A report by a charter-advocacy group outlines steps to recruit and prepare the next generation of leaders for the autonomous public schools.
The Washington-based National Alliance for Public Charter Schools projects that charters will need anywhere from 6,000 to 21,000 new leaders over the next decade. It says that the role of charter leaders is “demanding and complex,” and argues that they require skills beyond those typically needed of traditional school principals.
The group calls for widening the existing pathways for charter schools and networks to “grow their own” leaders, and relying less on traditional principal-preparation programs by creating a new, national credential for charter leadership.
Such a credential, the report says, could come from a variety of local, state, and regional institutions, which in turn would be held accountable by tracking the success of credential-holders in improving student achievement.
