The quality of a school, the quality of teaching and the confidence of parents rest on the performance of the school’s leaders. The ability of a Harbor School to carry out its mission depends heavily upon the strength of its governing board. An effective board provides strategic direction for the school, chooses and nurtures strong school leaders, and ensures the school’s financial and legal soundness. For a charter school to succeed, it must form a board that is committed to the school’s mission, possesses substantial leadership skills and expertise, sets policy that guides the school’s work, and evaluates both the school and itself with an eye toward continuous improvement. The principal’s primary responsibility in a Harbor School is to create the conditions in the school community that support the Harbor core practices. The principal must protect teaching time, monitor quality instruction and be present throughout all student activities. You will see the principal every morning as students get dropped off and picked up at the end of the day. Principals in Harbor Schools are extremely visible to the student population. They are in classrooms every day, in hallways, in lunchroom, and on playgrounds. They use all of these venues to interact with students and use natural opportunities to teach, model and acknowledge student successes.

Core practices of school leadership include:

• Principals act as stewards of the educational process. They understand their responsibility as guardian of trust of students, parent and staff. They work to ensure that parents have confidence in the school as a place where students can experience success in learning.
• Principals are present, visible and actively monitor the learning environments. Since principals supervise lunch time, arrival and dismissal, they are visible and use this time to chat with parents and to interact with students. Paper work and other management responsibilities are performed before and after the instructional day.
• Boards and principals work to establish proactive communication and positive relationships with parents. A charter school board and principal make communication a management priority. Contributions of parents’ time, talents and energies are a valuable asset to enhance the school’s capacity to meet the educational needs of its children in extraordinary ways.

School Leadership Core Beliefs

• Principals and school boards are accountable for the quality and performance of the school.
• Leaders create the conditions for adults and students to be successful.
• Leaders connect parents and community to the school and its mission.