The Wallace Foundation

Education research shows that most school variables, considered separately, have at most small effects
on learning. The real payoff comes when individual variables combine to reach critical mass.
Creating the conditions under which that can occur is the job of the principal.

For more than a decade, The Wallace Foundation has supported efforts to improve leadership in public schools. In addition to funding projects in 24 states and numerous school districts within them, Wallace has issued more than 70 research reports and other publications covering school leadership, on topics ranging from how principals are trained to how they are evaluated on the job. Through all this work, we have learned a great deal about the nature of the school principal’s role, what makes for an effective principal and how to tie principal effectiveness to improved student achievement.

This Wallace Perspective is a culling of our lessons to describe what it is that effective principals
do. In short, we believe they perform five key functions well:

• ƒƒ Shaping a vision of academic success for all students.
• Creating a climate hospitable to education.
• Cultivating leadership in others.
• Improving instruction.
• Managing people, data and processes to foster school improvement.

This Wallace Perspective is the first of a series looking at school leadership and how it is best
developed and supported. In subsequent publications, we will look at the role of school districts,
states and principal training programs in building good school leadership.