I was excited to hear a summary of the latest Wallace-funded research around principal effectiveness, by Jason Grissom from Vanderbilt University. In addition to the fact that we knew that good principals impact student achievement, the research also points to principals having a significant effect on student absenteeism, teacher working conditions, and teacher turnover. Grissom's work outlined that “principals who consistently engage in these behaviors see more positive behaviors”:

• Engaging in instructionally focused interactions with teachers
• Building a productive climate
• Facilitating collaboration and professional learning communities
• Managing personnel and resources strategically

The Wallace panel, facilitated by Dr. Jackie Wilson, included real world examples from Nashville Metro Superintendent Adrienne Battle, Loudoun County Superintendent Aaron Spence (whose sustainability work in his previous district I know from the National Green Schools Network!), and Hawaii's Department of Education's Stacie Kunihisa. These leaders took the Wallace research and demonstrated how their systems are creating supports for instructional leaders. Nashville has a Leadership Framework and Playbooks for leaders that align expectations with outcomes. In Loudoun County, relationships, outcomes, and technical skills all matter and Spence is creating a Profile of a Leader to provide clarity. Hawaii's unique context has created multi-tiered levels of coaching and support, especially for their many new leaders.

It's important to partner with universities and organizations conducting educational research. As practitioners we don't have the time for in-depth research studies, but we benefit from the results and by applying their findings to our settings. Leaders deserve clarity around their work in order to ensure students social, emotional and academic success.