Opinion
School & District Management Opinion

4 Things Districts Can Do to Find (and Keep) Good Principals

By Jody Spiro — August 07, 2017 6 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Leading a school to better teaching and learning requires a great principal. Unfortunately, finding and training new principals in effective school leadership has been a long-standing challenge for many districts. So it’s good news for districts and states focused on school improvement that six large, urban school districts have shown it is possible—and not expensive—to build principal pipelines that have a mission to produce a steady supply of effective school leaders.

BRIC ARCHIVE

The proof is in the hard work by districts in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.; Denver; Gwinnett County, Ga.; Hillsborough County, Fla.; New York City; and Prince George’s County, Md. These districts tested whether they could put in place the four elements that research and experience have suggested are essential to principal pipelines: rigorous job standards, strong preservice training, selective hiring, and sound on-the-job support and evaluation for novice principals.

Their push was part of a five-year, $85 million effort launched in 2011 by the Wallace Foundation. (As its director of education leadership, I led the pipeline initiative’s implementation team and participated in its design.) Each district received up to $12.5 million to cover expenses, such as staff to direct the project, outside advisers and mentors for leadership training, and information technology. All six districts successfully built the four pipeline components, according to a Wallace-commissioned study by Policy Studies Associates, an independent research firm. (Wallace awarded contracts to Policy Studies Associates and the RAND Corp. to evaluate the pipeline initiative from its inception.)

As it turns out, upgrading leader standards and hiring practices isn’t as expensive as one might think. A study released in June by the RAND Corp. found that the cost to develop a school leader needn’t be steep, generally representing only 0.4 percent of the pipeline districts’ yearly expenditures. That’s about $42 per student, compared with the $608 per student that U.S. districts spend on average for total expenses relating to school administration.

The changes on the ground in these districts have been profound. Denver’s superintendent, Tom Boasberg, said that five years ago, his public schools lacked qualified candidates for principal positions. Now, district officials have many top-notch job seekers from whom to choose. Although each district’s pipeline reflects its unique needs, all six have commonalities and ideas for action that other districts might consider for their own leadership efforts.

With evidence that districts can build principal pipelines, education leaders have good reason to examine how they develop school leadership."

Here’s what they learned:

• Set the bar high for leader standards. Each district’s independently written description of what principals need to know and be able to do—from conducting high-quality classroom observations to demonstrating a commitment to equity—formed a strong foundation for the work and guided all aspects of pipeline construction. The standards’ development, informed by a set of voluntary national standards published by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration in 2015, was a collaborative effort within and across each district. The districts set up committees with principal supervisors, chief academic officers, teachers’ union representatives, and principals themselves to bring varying perspectives to the table. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the committee included preservice-training-program experts.

• Improve hiring practices. Each district worked to better assess a candidate’s fit with a school that had a principal vacancy. Online data systems that put key personnel and school information in one place allowed for more efficient matchmaking. Several districts began to require demonstrations of candidates’ abilities during the interview process. An applicant might be asked, for example, to role-play a principal responding to a dissatisfied parent; take a “learning walk” through the school with a principal supervisor; or be interviewed by a panel representing the school community. Surveys of novice principals conducted by Policy Studies indicated that they were more likely than those hired a few years earlier to report an “excellent” match between their schools and their skills and experience.

• Provide on-the-job support for novice principals. The pipeline did not end after new principals had keys to the school building. The districts rolled out yearly performance evaluations designed to further learning and growth, especially to enhance instruction. In surveys, new principals who came in under the initiative noted that receiving ongoing feedback was constructive for their work. Districts also had their principal supervisors focus less on compliance and more on assisting principals with teaching and learning—a move that, the Policy Studies surveys suggested, was appreciated by the novice principals. The most valued support, according to those surveyed, came from mentoring and coaching by people like Margaret Ackerman, a retired principal who works with novices in Gwinnett County. She guided Holly Warren, the recently hired principal of Dacula Elementary School, through an examination of testing data, then coached her in creating an instructional plan for students whose scores indicated a need for improvement.

• Don’t forget about preservice training. Most districts independently created or built on in-house training programs for preservice principals, allowing participants to learn about specific district needs and requirements. Each district also collaborated with local universities to improve their preparation efforts in the initiative’s latter days. In both cases, districts put a new emphasis on tapping high-potential candidates according to rigorous criteria. Rachael O’Dea, now a principal at Lanier Elementary School in Tampa, Fla., recalls jumping through hurdles—including writing six essays, having an interview, and providing stellar references—before entering Hillsborough’s Preparing New Principals program.

The districts’ pipeline work is far from finished, and the effort’s impact on student achievement and other measures is the subject of ongoing analysis. What’s beyond dispute is that pipelines have produced benefits for districts and principals alike.

The moment is ripe for other education officials to consider pipeline work. Currently, states and districts are drawing up plans for how they will implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. Funding under the federal law’s Title II may be used to support the four principal-pipeline components individually or the pipeline as a whole—though how much will be appropriated for this part of the law beyond 2017-18 remains to be seen. In addition, the law’s Title I provides funding for improving the highest-need schools, a task rarely accomplished without skilled principals and other school leaders. Moreover, more than 30 school leadership studies identify activities—from principal training to evaluation—with a research base strong enough to pass the law’s evidence thresholds, according to a 2016 review by RAND.

With evidence that districts can build principal pipelines, education leaders have good reason to examine how they develop school leadership and whether they should fortify their efforts. A great teacher can electrify a classroom. A team of great teachers led by a great principal can electrify a whole school.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
(Re)Focus on Dyslexia: Moving Beyond Diagnosis & Toward Transformation
Move beyond dyslexia diagnoses & focus on effective literacy instruction for ALL students. Join us to learn research-based strategies that benefit learners in PreK-8.
Content provided by EPS Learning
Classroom Technology Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: Is AI Out to Take Your Job or Help You Do It Better?
With all of the uncertainty K-12 educators have around what AI means might mean for the future, how can the field best prepare young people for an AI-powered future?
Special Education K-12 Essentials Forum Understanding Learning Differences
Join this free virtual event for insights that will help educators better understand and support students with learning differences.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About The District Academic Officer Persona?
The district academic officer is a key player when it comes to purchasing. Test your knowledge of this key buyer persona and see how your results stack up with your peers.
School & District Management Download Navigating Tense Conversations at Work: A Guide for Educators (Downloadable)
A downloadable guide to help educators navigate polarizing conflicts.
3 min read
Polar opposite hands hold u a triangular flag. Teamwork, resolution, truce.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management Opinion Education Leaders, You Can't Do Your Job in Isolation
An unusual way to begin a leadership team retreat leads to a deeper understanding of why teachers and leaders need to work together.
5 min read
Screen Shot 2024 10 01 at 7.05.34 AM
Shutterstock
School & District Management Educators Rush to Get Food and Shelter to Their Students After Hurricane Helene
Districts slammed by an unprecedented natural disaster have become shelter zones for their communities.
7 min read
A passerby checks the water depth of a flooded road, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Morganton, N.C. Torrential rain from Hurricane Helene left many area streets flooded. In addition, traffic lights are inoperable due to no power, with downed power lines and trees.
A passerby checks the water depth of a flooded road, Sept. 28, 2024, in Morganton, N.C. Torrential rain from Hurricane Helene left area streets flooded, and strong winds downed power lines and trees. Schools have become hubs to support their communities as recovery begins.
Kathy Kmonicek/AP