DISTRIBUTING LEADERSHIP IN SCHOOLS
Mary Neuman and Warren Simmons (2000) observe that, "In the most effective schools that we have worked with, every member of the education community has the responsibil- ity-and the authority-to take appropriate leadership roles. ... The definition of 'leader' has been broadened to encompass teachers, staff members, parents, and members of the entire education community" (pp. 9-10).
Elmore (2000) lists five principles of distributed leadership in schools: (1) the purpose of leadership is the improvement of instructional practice and performance, regardless of role, (2) instructional improvement requires continuous learning, (3) learning requires mod- eling, (4) the roles and activities of leadership flow from the expertise required for learning and improvement, not from the formal dictates of the institution, and (5) the exercise of authority requires reciprocity of accountability and capacity.