Impacting Student Achievement: Principals' Instructional Leadership Practice in Two Title I Rural Schools.

This article examines principals' instructional leadership practices in rural, high-poverty Title I elementary and middle schools and their perceived impact on student achievement. Through qualitative case studies involving interviews and focus groups with principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and teachers at two Virginia schools, seven key leadership practices were identified as influential: collaborative planning, data meetings, informal observations with feedback, visibility and transparency, job-embedded professional development, relationship building, and equitable distribution of instructional resources. These practices align with existing research and are reported by stakeholders to directly support student learning and foster achievement cultures in challenging rural, low-income contexts. The study highlights the importance of preparing and supporting principals who can implement evidence-based instructional leadership to improve outcomes for vulnerable students in rural high-poverty schools.