looking for ways to improve the student experience at school. Developing effective programs that cover a variety of areas is one way to ensure this. It is acceptable to look at other schools in the area and to implement those programs within the principal's school that have proved to be effective elsewhere.

A principal should evaluate school programs every year and tweak them as necessary. If a reading program has become stale and students are not showing much growth, for example, a principal should review the program and make changes as needed to improve it.

Reviewer of Policies and Procedures

An individual school’s governing document is its student handbook. A principal should have his stamp on the handbook. A principal should review, remove, rewrite, or write new policies and procedures every year as needed. Having an effective student handbook can improve the quality of education students receive. It can also make a principal’s job a little easier. The principal’s role is to ensure that students, teachers, and parents know what these policies and procedures are and to hold each individual accountable for following them.

Schedule Setter

Creating schedules every year can be a daunting task. It can take some time to get everything to fall into its proper place. There are many different schedules a principal may be required to create including a bell, teacher duty, computer lab, and library schedule. The principal should cross-check each of those schedules to ensure that no one person has a load that is too heavy

With all the scheduling a principal has to do, it is almost impossible to make everyone happy. For example some teachers like their planning period first thing in the morning and others like it at the end of the day. It is probably best to create the schedule without trying to accommodate anyone. Also, a principal should be prepared to make adjustments to schedules once the year begins. She needs to be flexible because there are times that there are conflicts she did not foresee that need to be changed.

Hirer of New Teachers

A vital part of any school administrator’s job is to hire teachers and staff who are going to do their job correctly. Hiring the wrong person can cause huge headaches down the line while hiring the right person makes the principal's job easier. The interview process is extremely important when hiring a new teacher . There are many factors that play into a person being a good candidate, including teaching knowledge, personality, sincerity, and excitement toward the profession.

Once a principal has interviewed candidates, she needs to call references to get a feel for what the people who know them think they would do. After this process, the principal might narrow the choices to the top three or four candidates and ask them to come back for a second interview. This time, she can ask the assistant principal , another teacher, or the superintendent to join in the process to include another person’s feedback in the hiring process. Once completing the process, she should rank candidates accordingly and offer to position to the person who is the best fit for the school, always letting the other candidates know that the position has been filled.

Public Relations Point Person

Having good relations with parents and community members can benefit a principal in a variety of areas. If a principal has built trusting relationships with a parent whose child has a discipline issue, it will be easier to deal with the situation. The same holds true for the community. Building relationships with individuals and businesses in the community can benefit the school greatly. Benefits include donations, personal time, and overall positive support for the school.

Many leaders by nature have a hard time putting things in others' hands without their direct stamp on it. However, it is vital that a school principal delegate some duties as necessary. Having trustworthy people around will make this easier. An effective school principal does not have enough time to do everything that needs ​to be done by himself. He must rely on other people to assist him and trust that they are going to do the job well.

• End of the School Year Checklist for Principals
• Qualities of a Good School Principal
• 10 Pros and Cons of Being a School Principal
• 10 Things a Successful School Principal Does Differently
• Characteristics of a Highly Effective School Principal
• Exploring the Steps Necessary to Become a School Principal
• Why Become an Assistant Principal in a Middle or High School?
• How Principals Can Provide Teacher Support
• Examining The Role of an Effective School Superintendent
• Guidelines for Establishing Effective School Discipline for Principals
• Twelve Reasons I Love and Hate Being a Principal of a School
• The Essential Qualities of an Effective School Leader
• Why Principals Must Build Relationships with Parents
• Top 10 Characteristics of a Quality School
• Tips to Help a New School Principal Survive the First Year
• An Educational Leadership Philosophy for School Leaders

An Essay Sample on A School Principal

• Author Writer

School principals are among the most vital leaders in our society as they mold our children’s education. A principal holds a crucial role in the functionality of any school since it can enhance the education standard in the institution. Additionally, school principals are the topmost-ranking administrators in elementary, middle, or high schools. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a school principal connects teachers, learners, their parents or custodians, the education system, and the community. Moreover, principals can contribute to a student's academic achievement by influencing the school's organization, the atmosphere in the school, teachers, and the teaching process. In the United States, for one to become a school principal, one must meet various qualifications. However, a successful principal should possess several comprehensive skills and perform their duties and responsibilities effectively.

Most states in the U.S. require those seeking employment as school principals to have a license. Different states have distinct licensure requirements, but the general essentials include experience as a professional teacher, one must have graduated from a state-certified principal preparation program, and a passing mark on a nationally accredited licensure test. However, school principals' qualifications have been the topic of significant debate in the last decades of the 20 th century as pressure intensified to make schools more responsible for success. The national bodies representing various school administrators, such as principals, have enthusiastically discussed suitable qualifications for principals in elementary, middle, and high schools.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals, also known as NASSP, undertook a dynamic role in ascertaining principal qualifications in the 1980s via establishing an evaluation procedure. This technique focuses on leadership abilities that significantly influence a school principal's capability to lead and manage their schools efficiently. Additionally, the assessment process is based on a task analysis carried out in collaboration with the American Psychological Association. The skills evaluated through the NASSP Assessment Center comprised judgment, leadership, motivation, problem analysis, variety of interests, certainty, managerial capability, sensitivity, stress tolerance, educational values, and verbal and written communication. Afterward, the National Association of Elementary School Principals formed an assessment program that evaluated similar skills.

The National Policy Board for Educational Administration, also known as NPBEA, reviewed the principal qualifications in the mid-1990s. The NPBEA comprised several significant national bodies representing professors who prepare education administrators and schooling administrators such as principals and superintendents. One of the NPBEA's affiliates, the Council of Chief State School Officers, also known as CCSSO, took the initiative to create a set of codes for education leaders. The CCSSO created a group with representatives and associations from thirty-seven states, which determined a new set of requirements for school administrators. This set of standards sought to influence the grounding of principals, lead states in developing their principal standards, and act as a device for licensure or assessment. This group, known as the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC), designed the standards to address a principal’s requirement to promote every student’s success.

Besides meeting the set of standards, school principals must be versatile leaders. The principal can be a public relations representative, curriculum advisor, manager, budget specialist, disciplinarian, and intermediary on any regular school day. Fundamentally, a principal has to run all facets of school life, such as evaluating teacher performance, managing and creating the curriculum, disciplining students, scheduling classes, and controlling the school budget. Therefore, every school principal should possess a wide range of skills and proficiencies to execute such tasks effectively. Some aptitudes include leadership skills, IT proficiency, a capability to adapt and innovate, communication skills, and problem-solving competencies.

Since principals act as mediators between teachers, students, and their parents, they must be strong leaders for the learners, parents, and school staff to listen and respect what the principal says. Additionally, school principals should have past experiences in several teaching management roles, such as organizing a co-curricular event or being head of departments. Secondly, for a principal to become innovative and uphold the teaching styles and curriculum’s relevancy, they must familiarize themselves with the latest technology. Thirdly, practical communication skills will help the principal communicate appropriately with different people within a school setting and the education sector (Teacher Academy). Operative communication skills help to update all parties about the school activities.

Fourthly, the vital skills that any principal can possess are problem-solving abilities. Principals face many problems, from financial issues to students' home problems, which require an advanced level of analytic aptitudes. Lastly, principals and other educators should have the ability to adjust and be innovative. Flexible and inventive principals can embrace changes and transform the curriculum and teaching styles (Wallace Foundation). Some of the duties and responsibilities that school principals should perform include handling all staff and faculty at a learning institution, overseeing and managing a school's performance, supervising hiring decisions, and deciding how to spend school finances.

School principals are the highest-ranking leaders in elementary, middle, and high schools. Various states in the U.S. follow a specific set of standards that outline the qualifications of anyone aiming to work as a principal. However, regardless of the differences in the selecting criteria, ILLSC established a set of standards that form the basis of principals' qualifications. Additionally, successful principals perform their duties effectively and possess exemplary leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. "School Principals.” OECD.org , 2021.

Teacher Academy. "The 10 Essential Skills of a Good School Principal.” Teacher academy .Eu , 2021

Wallace Foundation. "Five Key Responsibilities - The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning.” Wallacefoundation.Org , 2021.

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What makes a great principal?

by: The GreatSchools Editorial Team | Updated: July 4, 2023

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The classroom teacher is the most visible person in your child’s life at school, but it is the principal who is responsible for providing a high- quality education for all students there.

What makes a great principal?  Principals vary in strategy, temperament, and leadership style, but the great ones have four characteristics in common:

• Great principals take responsibility for school success.
• Great principals lead teaching and learning.  
• Great principals hire, develop and retain excellent teachers.
• Great principals build a strong school community.  

GreatSchools.org talked to several San Francisco public school principals who illustrate these qualities. The principals spoke about leadership and how they meet the real-life challenges of their jobs.

Great principals take responsibility for school success

Great principals believe that the problems of the school are their problems, and they never stop trying to solve them. If a student is having trouble learning, a successful principal knows it is her job to figure out why, whether it is a learning disability, trouble with attendance, or gang involvement. Great principals are also creative in their problem-solving and approach challenges with an entrepreneurial attitude. They find ways to implement good ideas, rather than accepting the status quo.

Questions to ask at your school

• Ask your principal: What challenges does the school face?
• Ask your principal: What is the plan to meet those challenges?
• Ask your child’s teacher: How does the principal get involved when a student is having trouble?

For example, most schools today have very limited budgets, making it difficult to pay for innovative new programs. When Margaret Chiu, principal of Galileo High School, finds a new program she thinks will benefit her students, she doesn’t waste time lamenting the lack of funding. She gets busy. She immediately begins thinking of who in the community she can ask to help support and pay for the program. She has created partnerships with businesses, local colleges, and health care professionals that help enrich her school’s curriculum.

Whatever challenges they face, great principals don’t make excuses for why their schools can’t succeed. Instead they make it their top priority to figure out how their schools can excel, and do everything they can to make that happen.

Great principals lead teaching and learning at their schools

Principals at successful schools understand the strengths and needs of their students and they know what is happening in the classrooms at their schools. These principals play an active role in planning and supporting instruction that is appropriate for their students, and they ensure that school time and resources are focused on student achievement.

• Ask your principal: What are our school’s main academic goals?
• Ask your prinicipal: What steps are being taken to achieve those goals?
• Look up your school’s achievement data on GreatSchools.org and ask your principal: How is the school addressing weaknesses or gaps in student achievement?

Nearly 60 percent of Moscone Elementary School’s students are English language learners, but Principal Patty Martel is determined that all of her students will be proficient in reading in English by the time they move on to middle school. In support of this goal, she allocates money from her limited school budget to pay for an early intervention literacy program as soon as a student begins struggling with reading. She also requires that all programs at her school include an element of literacy. Reading and writing are integrated into art, science, and everything else the students do.

Principals must also understand what test scores and other data say about their students’ learning and use the information to help teachers set goals and improve instruction.

When test scores at Alvarado Elementary School showed that some groups of students were not reading and writing as well as others, Principal David Weiner helped teachers develop a new plan. Teachers across the school coordinated their reading and writing instruction, so that struggling students could receive direct instruction from a literacy specialist in addition to the classroom teacher.

Successful principals must constantly evaluate what is working and what is not, and use that information to make improvements.

Great principals hire, develop, and retain excellent teachers

One of a principal’s most important roles is ensuring that every student is taught by an excellent teacher. Although it can be time-consuming, principals must actively recruit good teachers to their schools. Principals can visit teacher education classes to find promising new teachers; they can open their schools to student teachers and try to hire the good ones; and they can talk to teachers and other principals to find quality experienced teachers who might be looking for new positions.

Principals must also support and develop the teachers they have. Research shows that principal leadership is a key factor in a teacher’s decision to stay at a particular school. Much of a principal’s time should be spent in classrooms observing teachers, complimenting their strengths, and offering specific suggestions for improvement. If a teacher is struggling with a particular issue or group of kids, the principal should be in the classroom as often as possible, watching and helping the teacher develop more successful strategies.

Patricia Gray, principal at Balboa High School, says that she spent two to three hours a day observing in classrooms and talking with teachers during her first several years as principal. Principal Weiner notes that many teachers initially objected to the hours he spent observing in classrooms at Alvarado, but he quickly found that the best teachers were eager to work with him to improve their teaching.

• Ask your principal: How do you recruit new teachers when there is an opening?
• Ask your child’s teacher: How much time does the principal spend oberserving in your classroom?
• Ask your principal: How are great teachers at our school recognized or rewarded?

Providing meaningful opportunities for professional development is another way principals can help teachers improve instruction. The principal should make sure that workshops and other development activities are related to the goals of the school and will help teachers better serve their students.

Marcia Parrott, principal at Miraloma Elementary School, pulled her staff out of a time-consuming teacher training program that was not meeting their needs. The techniques taught in the training program were not compatible with the reading program used at the school and the program instructors were not able to help the teachers integrate the two programs. Although she had to defend her decision to the school district, she was adamant that her teachers not spend their time on a program they could not use to help students.

Principals must keep good teachers professionally satisfied by showing them that their efforts are valued and supported by the principal and other teachers. Principal Martel joked that she keeps teachers at Moscone by doing all the yard duty herself. Although her comment was lighthearted, it reflects the respect she has for teachers and her recognition that the teachers at her school work hard.

Providing time to plan with other teachers is another way principals can support their teachers and treat them as professionals. One of the first changes Principal Chiu made at Galileo was to change the school day schedule to allow time each week for teachers to meet and plan together. Adelina Aramburo, former principal at Daniel Webster Elementary School, made sure her school’s tight budget included a few hours of extra pay each month for teachers. She believes this showed teachers that the time they spent meeting and planning together outside their official work day was recognized and appreciated.

Great principals build a strong school community

For a school to be successful, the administration, teachers, parents, students and support staff must work as a team. Principals

must work with the staff to make school a welcoming place for all students and their families.

Principal Parrott at Miraloma holds a monthly parent-principal chat, an informal time when parents can come to ask questions and give input. She also schedules meetings and events at times when parents are already at the school picking up their children, for example, when the after-school program closes for the day.

• Ask your child: Do you feel safe at school?
• Ask your child: Do you think school rules and consequences are clear?  Are all kids treated fairly?
• Ask your principal: How can I get involved at the school?

A great school community is one where students feel safe and know they will be treated fairly. It is the principal’s job to create that safe atmosphere where children can learn. The first year she was at Balboa High School, Principal Gray was concerned about a gang presence at the school. Although it meant she had to work many evenings and weekends, she met personally with the parents of every single student who got in trouble that year. Principal Gray believes her action sent a strong message about her commitment to creating a safe learning community at Balboa.

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The 10 Essential Skills of a Good School Principal

As a teacher, you most likely already possess many of the strong leadership qualities required to be a principal, but what are the most important skills required to become a good principal?

Written by Andrea Merlo

Course Director in Florence

The role of a principal

Before discussing what skills are needed to become a good principal, let’s first discuss what the role of a principal is.

The definition of a school principal, according to OECD , is: the link between teachers, students and their parents or guardians, the education system and the wider community.

A principal essentially has to oversee all aspects of school life, including but not limited to:

• Class scheduling
• Management and creation of the curriculum
• Evaluating teacher performance
• Managing the school budget
• Disciplining students

What skills are required to be a successful principal?

1- leadership skills.

As a principal, you are in charge of a large team of staff, as well as a huge number of students and you are the mediator between students, teachers, and their parents. Therefore, as principal you must be a strong leader so that students, staff, and parents respect you and listen to what you say.

It can be useful for principals to have previous experience in various other teaching leadership roles, such as head of a department or organizer of a co-curricular activity (many principal postings will require you to have this previous experience anyway). This gives you the opportunity to develop your leadership skills by managing a smaller team before taking on the role of principal where you are in charge of everyone in the school.

2- An ability to adapt and innovate

One of the skills that all educators, not just principals, should have is the ability to adapt and innovate. We live in a world where technology is constantly evolving and there are constantly new teaching techniques emerging. Principals have to lead by example and must not be afraid of change but rather make changes to the curriculum and teaching style as these new trends and techniques emerge.

3- IT skills

Furthermore, in order to remain innovative and keep the curriculum and teaching styles relevant, principals must feel confident with the latest technology. As with everything that principals do, they must lead by example because if they don’t try to use this new technology, they cannot expect their teachers to.

Are you interested in improving your IT skills for the classroom but not entirely sure where to start? Check out our course ‘ ICT​ ​as​ ​a​ ​Tool​ ​for​ ​a Student-Centered​ ​Classroom ‘

4- Communication skills

As a principal, you come into contact with many different people: parents, students, and staff members. You therefore need to make sure that you communicate any necessary information to them, and in an appropriate way- the way that you would address a student would be different from how you would communicate with a parent or staff member.

The most important thing is that you keep all parties informed about what is going on at the school. To communicate with parents, for example, you could send out a weekly newsletter, outlining events happening at the school and student achievements for the week. If you are especially interested in building a strong parent-teacher collaboration , check out our course and dig deeper on this topic.

To communicate with staff you could send out a weekly bulletin with any relevant information they may need to know about students.

5- An ability to delegate

There is a common misconception that a good leader is someone who is able to do everything themselves. Whereas, in fact, the best leaders (and therefore the best school principals) know when they should delegate a certain task to someone else . There might be some tasks which other staff members would be better equipped to complete, or sometimes a principal may simply have far too much work to complete themselves and requires help from other members of staff to get everything done. This is where being able to delegate specific tasks to other members of staff comes in very handy!

Are you interested in helping your teaching staff become their best version? Check out our course on coaching and mentoring your educators and learn to lead them towards excellence.

6- Be decisive

Another essential quality for a school principal is that they are decisive. Being decisive gives the impression to both staff and students that you know what you are doing and you are confident in your abilities. This, in turn, increases their confidence in your ability to lead the school. In addition, usually, if you act decisively and therefore quickly, it means that the issue which you are trying to address is also solved more quickly.

7- Problem-solving skills

Problem-solving skills are arguably one of the most important skills for a principal to have, since on a daily basis, principals are presented with a range of problems from funding issues to students’ home issues. If anyone (staff or students) has any kind of problem then the principal is the person that they will go to in order to help them solve it.

If you wish to develop your problem-solving skills, among other fundamental competencies, check out our course on 21st Century Teaching Skills and learn about innovative approaches and techniques to be applied in your school.

8- An ability to prioritize

Following on from the previous point, while a principal hears about many different issues even on the same day, they are not all equally as important. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that a principal is able to prioritize the most important issues so that they can be dealt with as swiftly as possible.

9- Be sensitive and empathetic

Throughout a school, there will be students, parents, and staff from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds and situations at home. As a principal, you have to be able to empathize with people even though you may not have experienced what they are experiencing. You need to be able to listen actively and give advice and solutions to help them. A kind, empathetic school principal also comes across as far more approachable. You want staff and students to feel like they are able to come to you with any issue.

10- Be visible

It is extremely important that principals are seen in the corridors and that they directly interact with students, staff, and parents. This once again makes a principal seem far more approachable to both staff and students. It is also extremely valuable for the principal, as it gives them the opportunity to get to know the community that they serve and allows them to better understand them and their needs.

In order to become a good leader, and therefore a good principal, you should not only ensure that you have good communication and IT skills. But that most importantly, you are approachable . Staff and students should feel that they can come to you about any issue and that you will react efficiently and appropriately.

If you have any other skills which you think would be useful for a principal, share them with us in the comments!

Do you want to learn about how to be a successful principal or school leader? Check out our course ‘ Leadership and Management in Schools ‘ to find out more!

17 thoughts on “ The 10 Essential Skills of a Good School Principal ”

Learned a lot of insights. Very informative Thank you so much

Very valuable information regarding the principal role.

Very Nice and educational topic on leadership skills for principals. Worth reading for a educator.

Thank you very much for your feedback!

Great article! Aside from the aforementioned skills, I would like to offer 3 attributes that make a strong principal: energetic, positive attitude and passion. If a leader has those attributes, they will be very successful.

Educative and informative to enhance supervisory skills

Excellent information for a person who want to become a Principal .

Great article! I would add that a good school Principal must also possess the ability to build respectful and trustful relationships.

It behoves on Principals to exhibit the afformentioned characteristics without losing sight of assertiveness and resilient leadership style.They must be able to rally the people towards achieving the goals of the institution through intrinsic and extrinsic motivation by recognising the effort of the staff.

Very useful information for those who wants to become principal.one more thing that should be added in quality of principal is integrity and attribute, objectivity.

A good effective principal spends time daily in individual classrooms. He offers feedback to students and staff. He observes and comments on student work that is posted in the hallways and in the classrooms. He is present in the hallways at the beginning and end of the school day. The hallways tell a lot about what’s happening in the classroom.

Very useful Informations for them who wants to be a School principal.

Thank you very for this insight. This will serve as an aid to those who want to be school principals or even to those who want to take any leadership role.

Very insightful. Principals will also need to be bold and courageous. Must be honest and disciplined.

Good principle skills for leadership development article

Absolutely, the skills outlined here are crucial for a school principal to excel in their role. Effective school leadership requires a combination of these essential skills for a positive impact on the institution and its students. Thanks for sharing this valuable information

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So, You Want To Be A Principal?

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(This is Part Two in a multi-part series. You can see Part One here )

Last week’s question was:

What advice would you give someone who is interested in becoming a principal?

In Part One of this series earlier this week, Lyn Hilt, Joe Mazza, and Cheryl James-Ward posted their responses -- and I threw-in a few ideas of my own. Next week, I’ll be offering contributions from a few more guests, as well as from readers -- so feel free to contribute your own thoughts! That post will be the third, and final, one in this “principal” series.

Today, Justin Baeder, Allan R. Bonilla and Josh Stumpenhorst are sharing their reflections.

Response From Justin Baeder

Justin Baeder is a former elementary principal, and currently serves as director of The Principal Center . He writes about principal performance and productivity at Eduleadership , and is @eduleadership on Twitter:

If you care deeply about teaching and learning, should you stay in the classroom or move into a leadership role? It depends on whether you’re comfortable trading your direct impact for having a bigger, but less direct, impact.

Being a school leader is all about making powerful, albeit indirect, contributions to student learning. One of the hardest things for new school leaders to understand and stay focused on is how this influence functions.

As a leader, it’s not your job to go around fixing everyone’s problems for them, to slay the dragons of poor teaching and student misbehavior.

It’s your job to build systems, and make sure those systems work reliably--systems for keeping students from falling through the cracks, systems for helping teachers grow professionally, and systems for dealing with the countless problems that inevitably arise in a building full of hundreds of complicated, wonderfully human beings.

Too many leaders don’t understand the importance of this systems-level perspective, and try instead to be heroes. But being a hero in a world of dragons is deadly, and even without a hero complex, most administrators barely keep their heads above water in their first few years. But as Dave Burgess says in his book Teach Like a Pirate, it’s not supposed to be easy--it’s supposed to be worth it. And it is.

In between all the meetings, observations, walkthroughs, professional development, and emails--so many emails--it’s your job to maintain a big-picture perspective, making sure that everything is running smoothly, that students are learning, and that teachers are growing. You can choose to be a hero, or a system-builder.

As a school leader, you have the profoundly rewarding responsibility of ensuring high-quality teaching and learning for all students. I believe school administration is one of the most honorable and rewarding professions on the planet, and I wish you all the best as you pursue your calling to lead.

Response From Allan R. Bonilla Dr. Allan R. Bonilla has served as a teacher, counselor, assistant principal and principal and is currently a leadership coach and school improvement specialist. His just released Corwin Press book is I’m in the Principal’s Seat, Now What? The Story of a Turnaround Principal :

First of all, make sure that you are prepared to take on the role of a school leader responsible for the teaching and learning which will take place within the walls of your school. We have all heard the expression “the buck stops here”. As principal, teachers will look to you for direction and support. Students’ test scores will be a reflection on your instructional program. Parents will want the best for their children and will look for alternatives if they are not satisfied with your school. Choices are abundant today.

Have you taken courses or have you earned a degree in school administration? Do you have the knowledge background to assume a leadership role? Are you current on education literature? Have you had the opportunity to shadow a school administrator for perhaps a day? Are you able to volunteer your services at a school so as to see actual day to day operations?

The big question should be “Why do I want to be a principal?” Hopefully it is because you have wonderful ideas for creating an exemplary school and are eager to implement them. Hopefully you have a true love for children and want to see them all succeed. Hopefully you want to foster a positive school culture in which your teachers can flourish and can motivate and inspire their students to love learning. Do you truly want to make a difference?

I did not always want to be a principal. When I was a teacher I loved the close relationships I formed with my students. As a counselor I valued the one on one experiences. As an assistant principal I appreciated the impact I could have on the entire school. But as a principal I was able to implement those ideas for excellence which I had been nurturing for so many years. Many educators, who have been through the ranks, say being a principal is indeed the best job to have.

Response From Josh Stumpenhorst

Josh Stumpenhorst is a 6 th grade Language Arts and Social Science teacher in suburban Chicago, IL. He is the 2012 Illinois Teacher of the year, 2012 Illinois Computing Educator of the Year and an ISTE Emerging Leader in 2011. He blogs at www.stumptheteacher.blogspot.com and tweets as @stumpteacher :

My first piece of advice for someone wants to become a principal would be, “don’t”. However, if you don’t heed that advice then here are some other tips I would pass on. Understand that I am a teacher with absolutely no administrative experience outside of working for more principals and assistant principals than I would like to count. With that being said, my advice is more about what kinds of things I would like to see in my next principal.

• Be visible. See every teacher and every student every single day. Even if it is just to say hello, your visibility matters.

• Be transparent. Honor confidentiality but don’t allow secrecy to breed division and distrust among their staff.

• Focus on kids first. While this seems so easy, it is often forgotten in the midst of doing what is easier for the adults. Have a kid on every committee and in every meeting possible so that students as well as teachers inform all decisions.

• Be a teacher. Teach a class as often as you can. Surprise a teacher and teach a class period or a full day. It will help the principal stay grounded in what really matters and keep their perspective on the kids.

• Own your school. From clean bathrooms to high quality teachers, own every piece of your school. Love it and create a school that you are proud to “own” in every aspect.

Understand that no one person in a school building has more control over culture and change than the school principal. I have personally witnessed the two extremes of this both in person and through friends. Great administrators can inspire change and passionate learning while poor ones can destroy a school’s culture and burn teachers out.

Thanks to Justin, Allan and Josh for sharing their responses today!

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post. As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be including readers’ comments in a post next week.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] .When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a number of education publishers. I’ll be highlighting one particular publisher every two months, and am starting off with Corwin .

Just a reminder -- you can subscribe to this blog for free via RSS Reader or email ....

And,if you missed any of the highlights from the first two years of this blog, you can see a categorized list of them here.

Look for Part Three -- the final post in this series -- on Sunday.

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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Maybe you love to write, or maybe you don’t. Either way, there’s a chance that the thought of writing your college essay is making you sweat. No need for nerves! We’re here to give you the important details on how to make the process as anxiety-free as possible.

What's the College Essay?

When we say “The College Essay” (capitalization for emphasis – say it out loud with the capitals and you’ll know what we mean) we’re talking about the 550-650 word essay required by most colleges and universities. Prompts for this essay can be found on the college’s website, the Common Application, or the Coalition Application. We’re not talking about the many smaller supplemental essays you might need to write in order to apply to college. Not all institutions require the essay, but most colleges and universities that are at least semi-selective do.

How do I get started?

Look for the prompts on whatever application you’re using to apply to schools (almost all of the time – with a few notable exceptions – this is the Common Application). If one of them calls out to you, awesome! You can jump right in and start to brainstorm. If none of them are giving you the right vibes, don’t worry. They’re so broad that almost anything you write can fit into one of the prompts after you’re done. Working backwards like this is totally fine and can be really useful!

What if I have writer's block?

You aren’t alone. Staring at a blank Google Doc and thinking about how this is the one chance to tell an admissions officer your story can make you freeze. Thinking about some of these questions might help you find the right topic:

• What is something about you that people have pointed out as distinctive?
• If you had to pick three words to describe yourself, what would they be? What are things you’ve done that demonstrate these qualities?
• What’s something about you that has changed over your years in high school? How or why did it change?
• What’s something you like most about yourself?
• What’s something you love so much that you lose track of the rest of the world while you do it?

If you’re still stuck on a topic, ask your family members, friends, or other trusted adults: what’s something they always think about when they think about you? What’s something they think you should be proud of? They might help you find something about yourself that you wouldn’t have surfaced on your own.  

How do I grab my reader's attention?

It’s no secret that admissions officers are reading dozens – and sometimes hundreds – of essays every day. That can feel like a lot of pressure to stand out. But if you try to write the most unique essay in the world, it might end up seeming forced if it’s not genuinely you. So, what’s there to do? Our advice: start your essay with a story. Tell the reader about something you’ve done, complete with sensory details, and maybe even dialogue. Then, in the second paragraph, back up and tell us why this story is important and what it tells them about you and the theme of the essay.

THE WORD LIMIT IS SO LIMITING. HOW DO I TELL A COLLEGE MY WHOLE LIFE STORY IN 650 WORDS?

Don’t! Don’t try to tell an admissions officer about everything you’ve loved and done since you were a child. Instead, pick one or two things about yourself that you’re hoping to get across and stick to those. They’ll see the rest on the activities section of your application.

I'M STUCK ON THE CONCLUSION. HELP?

If you can’t think of another way to end the essay, talk about how the qualities you’ve discussed in your essays have prepared you for college. Try to wrap up with a sentence that refers back to the story you told in your first paragraph, if you took that route.

SHOULD I PROOFREAD MY ESSAY?

YES, proofread the essay, and have a trusted adult proofread it as well. Know that any suggestions they give you are coming from a good place, but make sure they aren’t writing your essay for you or putting it into their own voice. Admissions officers want to hear the voice of you, the applicant. Before you submit your essay anywhere, our number one advice is to read it out loud to yourself. When you read out loud you’ll catch small errors you may not have noticed before, and hear sentences that aren’t quite right.

ANY OTHER ADVICE?

Be yourself. If you’re not a naturally serious person, don’t force formality. If you’re the comedian in your friend group, go ahead and be funny. But ultimately, write as your authentic (and grammatically correct) self and trust the process.

And remember, thousands of other students your age are faced with this same essay writing task, right now. You can do it!

📕 Studying HQ

  how to write a good nursing process essay, rachel r.n..

• May 20, 2024
• How to Guides

A nursing process essay is a scholarly work that demonstrates your understanding of the systematic approach nurses use to plan and deliver patient care. As a nursing student, mastering this type of essay is crucial because it reflects your ability to apply the nursing process methodology in real-world situations. A well-written nursing process essay showcases your critical thinking, clinical judgment, and problem-solving skills, which are essential competencies for any nurse.

What You'll Learn

History of the Nursing Process

The nursing process traces its roots back to the 1960s when there was a growing recognition that nursing needed a more structured and scientific approach to patient care. Prior to this, nursing practice was often based on tradition, intuition, and personal experience, rather than a standardized and evidence-based framework.

In the 1950s, pioneers like Ida Jean Orlando and Dorothy E. Johnson began to develop conceptual models and theories that laid the foundation for the nursing process. However, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that the nursing process gained widespread acceptance and implementation in nursing education and practice.

The nursing process was initially introduced as a four-step process: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Over time, it evolved into a five-step process with the addition of the “diagnosis” step, which allowed nurses to identify and label specific patient problems or needs.

What is a Nursing Process?

The nursing process is a systematic, cyclic, and individualized approach to nursing care that involves five interrelated steps: assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

• Assessment: This step involves gathering comprehensive data about the patient’s physical, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual health status through various methods such as observation, interviews, and diagnostic tests.
• Diagnosis: Based on the assessment data, the nurse identifies actual or potential health problems, risks, or life processes that require nursing interventions. These nursing diagnoses provide a framework for developing a plan of care.
• Planning : In this step, the nurse establishes prioritized goals and develops a individualized plan of care to address the identified nursing diagnoses. The plan outlines specific nursing interventions, rationales, and expected outcomes.
• Implementation: The nurse carries out the planned interventions, continuously monitoring the patient’s response and adjusting the plan as needed. Accurate documentation is essential during this step.
• Evaluation: The nurse assesses the effectiveness of the implemented interventions and the progress towards achieving the desired outcomes. Based on the evaluation, the plan of care may be revised or terminated if the goals have been met.

What is the Purpose of a Nursing Process?

The primary purpose of the nursing process is to provide a systematic and individualized approach to patient care that ensures quality, continuity, and accountability. Specifically, the nursing process aims to:

• Identify and address the unique health needs and concerns of each patient in a holistic manner, considering physical, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual factors.
• Promote critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills by encouraging nurses to analyze data, identify problems, and develop evidence-based plans of care.
• Foster collaboration and communication among the healthcare team, including the patient and their family, by providing a shared language and framework for care delivery.
• Enhance patient safety and improve outcomes by promoting continuity of care, reducing errors, and ensuring that interventions are based on the patient’s specific needs and responses.
• Serve as a basis for nursing documentation, which is essential for legal and ethical accountability, as well as continuous evaluation and improvement of nursing practice.

Characteristics of the Nursing Process

The nursing process is characterized by several key features:

• Cyclical and dynamic: The nursing process is an ongoing, circular process that is constantly re-evaluated and adjusted based on the patient’s changing needs and responses to interventions.
• Patient-centered: The focus is on the individual patient’s unique needs, preferences, values, and goals, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Systematic and organized: The nursing process follows a logical and structured approach to problem-solving, ensuring that care is delivered in a consistent and comprehensive manner.
• Evidence-based: Nursing decisions and interventions are based on the best available scientific evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences.
• Collaborative: The nursing process involves collaboration and communication among the healthcare team, including the patient and their family, to ensure coordinated and integrated care.
• Flexible: While structured, the nursing process allows for flexibility and adaptation based on the patient’s changing needs and circumstances.
• Continuous : The nursing process is an ongoing cycle that does not end until the patient’s needs have been met or the nurse-patient relationship is terminated.

Outline of a Nursing Process Essay

A typical nursing process essay should follow this structure:

• Introduction: Provide an overview of the nursing process and its importance in nursing practice, as well as the specific patient case or scenario that will be discussed.
• Description of the patient’s situation or presenting problem : Describe the patient’s demographic information, medical history, and presenting concerns or health issues that prompted the need for nursing care.
• Assessment: Discuss the comprehensive assessment data gathered about the patient’s physical, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual health status, including relevant subjective and objective data.
• Nursing diagnosis: Identify the actual or potential health problems, risks, or life processes that require nursing interventions, based on the assessment data.
• Planning: Outline the prioritized goals and the individualized plan of care developed to address the identified nursing diagnoses , including specific nursing interventions, rationales, and expected outcomes.
• Implementation: Describe the implementation of the planned interventions, including any modifications made based on the patient’s response and any challenges or barriers encountered during this step.
• Evaluation: Discuss the evaluation of the implemented interventions, including the patient’s progress towards achieving the desired outcomes and any revisions made to the plan of care based on the evaluation.
• Conclusion: Summarize the key points and reflect on the importance of the nursing process in providing high-quality, individualized patient care.

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The Nursing Process

Steps of a Nursing Process

• Assessment:

This step involves gathering comprehensive data about the patient’s health status through various methods:

• Subjective data: Information obtained from the patient’s self-report, such as their perception of symptoms, concerns, and preferences.
• Objective data: Observable and measurable data obtained through physical examination, diagnostic tests, and other objective measures.
• Relevant historical data: Information about the patient’s medical history, family history, and social and cultural background that may impact their health.

The assessment should cover all aspects of the patient’s health, including physical, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual dimensions.

2. Diagnosis:

Based on the assessment data, the nurse analyzes and synthesizes the information to identify actual or potential health problems, risks, or life processes that require nursing interventions. These nursing diagnoses are written in a standardized format that includes the problem statement, related factors or etiologies, and defining characteristics or signs and symptoms.

For example: “Acute Pain (00132) related to surgical incision as evidenced by verbalized discomfort and guarding behavior.”

3. Planning:

In this step, the nurse establishes prioritized goals and develops a individualized plan of care to address the identified nursing diagnoses. The plan outlines specific nursing interventions, rationales (the scientific or evidence-based reasons for each intervention), and expected outcomes that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions.

The planning process involves:

• Establishing priorities: Determining which nursing diagnoses require immediate attention based on factors such as patient safety, risk of complications, and patient preferences.
• Setting realistic and measurable goals: These goals should be specific, achievable, and aligned with the patient’s needs and preferences.
• Selecting appropriate nursing interventions: Evidence-based interventions are chosen to address each nursing diagnosis and achieve the desired outcomes.
• Considering patient preferences and values: The plan should be developed in collaboration with the patient and their family, taking into account their preferences, values, and cultural beliefs.
• Coordinating with the healthcare team: The plan should be communicated and coordinated with other members of the healthcare team to ensure continuity of care.

4. Implementation

The nurse carries out the planned interventions, continuously monitoring the patient’s response and adjusting the plan as needed. This step involves:

• Providing direct patient care: Implementing the specific nursing interventions outlined in the plan, such as administering medications, providing wound care, or offering emotional support.
• Patient education: Educating the patient and their family about their condition, treatment plan, and self-care strategies.
• Collaboration with the healthcare team: Coordinating care with other healthcare professionals and ensuring effective communication and handoff processes.
• Documentation: Accurately documenting all interventions, patient responses, and any modifications made to the plan of care.

5. Evaluation

The nurse assesses the effectiveness of the implemented interventions and the progress towards achieving the desired outcomes. This step involves:

• Comparing the patient’s actual responses to the expected outcomes outlined in the plan of care.
• Determining if the nursing interventions were effective in achieving the desired outcomes or if modifications are needed.
• Reassessing the patient’s health status and identifying any new or ongoing problems that require additional interventions.

How do you write a nursing process? The nursing process functions as a systematic guide to client-centered care with 5 sequential steps. These are assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

What is a nursing process example?

Example: A new patient is admitted to the unit. The nurse obtains the patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, temperature, and oxygen saturation. The nurse performs a head-to-toe assessment and gauges the patient’s pain level. The nurse documents this information

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