It's now generally established that school leadership is second only to classroom instruction in improving student outcomes. In this segment we look at five key factors that ensure school principal success, how to manage them well and why these key points can make such a profound difference.

Jody Spiro is The Wallace Foundation's director of education leadership. She began working at the foundation as senior program officer in 2002 where she has worked on issues of education leadership throughout the country.She is the author of the Leading Change Handbook and Leading Change Step-by-Step: Tactics, Tools, and Tales.