Identifying the Competencies Required to be a Highly Effective Leader in a Low-Performing School

An elementary principal in the district of this study, conducted research that identified the competencies required to be a highly effective leader in a low-performing school. This is a Fall 2013 project that involved district leaders and school-based administrators in one of the largest school districts in Florida. This project is important because if successful, it can directly affect the 25% lowest achieving schools in the district, and ultimately the students in those schools. The program identified the common leadership competencies that administrators need in order to successfully lead a low-performing school through a transition to be a high-performing school. Based on these common leadership competencies, the district could select leader candidates and groom them to take over the lowest performing schools. One of the goals of this initiative is to use research to identify the common leadership competencies that have proven to be successful in leading low-performing schools to becoming high-performing schools. Another goal of the study is to use the results to modify the process of how the district selects administrators to serve in low-performing schools ultimately improving student achievement, decreasing the number of D and F schools, and therefore raising the overall district and school grades