How can school districts build a large corps of highly qualified principals? Making sure that would-be principals get the right training is one step; providing new principals with plenty of support is another.
A new report describes what those two steps look like in six urban school districts working to build larger pools of strong principal candidates. The study, by Policy Studies Associates, is the second in what will be a series of evaluations of The Wallace Foundation‘s multi-year Principal Pipeline Initiative. It surveys changes in how educators are recruited into training programs, prepared for school leadership, and assisted once they become principals.
The evaluation finds more deliberate attempts to recruit potential school leaders, the development of closer partnerships between districts and principal-training institutions, and better use of coaches to mentor principals new to their jobs. It also offers lessons for other districts hoping to improve their principal pipelines, such as the essential elements of successful partnerships and the importance of realistic expectations about how long it takes to train new school leaders.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/school-leadership/principal-training/Pages/Building-a-Stronger-Principalship-Vol-2-Cultivating-Talent-in-a-Principal-Pipeline.aspx
