East Hamilton High School Principal Gail Chuy and assistant principal Eddie Gravitte converse in a commons area Thursday morning. Modern day principals are instructional leaders, not merely disciplinarians.These days, the principal’s office is likely the last place you’ll find a school principal.
That’s because they’re spending more of the school day in the classroom, closely observing, critiquing and coaching teachers on their methods.
New accountability models, heightened standards and changed evaluation schemes are not only making the principal’s job more complex, but also are forging an entirely different focus for the job.
No longer is the principal’s role here believed to be one of mainly discipline and management. It’s increasingly academic.
Principals are expected to stay up to date on the latest educational research, stay in tune with ever-changing teaching standards and play a larger role in curriculum development and programming. They’re expected to be data experts, to boost student test scores and to find ways of closing decades-old achievement gaps.