Dive Brief:
- The Wallace Foundation is more than five years into a six-year, $75 million initiative to cultivate a pipeline of effective school principals in six urban districts in North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, New York and Maryland by tracking leaders and forecasting vacancies.
- Jody Spiro, director of education leadership for the foundation, told District Administration in a Q&A that it’s hard for districts to retain good principals because there is not enough preparation and support for candidates and those on the job, which the pipeline program addresses.
- Participating school districts populate a data system to keep track of budding leaders and forecast coming vacancies that ensure district readiness — and Spiro said the Principal Pipeline project has identified a critical, but underused, opportunity to capitalize on the assistant principal position to better prepare candidates to step into the top administrator job.
Dive Insight:
The teacher shortage has received a great deal of attention in many parts of the country, and organizations at all levels are developing strategies to address it, but many districts are seeing a shortage in qualified school leaders that is getting far less attention. The impact of effective school principals, however, is clear, creating a powerful incentive for districts to do something systemic.
In Syracuse, NY, an aspiring leaders academy targets high-potential teachers who want to transition into administrative roles, giving them coaching and support while building a pipeline of qualified candidates for openings. Any new administrators from outside the district are also expected to go through the program in their first year, which serves to standardize key leadership strategies and mentalities districtwide.