Administrator Effectiveness

Bringing it All Together: Elementary Principals are Key to Strong PreK-3rd Grade Classrooms

This brief presents four actions for states and school districts to better support elementary school principals: [1] states should incorporate early childhood education into principal preparation programs; [2] states and school districts should provide ongoing professional learning opportunities related to early education; [3] states and school districts should invest in opportunities to bring elementary school …

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Connecting Pre-K and the Early Grades: Principals on Transitions

This policy brief argues that child care centers and Head Start programs should not be the only agencies trying to help their families navigate the new world of Kindergarten and elementary school. It asserts that elementary school principals should recognize the value in establishing relationships with center administrators and building connections between what happens before …

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Starting Strong: Pre-K Through Third Grade Success Stories From Across Minnesota

This report features profiles of six schools and districts in Minnesota that have implemented inventive PreK-3rd grade alignment strategies. Site visits to these settings proved that focused, intentional efforts in areas such as effective leadership, data-driven instruction, and engaged families can have huge impacts on student achievement and school culture. 

Leading Pre-K-3 Learning Communities: Competencies for Effective Principal Practice

This guide supports principals to create and support connections between the worlds of birth-to-five and K-12 and to help them implement developmentally-appropriate teaching and learning practices to ensure successful PreK-3rd grade continuums in their schools. For the policymaker, this guide provides a research base that demonstrates the enormous dividends children gain through investments in early education …

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The Path to Lifelong Success Begins with P-3

Comprehensive PreK-3rd grade approaches hold tremendous potential to dramatically change the trajectory of achievement gaps and set young children on sturdy pathways to educational and lifelong success. Elementary principals are the lynchpin of effective P-3 work, as they set the tone and priorities both inside and outside of their buildings. 

PreK-3rd: Principals as Crucial Instructional Leaders

This brief looks at what principals can do to build high-quality PreK-3rd grade experiences for young children and how policymakers can eliminate existing barriers and better support them to do so. The author outlines the need to improve existing principal preparation programs; foster strategies that develop effective PreK-3rd grade leaders; and update accountability systems to include …

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Building Early Learning Leaders: New Jersey’s PreK-3rd Leadership Training

In the Fall of 2009, New Jersey’s PreK-3rd Leadership Training Series provided more than 200 district administrators and ECE providers with an opportunity to become more effective early learning supervisors, mentors, advocates, and leaders. The series provided attendees with research-based strategies and techniques that would enable them to identify and implement high-quality PreK-3rd grade programs in their districts; assisted …

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Resource Manual for Administrators and Principals Supervising and Evaluating Teachers of Young Children

This manual is a practical guide specifically created for principals, administrators, teachers, and others directly involved in providing high-quality preschool and Kindergarten programs in both public and nonpublic settings. The manual provides key principles of early childhood education, resources for evaluators, and samples of “watch fors” in early childhood classrooms that align with standards. Although …

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PreK-3rd: How Superintendents Lead Change

This brief highlights the leadership of three superintendents from very different districts — Montgomery County Public Schools, MD; Bremerton School District, WA; and Nooksack Valley School District, WA — who led comprehensive efforts to integrate early learning with the K-12 system to create integrated PreK-3rd grade approaches. Each of these leaders began with simple and focused …

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