Sheila Eller

Sheila A. Eller, EdD, is a middle school principal for Mounds View Public Schools in Minnesota. She is a former principal, university professor, special education teacher, Title I math teacher, and teacher.
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Is your school culture toxic?

School Culture: The Essential Element of Successful Schools

Categories: School Improvement

In our book, Working with Difficult and Resistant Staff, we talk about the importance of addressing problems and the people causing these problems in order to nurture a productive school culture. We also share strategies for strengthening the positive people in the school so they can stay strong when facing negative colleagues and situations. So, just what is this element called school culture, and what does it have to do with the success of the school? Read more

Teacher performance evaluation is only the first step in reaching professional teaching goals.

6 Steps to Empower Collaborative Teams to Learn New Instructional Strategies

Categories: PLC, School Improvement

Sharing the Burden of Professional Growth and Development between Principals and Peers

One of the challenges facing 21st-century leaders is helping teachers to grow and learn. Identifying the most promising, research-proven teaching strategies is not the problem. Recently, books such as Visible Learning for Teachers (Hattie, 2012), Teach like a Champion (Lemov, 2010), and Classroom Instruction That Works (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler, & Stone, 2010), and others have provided us with research that enables us to know which teaching strategies hold the most power to improve student learning. Helping teachers to adopt and use these strategies, however, can prove challenging for school leaders. Read more