Edited By Marc Tucker and Judy Codding An imaginative proposal for a new kind of institution that will help principals lead change in standards-based schools. The book discusses the philosophy of the National Institute for School Leadership. Details...		The NISL Executive Development Program has two components: • NISL faculty members teach the curriculum of the principals program to leadership teams selected from among senior local educators. • The NISL-trained leadership teams in turn teach the NISL curriculum to local principals and other school leaders. The leadership teams learn the NISL curriculum in depth, as well as the best ways to teach it. The teams also practice the delivery of the curriculum as part of becoming NISL-certified instructors. How NISL Trains Leadership Teams Every NISL partner--whether a state, a school system, a university or an education association--selects a team of educators to learn the NISL curriculum and then teach it to local principals. These leadership teams range in size from 6 to 12 members, depending on the number of principals to be trained. They typically include a project director, one or more elementary, middle and high school principals, two or more district administrators in curriculum and instruction, human resources and principal supervision, and one or more local university faculty members. The core of the leadership curriculum is taught in 2, 3, or 4-day sessions. The first phase requires a total of 19 days and is taught by NISL faculty. Leadership teams work through units on strategic thinking, standards-based instructional systems, the principal as school designer, excellence in literacy and math, instructional leadership, and other topics. In collaboration with NISL faculty, the teams then plan their training of local principals. Next, they participate in two-day institutes led by NISL staff, designed to deepen their instructional coaching and facilitation skills. In addition, a NISL coach works with the teams, providing the school district 6 days of technical assistance face-to face, by phone or via the Internet. The leadership teams next begin their second phase of training--covering the remaining units of the NISL curriculum over a total of 10 days taught in 2 or 3-day sessions. This instruction is further enriched through a final two-day simulation and additional technical assistance. How Leadership Teams Train Local Principals After they have finished phase one, local leadership team members begin to deliver that phase of the NISL curriculum to district principals and other school leaders. Upon completing phase two of the program themselves, local teams next conduct phase two of the program with the first cohort and then go on to train additional cohorts in the full program. The NISL program is designed to focus on practicing principals with one to five years of experience, though districts and other partners are, of course, free to choose their participants. For example, with program adjustments, some clients have worked with NISL faculty in adapting the program for aspiring principals.