Leading with Heart: Urban Elementary Principals as Advocates for Students

Abstract

Principals in urban settings serve elementary schools often densely populated with highly mobile, ethnically diverse, and economically disadvantaged students (Dworkin, Toenjes, Purser, & Sheikh-Hussin, 2000). Due to the changing landscape of increasing accountability issues required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (2001), principals must adjust the mission of the school community to meet legislative demands (Johnson, 2004). Elementary principals are now heavily invested in strategies to meet the increased expectations of raising students’ academic performance. It is important to understand how urban elementary school principals reconcile the tensions between accountability and equality for all students.