ABSTRACT
Effective principals have a strong core of beliefs: principles that guide their decisions, touchstones that help them distinguish right from wrong, and goals that define their vision for the school. The author shares the core beliefs that he followed in his years as a principal. He outlines his beliefs here for three reasons. One is just to let the reader know how simple they are. Another is to help build an understanding that the clearer our beliefs are, the more effective we can be in working toward them. A third is to illustrate how these core beliefs frame the way we work in schools. The author wanted everyone—every student, every teacher, each staff member, all the parents—to think it was cool to care. Once it is cool to care, anything becomes possible including hiring great teachers.
