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I'm Joe Johnson.

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I am the Executive Director of the National Center

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for Urban School Transformation at San Diego State University.

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The role of principals is essential in helping schools improve instruction.

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First of all, principals have to be present.

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If it's important enough to have professional development around an issue,

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then it's important enough for the principal to actually be in classrooms to see

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if people are addressing that issue, if people are improving,

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and providing feedback to support that.

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Rod Paige, the former Superintendent in Houston and former Secretary of Education,

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when he was in Houston, he used to tell his principals,

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"It's not so much what you expect, it's what you inspect."

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And so when teachers know this is what our leader is expecting us to do,

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this is what our leader is actually going to be looking for,

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and he is going to-or she is going to-be in my classroom to see then it increases the likelihood

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that there is attention to those issues.

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And then when there is that attention, there can then be dialogue about what needs to happen,

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what support needs to happen to help teachers make movement in those directions.

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People don't engage when they don't trust.

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So, if I am a teacher and at my school we are asked to engage

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in this new instructional practice, if I perceive that this is not something that's being done

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with me, it's being done to me, if I perceive that maybe the agenda-the hidden agenda-is

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to have me fail and to move me out of the picture,

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then I might get very creative to either figure out how to make it look

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like I am doing what is wanted, or I might get very creative

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to figure out ways to sabotage the effort.

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In any case, I am not so likely to really engage full-heartedly in a way that's going

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to make this a success for myself and for my students,

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and so leaders have to understand how important it is

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to create an environment in which people trust.

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That, in fact, the leader wants everybody to succeed,

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and is looking for ways to provide that support that will help ensure everyone's success.