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Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Education Opinion

Q&A Collections: Administrator Leadership

By Larry Ferlazzo — August 25, 2018 5 min read
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During the summer I will be sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past seven years. You can see all those collections from the first six years here.

Here are the ones I’ve posted so far:

This Year’s Most Popular Q&A Posts

Race & Gender Challenges

Classroom Management Advice

Best Ways To Begin The School Year

Best Ways To End The School Year

Implementing The Common Core

Student Motivation & Social Emotional Learning

Teaching Social Studies

Project-Based Learning

Using Tech In The Classroom

Parent Engagement In Schools

Teaching English Language Learners

Reading Instruction

Writing Instruction

Education Policy Issues

Student Assessment

Differentiating Instruction

Math Instruction

Science Instruction

Advice For New Teachers

Author Interviews

Entering The Teaching Profession

The Inclusive Classroom

Learning & The Brain

Today’s theme is on Administrator Leadership. You can see the list following this excerpt from one of them:

* Central Offices Shouldn’t Be ‘Directive Arms’

Scott Ratchford, Michael Lubelfeld, Jody Spiro, Dr. Jonas Chartock, and Victoria L. Bernhardt comment on the best roles Central Offices should play in providing school support.

* ‘Authoritarian-Style Mandates’ From Central Offices Don’t Work

Adeyemi Stembridge, Douglas Reeves, Amber Teamann, PJ Caposey, Rachael George, Dr. Patrick Darfler-Sweeney and Sherry Lanza share their ideas on how school district Central Offices can best help schools.

* Looking for ‘Solutions’ in the Face Of Staff Conflict

Greg Giglio, Jane Kise, David Bateman, Jenifer Cline, Tom Hoerr, Jennifer Abrams contribute their suggestions for dealing with staff conflict.

* Don’t ‘Ignore’ Staff Conflict In Schools

Sanée Bell, Ed.D., Todd Franklin, Jenny Edwards, Julie P. Combs, Stacey Edmonson, Sandy Harris and Amber Teamann discuss how to handle workplace conflict at schools.

* Principals Should Realize ‘They Are Still Learners Themselves’

Jen Schwanke, William Sterrett, Amy Dujon, Dr. Raymond Smith, Pete Hall, Sandi Novak, Bonnie Houck, Ed. D., and Daniel Rechtschaffen share their ideas on how principals should do their jobs.

* Principals Should Be ‘Connecting With Kids’

Mike Janatovich, Ann Mausbach, Kim Morrison, Otis Kriegel, Jonathan Eckert, Dr. David Geurin, and Robert Cunard contribute their thoughts on how principals should spend their time.

* Being a Principal Means ‘Spending Time Each Day Building Relationships’

PJ Caposey, Stephanie Brant, Megan Allen, Sanée Bell, and Rachael George share their ideas about how principals should spend their time.

* An ‘Important Challenge for a Principal Is Prioritizing’

Michael Haggen, Donna Wilson, Marcus Conyers, Tom Hoerr, David Bateman, Jenifer Cline, and Jennifer Abrams provide commentaries on the challenges facing principals.

* Challenges Principals Face & How to Respond to Them

Dr. Sanée Bell, Jen Schwanke, Mike Janatovich, Joseph F. Johnson, Jr., Cynthia L. Uline and Lynne G. Perez share their ideas on challenging facing principals and how best to respond to them.

* Leaders Must ‘Walk the Walk’ and Create a Culture of Innovation

PJ Caposey, Amber Teamann, Matt Renwick, Paul Barnwell, and Mitch Barnes share their ideas on the roles of administrators in making curriculum innovations.

* Support Curriculum Innovations by ‘Failing Forward’

Dr. Sanée Bell, Mark Estrada, Sally J. Zepeda, Adeyemi Stembridge, Kenneth Baum, David Krulwich, and Daniel Venables contribute their suggestions about how administrators can support curriculum innovations.

* Principals ‘Need To Step Back & Forward Through Time’

Myron Dueck, PJ Caposey, Pete Hall, and Christina Post contribute their commentaries on the topic of qualities potential principals should develop and maintain.

* Principals ‘Must Be Reflective Daily About the Work’

Catherine Beck, Mark Estrada, Bill Sterrett, and Ben Fenton share their suggestions about the qualities aspiring principals should cultivate within themselves.

* Ways Principals Can Assist Social Studies Teachers

In this post, Troy Hicks, Kristina J. Doubet, David Sherrin, Kirke Olson, and Barbara Blackburn share their thoughts on how principals can support teachers, specifically in the social sciences. I’ve also included comments from many readers.

* Effective Principals Must ‘Work Collaboratively’

In this post, Shawn Blankenship, Pete Hall, Jennifer Hindman, Steven Anderson, and Aubrie Rojee share their suggestions on how principals can mentor teachers.

* Principals Must Support Teachers in ‘Quest of Continuous Improvement’

This piece features commentaries from Mark Estrada, Diana Laufenberg, Bryan Harris, Ben Spielberg, Sarah Cooper, and Drs. William & Pérsida Himmele on how principals can best support teachers.

* School Leaders Must Focus on ‘Authentic Learning,’ Not ‘Test Prep’

Justin Baeder and Kelly Young (who I consider my mentor in education) contribute their answers here. I include comments from readers, too.

* Administrators Must Make ‘Alliances With Students, Teachers & Parents’

This post shares guest responses from three educators--Anne Reeves, Justin Tarte, and PJ Caposey.

* Education Innovation Is Like a ‘Stradivarius Violin’

This column shares responses from Maurice J. Elias and Elise Foster, plus comments from readers.

* ‘Educators Are Suffering From Innovation Fatigue’

This post includes commentaries by Scott McLeod, Sally Zepeda, and Tony Frontier.

* Advice For Aspiring Principals: “Shadow, Connect & Dream”

Scott McLeod, Kelly Young, John Gabriel, and Paul Farmer all offer their advice here.

* So, You Want To Be A Principal?

Justin Baeder, Allan R. Bonilla, and Josh Stumpenhorst share their reflections.

* Advice for Educators Wanting to be Principals--Part One

Lyn Hilt, Joe Mazza, and Cheryl James-Ward contribute to this post.

* We Need “Fewer John Waynes & More John Deweys”

This is Part One in a series responding to the question: “How can teachers best relate to superintendents--and vice versa?”

This post provides responses from a teacher’s perspective, with contributions from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Dean Vogel, president of the California Teachers Association; and Barnett Berry of the Center For Teaching Quality.

* Teachers & Superintendents Must “Work To Understand Each Other”

This is Part Two, and provides responses from a superintendent’s perspective, with contributions from three superintendents (along with comments from readers): Joshua Starr, Pamela Moran, and John Kuhn.

I hope you’ve found this summary useful and, again, keep those questions coming!

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.