A Snail Mail In-Basket Gets a Delivery Update 1.1 2007/05/30 08:20:43.633 GMT-5 2007/05/30 13:21:41.513 GMT-5 Shelly L. Albritton shellya@uca.edu National Council of Professors National Council of Professors of Educational Administration stdyxn12@shsu.edu Shelly L. Albritton shellya@uca.edu education leadership in baskets NCPEA university preparation For years, principal pre-service programs have employed in-basket simulations to provide learning experiences that reflect the realities of a school administrator’s work day. In-basket exercises afford graduate students opportunities to explore such leadership skills as organizing and prioritizing tasks, managing time, making decisions, taking initiative, practicing interpersonal skills, delegating responsibilities, and monitoring and following up on actions (Nowack, K. M., 1993). In order to replicate as closely as possible how communication is practiced in today’s schools, the delivery of a traditional in-basket exercise (Gorton, Alston, & Snowden, 2007) was repackaged as the Principal’s Inbox Simulation in one principal preparation program. The basic premise of the traditional in-basket remained intact, but the delivery of the in-basket was updated to reflect the way communication is practiced in today’s schools; that is, to mirror as closely as possible a principal at his/her desk responding to messages in their email in-box. This module has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and sanctioned by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a scholarly contribution to the knowledge base in educational administration. Click Here to Access Entire Article