The Principal’s Office | The Ohio State University

Stories from the Field archives

Stories from the Field are real-world accounts from real principals.

A Principal in Transition: Shifting Gears…Or Was That Stripping Gears?: Tips for turning an unexpected resignation into a positive career change
Always Have a Backup Plan!: A parent/student gathering is disrupted by rain
An Advocate for Every Child: Staff members are paired with troubled students to handle problems in performance or act as a mentor and/or counselor
Differentiated Instruction: Thinking about Tomorrow: Discusses the importance of differentiated instruction and how to ensure that it is effective
Educational Options for Success : An alternative high school program is serving the needs of students who have been expelled or are at risk of dropping out.
Empowering Young Women with The Girls Circle Program: A structured support group helps counteract social and interpersonal forces that impede girls’ growth and development.
Getting the Support of Unruly Parents: A principal turns a hostile parent around to support a teacher’s discipline
Hedges H.O.S.T.S. Community Volunteers: A look at some community programs aimed at assisting students with literacy issues
I Made a Difference: A retired principal’s vote counts in a local school levy ballot
Improving Your Own Classroom Assessments: A teacher discusses how standardized testing has improved her own tests and grading, as well as how she teaches students the material
Joey’s Story: A difficult student learns to be a good citizen by caring for office plants
Learning for All Students: What principals can do to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn
Making Customized Education a Reality: Online options can provide students and districts opportunities that have not historically been possible.
Mobilizing Community Resources: Getting Good Volunteers: Hints and tips for getting quality volunteers, and managing volunteer participation and talents
My First Administrative Assignment: Encouraging words to a challenging building manager leads to a breakthrough
On Being an Excellent School: A principal details how their school improved their benchmark scores in proficiency/achievement
Safety Tips from a Seasoned Administrator: Emergency situation and evacuation tips
Standards-Based Education in Three Easy Years: Hints for improving educational methods to meet standards-based testing goals
Teacher-to-Teacher Collaboration: A principal encourages collaboration between teachers of the same grade to promote cooperation and new ideas
Testing Accommodations: A principal following the testing accommodations learns a lesson from the students
The P.I.E. Program and Mansfield Elective Academy: A student peer mentor program and Mansfield community “conversion” school are discussed/detailed
“The Principal’s Office,” the new reality series on TruTV: website includes videos of principals discussing situations and solutions that are actually interesting and instructive
The Teacher Who Refused to Let a Parent Off the Hook: Persistence on a parent leads to understanding and improved involvement for student and child
The Team in Intervention Assistance Team: An intervention team collaborates with the school social worker to improve conditions for a student’s family
Time for Professional Development: A school tries alternative methods for including time for professional development
Toranki School, Kuusamo, Finland: A new school takes its theme in design and curriculum from the community and environment, aiding students to survive in a harsh region
We WILL Be a Team!: A new principal encourages a reluctant, bickering staff to become a team
What Kind of Leader Are You?: Discussion of different modes of leadership and how they affect decision making and behaviors of followers

See the Subject Index to find articles organized by subject, or use the Search box on the right.

An annotated list with brief descriptions of the Archives contents is available (Word document).