Conclusion
Recommendations for principal preparation programs, expectations for the requirements to achieve the advanced certification, and continued accomplishments of the principals themselves will bring new vision and insight into the principalship. The focus of the entities involved, the university programs, the pre-service principals, and the National Board Certification groups, should now and always be based on the attributes and qualities a school leader needs to possess in order to achieve the expected and unexpected learning accomplishments of their students.
Transforming schools, meeting daily challenges, and setting a vision of and for excellence represents only a few traits of highly effective principals. Currently, leadership programs bear the burden of responsibility for the preparation and training of pre-service principals. The time has come to distinguish successful principals for their dedication to the success of their students and schools. Attaining the principalship requires the completion of leadership courses and passing a licensure exam. Achieving the proposed advanced certification is a result of principals’ personal efforts to ensure continuous learning takes place on their campuses and in some degree, the effectiveness of the leadership programs that prepared them.
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