The new princpal smell has worn off and she's still smelling like a rose.

I really like some of the thoughtful responses in this thread. Thanks, parents!

P (Principal) ILF

I think he's a putz.

She finally woke-up and smelled the coffee. Took those rose-colored glasses off and shook the devil-off. Instead of becoming a stepford principal she's a drum-majorette for education.

He's smoking hot?

Her intelligence and understanding of children. Her passion to both the kids and the school (and the understanding that they are not the same). Her dedication to the program.

The fact that her child goes to school with mine knowing that all she does for the school is as a principal and a mother.

He is inspiring. His speeches have meaning both to us and to the kids. He loves the difficult ages of MSers and understands how they think. He is sympathetic. Unfortunately, he got a better offer and moved away.

I like that he is organized and takes his job very seriously.
He know the kids and the parents.
He does his job and expects everyone in the building to do theirs too.

I like that he is not in to drama. I like that the teachers feel supported and that he goes out of his way to call out success. I like the fact that he really looks for a point of success for each child and sees each kid as his responsibility. I like that I can see progressively more challenging work being done year after year. I like he really believes in grade teams.

I like that she does not just speak in educational platitudes. That is, when she talks about how the school is implementing a particular teaching technique or strategy she is specific, uses plain english, and I can understand what is going on. She can explain how the same strategy is implemented in pre-K and in 5th grade and the age appropriate differences.

She knows all the kids well.

She hires great teachers.

She welcomes a fulsome discussion of a controversial subject and how the school is handling it and can break down the decision making and implementation process.

The kids love her.

I like that he's accessible. He gives a little speech each morning at the start of school but before that he's not hiding out in his office - he's in the common area and walking around the hall, talking to kids and parents.

I like that he doesn't do that condescending phony thing the principal before him did.

I like that he knows his kids. On Math Night (math games) you could pay money to buy a dinner. We can't afford that, and he saw DD running by, told her the school had too much extra food and invited her to eat, for free.

I like that he knows how to pronounce my kid's full first name, and not just the easier shortened portion of it.

He's relate-able (is that even a word?). He and his partner walked by us one weekend afternoon and while DD played with their dog, we stood around chatting about non-school-related things for a solid 20 minutes. I like that as a person, I like him.

DC teacher and parent here. I want to know what parents look for and like about their schools principals, before we start thinking about schools for DS. I know that a parent like and a teacher like are often different things and I am trying to learn how to put on my Mom hat when looking objectively at school leadership!