Abstract
School leadership is important to the success of a school or school system. Highly effective school leaders promote a collaborative learning community, provide an effective instructional program, and apply best practices to student learning. Articles in this edition of Bulletin offer unique ideas for principals to consider as they think about their work. It is my hope that readers will find new perspectives on how schooling can be improved and how the exercise of leadership influences this improvement.
Every principal is challenged with making decisions when developing strategic plans to improve student outcomes. In the lead article, researchers Buckman, Hand, and Johnson investigated if there was a relationship between school climate and graduation rates in public high schools across Georgia. Findings indicate there is a significant relationship between school climate and high school graduation rates and the authors suggest that school leaders highly influence the four constructs of school climate (academic, community, safety, and institutional environment) that can have an impact on student achievement. Additionally, data affirms that if a school leader wishes to transform the school’s culture and increase academic performance, a key focus should be on cultivating a positive school climate.
The second article casts a spotlight on the growing challenge that principals face with school counselor burnout and high job stress. Researchers Mullen, Chae, Backer, and Niles examine the differences in school counselors’ burnout, job stress, and job satisfaction based on their student caseload size. Results indicate that lower caseloads benefit the well-being of school counselors. The authors offer practical and useful strategies that secondary principals can implement to reduce the impact of having higher than desired caseloads assigned to school counselors. They further note that implementation of the suggested approaches could result in counselors who may be better equipped to manage the daily and ever-changing academic, social and emotional, and postsecondary needs of students and their families.
Teacher absences present a unique challenge for school leaders. When teachers miss school, quality education is compromised. Teacher absenteeism (TA) may drain school resources, increase administrative time spent on replacing classroom instructors, and ultimately, result in management challenges. Researchers Karppinen, Dimba, and Kitawi examined school leaders’ opinions, attitudes, and performative actions towards teacher absenteeism. The broader aim of the study was to find appropriate interventions to mitigate teacher absenteeism. Principals will find the extensive discussion on how leaders can address teacher absenteeism as beneficial and instructive.
Principals and school district leadership will find these articles thought-provoking and enlightening. Important concerns and issues are discussed that inform principals’ essential work in improving schools. Each article is a “must read”!