ABSTRACT
Outstanding principals know that if they have great teachers, they have a great school; without great teachers, they do not have a great school. More importantly, all of their audiences take the same view. If my third-grade daughter has a great teacher, I think highly of her school. If her teacher is not great, I see her school as less than stellar no matter how many awards she wins, no matter how many students earn high test scores, and no matter how many plaques adorn the main office. Students share this perspective. If a high-school sophomore has four great teachers each day (out of four!), then believe me, that sophomore will think the school is great. As the quality of teachers drops, so does a student’s opinion of the school. All the way from kindergarten through college, the quality of the teachers determines our perceptions of the quality of the school.
