School leaders must deal with issues such as equity, achievement gaps, irrelevant curriculum, limited choice, limited achievement results, inadequate school structures to support professional community, and inadequate leadership.
What is a conscientious person supposed to do? The authors of this excellent paper suggest that moral purpose is behind every successful leader. They use a conception of morality which they define as:
" the effort to guide one's conduct by reason-that is, to do what this is to do should be based upon the best reasons for doing it-while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual who will be affected by one's conduct (Rachels, 1992). A conscientious moral agent is someone who is concerned impartially with the interests of everyone affected by what he or she does; who carefully sifts facts and examines their implications; who accepts principles of conduct only after scrutinizing them to make sure they are sound; who is willing to "listen to reason" even when it means that his or her earlier convictions may have to be revised; and who, finally is willing to act on the results of this deliberation (Rachels, 1993). In a moral community, we ought to give equal consideration to the interests of everyone who will be affected by our conduct. "

They suggest that their moral leader "assumes the role of leadership is being responsible for all students, especially those whose voices are not typically heard. It is about building capacity at the regional, district, and school level to set high and common expectations for all students as well as being able to meet all of their diverse needs. It is about making sure all students are learning and are prepared for their life after school. Leadership is about having the courage to set this direction and keep all of the stakeholders focused on what is important."