There was a time when principals were mostly known as building managers, the people in charge of making sure of two things: Maintaining discipline when a student became too disruptive for the teacher and keeping office supplies stocked.

A new report from the Center for Public Education expresses what local school districts already know, that “the image of a principal as everything from an ineffective, out-of-touch authoritarian (has changed) to a hard-charging leader capable of single-handedly turning around a low-performing school.”

“As a kid, I don’t remember my principal being in the classroom or being engaged with the kids,” said Dawn Delight Crook, principal at Mayfield Elementary School in Middletown. “But now, teachers are crying out for support, for someone who knows instruction and can help them reach out to use all the resources available to them.”

“It is my job to help teachers be distinguished,” said Kathy Wagonfield, principal at Ridgeway Elementary in Hamilton. “By teacher observations and evaluations I am certain to commend instruction as well as expect specific changes in order to benefit our students.”

“I feel strongly that the leadership of the principal is the single most important factor in the success of the school,” said Janet Baker, superintendent of Hamilton City Schools. A principal “creates the vision and motivates and inspires staff and students to high levels of achievement. In their critical role as instructional leaders, they set goals, monitor teaching and learning, review and use data for planning and improvement, implement training and provide feedback for growth to their staffs on an ongoing and regular basis.”

According to Lisa Lowry, director of human resources for Middletown City Schools, whether a building has any assistant principals depends on budgetary concerns and the number of students in a building.

“Assistant principals typically handle areas such as discipline, supervision, evaluations and support for students, staff and families,” Baker said. “Obviously, duties vary from building to building as they serve at the direction of the building principals.”

In Hamilton, the salary range for a principal in Hamilton and Middletown range from $66,428 to $109,043, assistant principals from $59,983 to $95,453.

Especially in the last decade, since the national No Child Left Behind law made test scores a primary focus in assessing the effectiveness of a school district, much of what a principal does is driven by the data.

“My name is attached to the school report card, and rightfully should be,” said Middletown Middle School Principal Michael Valenti. “I’m responsible for the academic achievement of this building and that needs to be the focus, so I have no problem with that.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.