In our ever-changing education landscape, a principal “must be content expert, coach, politician, and cheerleader, all wrapped into one,” says Steven Winlock, longtime school administrator and currently Executive Director of the Leadership Institute, Sacramento County Office of Education (California).

When Winlock began his administrative career, there were no state standards to provide guidance on what education leaders should know or be able to do. Today, California has leadership standards and a detailed companion resource, both recently updated, that provide the kind of direction and support that Winlock did not have early in his career.

The state standards, along with Moving Leadership Standards Into Everyday Work: Descriptions of Practice, are being used not only to guide new administrators but also to support a variety of school and district leaders in other stages of their careers.

Read more in this recently published R&D Alert Online article.