School principals must become instructional leaders, develop philosophy and vision, lead staff development, foster morale

in the school, oversee extracurricular activities, create a safe environment in the school, mentor new teachers, and a myriad of other duties. If these duties are performed in a way that elicits staff and parent satisfaction then the principal will be viewed as successful 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Have a vision for the school and stay focused on it. Be a good listener. Establish your leadership role as principal. Stay up-to-date on teaching and learning, educational research, and learn all you can. Admit that you do not know everything. Have patience and realize that it takes time to improve a school. Be fair and consistent and do not play favorites. Learn to delegate. Ask for help. Establish a network of relationships and get a mentor. Always remember what is good for students when you make decisions. Keep your life in perspective and do not make the job your life; have a stress outlet. Do not take attacks personally and maintain a sense of humor. (p. 22)

The principal is the person most likely to be in a position to shape the organizational conditions necessary for change, engage in activities that directly impact change. The first of these is to have and articulate a vision. Site principals must be able to initiate the change and then allow the faculty to initiate when appropriate, thus providing them the power to take ownership of the new program. Fourth, the administrator must provide the staff development needed to familiarize the staff with the change, and to support staff members until they feel comfortable with the innovation and confident that they are competent to carry it out successfully, principals must have talents in dealing with the staff of the school . Have a vision for their schools; 2. Have clear and well-understood goals; 3. Establish a safe and positive school climate; 4. Focus on academics, teaching and learning; and 5. Practice shared decision making in concert with teachers, parents, and students In general the principals listed their most important roles in the following rank order: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Providing a safe school environment and a positive school climate. Fostering good teaching and learning. Communicating with parents and promoting good school community relations. Hiring and developing a good staff. Monitoring student progress. Managing school resources, i.e., budget, facility, school property, etc.

7. 8. 9. 10.

Determining school goals. Leading, inspiring, and motivating staff. Maintaining a child oriented school and being and advocate for children. Maintaining positive staff relations and staff harmony (p 21).

Similarly in a study which interviewed 125 middle-school principals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey the qualities that made for an effective principal were listed as: 1. Have a very positive outlook about work, experience a high degree of job satisfaction, and view school problems as surmountable 2. Be more teacher-oriented 3. Be supportive of parent/community involvement in their schools 4. Have a high tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty 5. Be intentional in their efforts to assemble, develop, and maintain a staff of dedicated educators who want to be in a middle school (Anfara, Brown, Mills, Hartman &