In the elementary school of my 1950s suburban childhood, the principal was a shadowy figure who existed more in legend than in flesh. We knew there was a principal because teachers invoked his title to maintain order and discipline. The words, "sent to the principal's office" were words you never, ever wanted to be connected with your name. Kids who did wind up in that dreaded place were the only ones who ever set eyes on the fabled administrator, as far as I know. As a good girl who always followed school rules, I dodged the principal altogether. Looking back, I can recall no image of the man rumored to occupy the chair of ultimate authority in the building. Not a face, not a name, nothing beyond a vague sense of unease.

"I didn't have any idea what the principal's role was -- except to scold the kids," says my sister, who was three years behind me at the same North Seattle school.

But that has all changed in dramatic ways. We enter a new century with a radically altered vision of the principalship. The building leaders you'll read about in these pages are certain to leave tangible impressions on the students -- both rascals and angels -- under their stewardship. These principals rarely cloister themselves in their offices. Instead, they're abroad in the school, visible and available. They know each teacher's strengths and style. They greet each child by name -- might even wrap that child in a loving hug. They lead by listening. They make change by collaboration. They succeed by, above all, caring deeply about the people in their charge.

Research tells us that principals are the linchpins in the enormously complex workings, both physical and human, of a school. The job calls for a staggering range of roles: psychologist, teacher, facilities manager, philosopher, police officer, diplomat, social worker, mentor, PR director, coach, cheerleader. The principalship is both lowly and lofty. In one morning, you might deal with a broken window and a broken home. A bruised knee and a bruised ego. A rusty pipe and a rusty teacher.

Researchers Richard Ackerman, Gordon Donaldson Jr., and Rebecca van der Bogert capture the enormity of the job in their 1996 book, Making Sense as a School Leader. The principalship, they say, is about "working toward justice, developing fine teaching, integrating high achievement with wholesome personal qualities, promoting growth within the limits of your resources, changing practices while respecting everyone, creating collective ownership of and responsibility for kids' learning, and establishing the school as a community of autonomous, creative people."

Here we look in on some of the Northwest's best -- principals who are guiding their schools toward excellence while earning the affection and respect of their staff, students, and communities. In these schools, even the "good" kids know the principal.

-- Lee Sherman
nwedufeedback@nwrel.org