Erica L.
Green’s Baltimore Sun Blog post comments on a recent study by the RAND
Corporation titled, “First-Year Principals in Urban School Districts: How
Actions and Working Conditions Relate to Outcomes.” The report examines the
working conditions of first-year principals and relates information on those
factors to school achievement and principal retention.
In
Baltimore City, New Leaders for New Schools has produced “nearly half of
the city’s new principals in the last four years,” (Green) yet these principals
are not sticking around. In 2007, a reported 188 principals led schools in
Baltimore City. Today only 50 of those remain. In addition, Baltimore’s
principal corps are younger, less experienced, and increasingly from regions outside
of Baltimore and even Maryland. Many of these newcomers are more likely to
leave if their school is unable to make AYP or if test scores decline in their
first year. Furthermore, schools that lost its principal after one year noted
declining achievement in subsequent years, according to the report. We must
find a way to attract and support talented leaders for our schools.
In my
opinion, the ability to turn around a failing school rests just as much on a
strong principal as it does on good teaching. I really believe that a good
principal can make a mediocre teacher better, and a good teacher
transformational. The type of change that we need to see across Baltimore City
cannot just happen in individual classrooms; it needs to happen throughout
entire schools. Good principals are an essential part of the equation to ensure
these outcomes.
1 comment:
Jill,
I also find myself worried about principal turnover in Baltimore City. We all know teachers who work in schools that have had more than one new principal within a single school year. You said that good principals are an essential part of the equation to ensure the change we need to see in Baltimore and I really could not agree more. I believe the principal is the heart of a school building, and his/her presence, organization, vision and commitment is what determines the culture of an entire school community. I do believe that being a principal is an extremely difficult position that requires an individual to wear several different hats, but there are undoubtedly qualified people out there who would excel in the position. Like you said, the challenge becomes finding a way to attract and support these talented individuals. Hopefully we will see better principal retention in the future!
Catherine
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