The second report offers insights from focus groups of school leaders who shared their experiences and expertise on the challenges of the principalship, as well as strategies to address these challenges. The financial implications are significant and, often, covered by redirecting funds that had been slated for the classroom.
Concerns about principal turnover are widespread and national in scope: 42 percent of surveyed principals indicated they were considering leaving their position. The percentage of principals planning to move to a different school was higher for those in high-poverty schools and rural communities. Among the factors impacting turnover:. Attend to working conditions and school needs. Central office policies should be responsive to principals needs and concerns, which may require increasing information gathered from principals and principal input on district decisions that impact schools.
This responsiveness should include strategies to keep effective principals, such as providing recognition, needed school resources, or more fiscal flexibility for successful principals.
Support adequate and equitable principal compensation. Given the prevalence of concerns around compensation, district leaders should review the competitiveness of salaries and consider other forms of compensation such as student loan repayment or housing supports that may be important to attracting and retaining principals. Create or sustain helpful mechanisms for principal feedback, evaluation, and mentoring. Districts that support, develop, and mentor principals can reduce the likelihood of principal attrition.
District leaders can examine the usefulness of their principal support and evaluation systems, gathering input from principals as well as others in the district and community, with an eye toward sustaining practices that are helpful and creating new mechanisms and supports as needed.
Provide principals with appropriate agency and support in decision making. While most principals reported adequate authority over budget and hiring, more than two thirds of all principals said it is difficult to dismiss poor-performing or incompetent teachers.
An even higher percentage of those planning to leave 74 percent reporting this challenge. Districts can, among other things, support principals with Peer Assistance and Review programs that provide mentors for struggling teachers to help improve their practice and provide due process to support personnel decisions.
Principal training for teacher support and evaluation should also be provided and their input in these types of critical decisions should be sought out by district leaders. Remove barriers to principal professional development. As districts review principal workload, they should consider time for professional development as essential. Districts and schools can use both local funds and federal funds under the Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA , Title II, Part A, to address such obstacles as the provision of timely, relevant content, and coverage, if needed, so that principals can participate in professional development.
Assess and help improve working conditions for principals. Many states gather data about working conditions for teachers through working conditions surveys, district and school report cards, and school improvement plans. Special Reports.
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Opinion Contributor , Education Week. Peter DeWitt is a former K-5 public school principal turned author, presenter, and leadership coach. Fake it until you make it is not a successful model of leadership.
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Content provided by Panorama. Nov 16 Tue. And while most students in special. Nov 17 Wed. Are you confident in your improvement efforts? Meet five experts who will share proven solutions to help you grow leaders, enhance teacher effectiveness, and improve achievement. Claire Holt for the Wallace Foundation. Principals surveyed also said they lack decision-making authority and access to professional development and learning opportunities.
Though teachers make the biggest impact on students, the respondents said principals are also important because they define culture and vision, make hiring decisions and plan.
Jon Cherry via Getty Images. Rural educators dispel myths, outline 4 strategies for equitable policy Speakers at the National Forum to Advance Rural Education shared hope for the future of rural education and how to improve it.
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