“The Attributes and Career Paths of Principals: Implications for Improving Policy,” by Frank C. Papa Jr., Hamilton Lankford, and James Wyckoff. Mining 30 years of New York state data, the researchers at the State University of New York at Albany discover, among other trends, that districts are hiring older candidates as first-time principals. (Requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader.) Aavailable from Teacher Policy Research.
by Marguerite Roza. A survey of officials in 83 school districts across the country finds that, on average, systems get 17 applications for each opening for a principalship. A related
is also available from the
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by Susan M. Gates, Jeanne S. Ringel, and Lucrecia Santibañez. The
researchers analyze federal data on the national supply of education leaders and find that 99 percent of public school principals have been teachers.
“A License to Lead? A New Leadership for America’s Schools,” by Frederick M. Hess. A paper sponsored by the Progressive Policy Institute argues that state licensing rules for educators should be pared back to allow nontraditional candidates without education experience to become administrators. (Requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader.)
“Better Leaders for America’s Schools: A Manifesto” by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. This policy statement makes the case for deregulating state licensure rules for principals and superintendents. It includes a summary of a survey of state policies showing that all but a handful of states require school leaders to have taught. (Requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader.)
