Charter school principals in South Carolina are overwhelmingly veteran school leaders, but more than half are new to the charter sector, according to a study by the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast.
Researchers found 88 percent of charter principals in the state had at least six years of leadership experience, but 52 percent had led charter schools for two years or less. Charter principals, like the average principal nationwide, worked about 60 hours a week, but the principals studied reported close to 70-hour workweeks in their first year at charters.
Principals reported rarely facing staffing problems or interference from their school boards, but said their biggest challenges came from state agencies and authorizers.
