Dive Brief:
- Based on an understanding that principals may account for as much as 25% of a school's impact on student achievement, Woodrow Wilson Foundation COO Stephanie Hull explores four key strategies for supporting and developing high-quality principals for The Hechinger Report.
- School leadership programs need to integrate clinical and academic instruction for future principals, and universities must tailor programs to the requirements of high-need districts the graduates end up serving, Hull says.
- She adds that principals need to be trained with the skills to lead sustainable change through ongoing data-driven decision-making and they need leadership support through coaching and mentoring.
Dive Insight:
Principals can set the tone for an entire building. A recent study of teacher views found nearly half would quit their jobs if they could find a higher-paying alternative. Close to half of respondents in this Center on Education Policy survey said they did not feel heard in school-level decision-making while those who did feel heard were more likely to report being happy with their jobs.
Schools in Oregon participating in the CLASS project have seen positive results of shared leadership initiatives where input from teachers and other stakeholders is highly valued. In fact, some rural districts that normally lose teachers to larger districts that can pay more are seeing greater teacher retention, in part because of improved working conditions. While many of these factors are not necessarily in principals' control, it falls on them to be strong advocates for the needs of their faculties.