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School Leadership and Its Effectiveness on Student Achievement

Kelly N. Montgomery
Marshall University
January 24, 2016

LS 510 The Principalship

Jacquie McPeake, Ed.D. Professor
#3 Reflection Paper #1

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The Interdependence of Principal School Leadership and Student Achievement
examined the effectiveness a principal has on student achievement. There is no argument that
teachers have the biggest effect on student achievement, however principals have many
peripheral effects that can influence how successfully students perform. In examining these
peripheral effects, a school leader can dramatically change the ideology within the school,
therefore fostering an increased level of achievement from teachers and other staff, but most
importantly the students.
As a potential school principal, this articles title appeared to be a very valuable topic.
Leaders should constantly investigate how they can become a more influential leader. There are
many aspects of being a leader that can be learned from other leaders as well as research that
communicates what effective leaders do well. For this reason I decided to read this article, and
to my expectations it was filled with applicable insight into being an exceptional school leader.
I share many beliefs in common with this article. Foremost, the person in the office of
principal needs to be an educational leader who promoted the success of all students by
advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to
student learning and staff professional growth, a thought credited to Fullan, 2001, p. 50. I find
it difficult to work for and respect principals that do not have experience as an educational leader
FIRST! I believe that teachers who performed well in the classroom; those who were at the
forefront of their content, those who were most influential on students, tend to make the best
principals. Ive worked with and seen principals who have less than five years of experience in a
classroom take a principal position and rarely have a positive influence on the teachers who are
their subordinates. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, however as a teacher with
thirteen years of experience, I find it hard to respect a principal who as less than five years under
their belt as a teacher making the jump to become a principal.
Next it is imperative that principals foster a nurturing school culture. Some of the
research in this article suggested that without an effective school culture the mission of the
school cannot be met. Leadership is all about organizational improvement; more specifically, it
is about establishing agreed-upon and worthwhile directions for the organization in question, and
doing whatever it takes to prod and support people to move in those directions. Our general
definition of leadership highlights these points: it is about direction and influence. Stability is the
goal of what is often called management. Improvement is the goal of leadership. But both are
very important. One of the most serious threats to stability in a school district is frequent
turnover in the ranks of superintendents, principals, and vice principals. Instability at the school
level often reflects a failure of management at the district level. This is research credited to
Seashore Louis et al., 2010, p. 10. Improving school culture and establishing a motivational
work environment where teachers and students both feel valued and challenged is crucial to
achieving student performance. It all begins with competent and nurturing leadership.
It is also important to point out that although indirectly, principals influence student
achievement through developing a clear concise mission that provides direction for teachers to
become more focused on instruction and creating an educational environment conducive to
learning. Although the success of the students is not directly an outcome of the principal they
initiate the expectation that should trickle down through teachers to students.
Finally, principals often delegate instructional leadership to faculty leaders within the
school. Stakeholders such as department chairs, leadership and curriculum teams, faculty senate
officers, and other such interties are often handed tasks by the principal to help spread the
oversight and functional happenings within the school. Done correctly, all members feel valued

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and adhere to the mission set forth originally by the principal. Establishing a working hierarchy
within the school positively correlates with student achievement. Teachers feel motivated
because they share the responsibility and therefore grasp a greater desire to meet the views and
expectations of the principal and the mission of the school.
Visibility of the principal within the classrooms and daily routine of the school is
imperative to high student performance. An effective principal is an active principal (Soehner
and Ryan, 2011, p. 282). When witnessing firsthand what teachers do within the classroom
principals can more effectively meet the instructional needs of the teachers. Understanding what
is going on in the classroom has twofold benefits. First, teachers feel that their hard work is
being witnessed and valued. Principals become more approachable when establishing an
interested reputation. Teachers feel motivation to work harder if they know that what they are
doing within the classroom is being observed on a regular basis. A more motivated teacher will
directly initiate higher student achievement. Secondly, when students see the principal visiting
classrooms and other areas or activities within the school, they understand that all entities care
about what is happening. Caring is contagious. Students who have good relationship with their
teachers will want them to appear more successful for their boss. Consequently, students feel
the need to work harder to look good for their teachers so their teacher looks good for the
principal. It is a domino effect of sorts that is initiated by the principal becoming more visible
within the school.
Further research in the article credits Nettles and Herrington (2007) for establishing the
eight common traits of effective principals. These traits included, recognizing that the focal
point of business at the school centers around teaching and learning, communicating to all
stakeholders the schools mission on a consistent basis, developing standards for teaching and
learning that challenge students yet attainable, supplying clear goals and checking the progress of
students toward meeting them, conducting school walkabouts and going into classrooms and
listening to teachers, endorsing an atmosphere of trust and sharing, structuring an effective staff
and setting professional development as a top priority, and not accepting ineffective teachers. A
principal who exhibits these eight traits will dramatically impact the workings of the school.
This includes but is not limited to student achievement.
In closing, this article did an excellent job at establishing the positive impact principals
can have on the interworking of a school, but most importantly how these workings indirectly
effect student achievement. A principal who passes student achievement off to the teachers will
not be an effective principal. Increased student achievement although laterally, is in the hands of
a principal. Through involved, caring leadership, a principal can establish a motivation working
environment for both teachers and students; therefore positively impacting student achievement.

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References
Soehner, D. and Ryan, T. (2011). The Interdependence of Principal School Leadership and
Student Achievement. Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly, Pages 274-288.