Changing Role of the Principal

Changing Role of the Principal from Manager to Leader From manager to mentor, administrator to leader, and promoter of the status quo to promoter of new and innovative ways of enriching students' and teachers' academic experiences, the role of today's principal is undergoing a fundamental shift. While managing and facilitating the basic functions of any academic institution is critical, there is a net, major unmet need on the part of both students and teachers to have a leader who can bring new, imaginative and challenging concepts into a learning environment. This is the new role of the principal; to answer this unmet need and extend the learning opportunities for students and teachers alike. For any principal to be successful in this new dual role of managing the basic functions of a learning organization and bring to bear entirely new approaches to learning that can benefit both students and teachers, a new era of accountability truly great leader embrace is important. The focus on being a change agent that enriches the students and teachers alike is at the core of this new role of principals. There must be a passion for continually changing for the better, continually finding the unmet needs in the academic pursuits of both students and teachers to excel in this new role of principal. The true test of a principal who excels in this new role is one who is leading their institutions by a commitment of constantly being willing to also get measured by their peers and the certification organizations that periodically test themselves for competency according to Anderson, Rolheiser, Kim (1998). The ability to be unerringly honest of their strengths and weaknesses yet also focus on the unmet needs of students and teacher alike are the mile markers of the principal's new role of leader, not just manager or administrator. References Anderson, Rolheiser, Kim (1998) - Anderson, Stephen; Rolheiser, Carol; Gordon, Kim. Preparing Teachers to be Leaders. Educational Leadership, v55 n5 p59-61 Feb 1998. (EJ560893)