> Photo 7.1 Principals have multiple responsibilities, but it is probably most important that they view themselves as leaders in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Steve Hix/Somos Images/Corbis
208 CHAPTER 7: Governing and Administering Public Education
In some districts, however, as explained in Chapter 2, The Teaching Profession, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have provided principals and teachers increased responsibility for such matters as developing and aligning curriculum with instructional practices and assessments, participating in peer observations, and allocating time for professional development. Collaboration with teachers and other school staff to create school policies that improve student learning calls for a more participatory governance style by school principals.23
7-1e Parent and Community Involvement Many collaborative school programs go beyond principals and teachers by giving important roles to parents and other community members, as well. In doing so, they build on a movement for increased parent and community involvement evident since the 1970s. Many educators have promoted parent involvement for the most basic of reasons: research indicates that it pays off in higher student test scores on standardized tests, lower absenteeism, improved behavior at home and school, and higher motivation to study.24 Across the nation, polls indicate that the public overwhelmingly supports the idea of parent involvement and believes that parents play a major role in children’s education. As a result of this support, parent involvement was a key component of NCLB and is a major focus of the Obama administration’s New Family and Community Engagement Framework.25 Nevertheless, teachers perceive that parents are reluctant to take full advantage of existing opportunities to involve themselves with their children’s schooling. In a Department of Education survey of parents, 42 percent of parents claimed that they
NASSP, Changing Role of the Middle Level and High School Leader: Learning from the Past – Preparing for the Future (Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2007); and The Wallace Foundation, The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning (New York: The Wallace Foundation, January 2013). 24 Asnat Dor and T. Brooke Rucker-Naidu, “Teachers Attitudes toward Parents’ Involvement in School: Comparing Teachers in the USA and Israel,” Issues in Educational Research (September 2012), pp. 246–262. 25 Jennifer DePlanty, Russell Coulter-Kern, and Kim A. Duchane, “Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Academic Achievement,” Journal of Educational Research (July 2007), pp. 361–368; and Family and Community Engagement (Washington, DC, April 2014) at www.ed.gov/family-and -community-engagement. 23
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