Elementary School Principals and Job Term Paper

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According to Copland (2001), although the following job description is a parody, it is not too far from the truth concerning the current set of responsibilities that confront the nation's elementary school principals:

Position Opening: Elementary School Principal, Anytown School District. Qualifications: Wisdom of a sage, vision of a CEO, intellect of a scholar, leadership of a point guard, compassion of a counselor, moral strength of a nun, courage of a firefighter, craft knowledge of a surgeon, political savvy of a senator, toughness of a soldier, listening skills of a blind man, humility of a saint, collaborative skills of an entrepreneur, certitude of a civil rights activist, charisma of a stage performer, and patience of Job. Salary lower than you might expect. Credential required. For application materials, contact... (Copland, 2001, p. 528).

While the above advertisement may be beyond the typical requirements, they are not too far off from reality. Copland points to the following actual excerpt from a job listing recently posted for an elementary principalship in a large, urban school system:

The elementary school principal provides direction and leadership within the assigned school. This involves overseeing the management of the educational program, decision-making and communication processes, business operations, staff and community relations programs, and the physical plant.

The principal directs the establishment and maintenance of a school climate conducive to student achievement and learning, including overseeing the enforcement of school rules and regulations, the implementation of disciplinary measures, when necessary, as well as serving as a catalyst to motivate and empower staff, students, and parents to become active participants in the efforts to increase student achievement by improving the educational experience and program.

The principal facilitates and coordinates the implementation of various cluster initiatives, including school participation in the cluster council; the development and implementation of an effective school council; the development of small learning communities; and the planning, implementation, and administration of decentralization plans.

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The principal's responsibilities include the improvement of instruction; assessment of student and program success; classroom visitations; the rating of professionals and paraprofessionals; staff orientation and staff development; program planning, monitoring, and evaluation; identification of school needs in terms of personnel and programs; providing staff development for teachers, paraprofessionals, and parent/community volunteers; establishing close working relationships with the Home and School Association; serving as a member of the instructional support team; fostering parent involvement in school activities; establishing and maintaining communications with business, civic, and religious leaders; working with community groups; interpreting existing school programs to the community; developing new and revised school programs to meet community needs and concerns; identifying social and emotional needs of students; ensuring the provision of programs to meet the needs of students beyond the basic skills and basic curricular areas; and performing related duties as required.

The responsibilities described above are to be seen in the context of a shared governance model which supports consultation, collaboration, and consensus among the various constituent groups within the school (Copland, 2001, p. 528).

The author concludes that these prevailing expectations about the elementary school principal's responsibility are inordinately excessive, a trend which is a fundamental part of the problems facing educational administration in America today (Copland, 2001). The stress that is associated with the typical elementary school principal's workday can clearly be related, at least in part, to the large volume of problems they are required to resolve on a daily basis as shown in Table 1 below. According to Cross, elementary school principals generally handle an average of approximately 100 problems per day. "Under such conditions it can hardly be expected that principals reach decisions through the deliberative, self-conscious, classic steps in decision making" (1980, p. 158).

Table 1......

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