In today’s Edweek.org posting, a miraculous happening has occurred. In the article, "Common Features of Effective Principal Preparation Programs Identified," several research groups have come together to actually list what it would take for principals to be effective. Although the wording in the article is a little more technical, I will give you a layman’s run-down of what was decided…
1. Seek out good candidates (don’t wait for them to come to you)
2. Provide mentoring (so they don’t go crazy)
3. Provide sustained support and development (to keep them on track)
4. Create cohesive lessons and curriculum for training purposes (make sense of jargon and red tape)
5. Peer observations, critical data-oriented feedback (like any other professional would)
6. Ensure that candidates are dedicated and well prepared (um…duh)
Hmmm…it seems as though the same things that make good teachers also makes good principals. Principals that received these types of supports and training reported feeling better about their jobs, more likely to stay in their positions, and spent more time focusing on instruction.
The potential for such common-sense information about a better way to prepare principals is limitless…you could replace all the bad principals in a poorly performing city. You could give hope to countless thousands who look to their school leader as a leader, not a well-paid paperweight…you could even begin to make the changes to the hierarchy of educational inequality that has eroded the integrity of thousands of schools across the country…
Sounds like a pretty good idea.
Check out the article at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/05/02/35lead.h26.html
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