This paper describes a new approach devised by the arvard Principals' Center for improving professional development for racticing principals. The approach is predicated on a novel conception of principals as life-long learners and on the proposition that principals themselves can and should assume major responsibility for all aspects of their professional development. Principals themselves were enlisted as the architects, designers, and engineers of the center. An advisory board consisting of

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... principals and 4 Harvard faculty determines the content and format of activities and plans each half-year's.program around their common needs. The results of four years' experience with this approach are described. The premises of the program have been fully validated, in that principals demonstrated rigor and inventiveness in planning programs for their colleagues, a constructive dialogue has developed between university and practitioners, and principals have chosen to participate voluntarily, and do so with enthusiasm. As a consequence, a new model for professional development is emerging: the center helps principals reflect on their work, clarify their thinking through articulation, and converse with others to better understand and hence improve their practice. The success of the program is evident in its rapid growth and the spawning of similar centers elsewhere. (TE)