Principal Turnover and School Stability

With my current school coming under alternative governance for the 2008-2009 school year, school leadership and administration has been a highly debated topic around my building. With the principal job posted and interviews underway, various questions have arisen as to how this change will impact the faculty, school climate and culture, and student achievement.

I was motivated to look into principal turnover after coming across an article in the Education Section of today’s New York Times about the firing of a popular principal in Westchester County, New York. This article discussed the release of a principal on somewhat questionable grounds, including the failure to attend a specific cabinet meeting and the answering of his cell phone during a meeting. The author compared the principal’s wrongdoings to “stealing strawberries” in the face of far greater offenses. The article went on to suggest that this principal was pushed out by the school superintendent in an attempt to fill the position with a “friend” who had been previously promised hire. Though the facts were unclear on either side, I couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that a principal’s firing on the grounds of missed meetings made front page of the education section considering what I have witnessed with school leadership in Baltimore City.

I think it is particularly interesting how personal conflicts between faculty and administration seem to affect the school climate, resulting in a lack of stability in the school. Though not proven so, I think that the aforementioned article suggests that personal issues were heavily influencing this principal’s dismissal. I am in the process of watching teachers be “interviewed” to retain their jobs at my current school based heavily on their ties to the current principal. Highly qualified teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to their students are not even being given the chance to interview, because they haven’t been in the “right clique” this year. Weak leadership will not only impact student achievement, but also allow personal conflict to inappropriately impact hiring and firing decisions.

A study published in December of 2007 by “Advocates for Children and Youth” investigated the principal turnover rates of ten Baltimore City middle schools. What they found was that 90% of the schools had at least one principal change in the five-year period between the 2002-2003 and 2007-2008 school years. 80% of the schools had two or more principal changes, and 50% had three or more principal changes in this period. This turnover results in a lack of stability in leadership, programming, and student success – supported both by data in this report and by my observation just over the past two years. It is a serious problem that demands attention. When hiring new principals, it is imperative that we seek out leaders that will not only positively impact the school, but also show a commitment to the position over time. Just as we seek to retain teachers, we must also be both realistic and innovative in retaining our principals.