What happens when leaders from the central office to the classroom create the space and trust for deep learning together? At the UW Center for Educational Leadership (CEL), our Principal Supervisor Professional Learning and Coaching (PSPLC) helps principal supervisors...
District Leadership
Leading for Equity-Driven, Student-Focused School Leader Success
May 31, 2024
To be successful, school leaders need supportive district leaders. They need a central office team that creates the conditions for equity-driven leadership, which continuously centers students and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
Fostering inclusion from the central office to the classroom
Apr 11, 2024
Each year the University of Washington College of Education convenes a series of webinars with education thought leaders to explore how we can center equity and leverage community voice to create more inclusive school environments and communities. In April the Center for Educational Leadership Executive Director, Max Silverman, hosted a conversation with two central office leaders, Dr. Ivan Duran, Superintendent at Highline School District, and Dr. Kelly An, Assistant Superintendent at Long Beach Unified School District.
Creating effective systems of principal support
Feb 29, 2024
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), led by Dr. Adrienne Battle, is one of the nation’s largest school districts—serving more than 80,000 students across 158 schools. MNPS’s central office–called the Support Hub in recognition of the office’s role in supporting and...
Closing the Distance Between Students and School System Leadership
Feb 15, 2022
Students know an equity champion when they see one. In recent CEL equity leadership focus groups, our CEL team asked students to describe their “hero principal.” Students shared attributes of a hero principal like “a history of fighting for social justice” with the...
A Throughline of Caring
Jan 11, 2022
I spent much of 2021 engaging deeply with leaders across the country about the transformational power that school leaders hold for leading equitable school communities. What I learned is that, when positioned properly and truly empowered to lead, principals are the...
Humanizing School and District Leadership Through Student Experience
Nov 18, 2021
What would happen if school and district leaders used students’ experiences and perspectives as the basis for their leadership? In CEL’s partnerships with school systems, we ask leaders to focus on the experiences of students furthest from justice in their schools and...
What the Four Dimensions of School Leadership Looks Like in Action
Dec 17, 2020
Brandon White is the chief academic officer at South Bend Community Schools in Indiana. When working with school leaders, his approach is that "we as educators must be involved in learning ourselves." Lisa Rooney, director of framework development and support, spoke...
3 Things All Principals Need From Their Central Office To Be Successful
Jan 28, 2016
A quick scan of education news headlines shows: the role of school principal is less satisfying and attractive than it has ever been. Whether you look at principal job satisfaction surveys or the data on principal tenure, education leaders need to wake up and figure...
Recent Posts
CEL’s Top 10 Most-Accessed Tools & Resources 2025
Jan 15, 2026
The start of each new year offers an opportunity to take stock of what is working, name what needs attention, and clarify how to keep students at the center of instructional leadership practice. Over the past year, hundreds of educational leaders turned to our...
Helping Teachers Set Goals Grounded in Student Learning
Jan 5, 2026
In this current environment where goal-setting is central to professional learning, this post helps leaders work with teachers to set goals that are grounded in student learning and connected to instructional practice.
The Power of Celebrating Small Wins
Oct 21, 2025
Creating school cultures that elevate students’ belonging and agency is inspiring but challenging work. Shifting a school’s culture doesn’t happen overnight; it happens step by step. Each step up the staircase represents progress toward the ideal state, and recognizing those steps matters. While the ideal state often feels far away or even unattainable, celebrating small wins keeps momentum going. These celebrations remind everyone—leaders, teachers, and students—that the climb is worth it, and that each step is a small victory on the way to the top.
From Observation to Action: What Leaders Learn by Seeing School Through Students’ Eyes
Sep 8, 2025
When I was a superintendent, one of the most meaningful things my cabinet and I did was spend a day shadowing students. Following them from class to class gave me a perspective that I could not get from reports or test scores. It showed me what school really felt like for them. Sometimes what I saw was hard to take in, and other times it was inspiring, but it always helped me understand how our schools were working, or not, for every student. Now, as CEL’s Executive Director, I am proud to lead an organization that believes strongly in the power of students’ voices. At CEL, we help leaders slow down, listen to students, and see school through their eyes.
From the Central Office to the Classroom: Student Gains in the Central Valley
Jul 24, 2025
What happens when leaders from the central office to the classroom create the space and trust for deep learning together? At the UW Center for Educational Leadership (CEL), our Principal Supervisor Professional Learning and Coaching (PSPLC) helps principal supervisors...