EdWeek has an article out this week on principals' increasing frustration with their jobs. The national survey they conducted found that "three out of four K-12 public school principals, regardless of the types of schools they work in, believe the job has become 'too complex,' and about a third say they are likely to go into a different occupation within next five years." The article goes on to talk about some of the principals' complaints of how their jobs have become increasingly more difficult over the last five years because of the mounting responsibilities that they are given. A couple of the more recent tasks added onto this list include implementing Common Core Standards and handling tight budgets.
It does not surprise me that principals are dissatisfied with their jobs. Being a teacher, I see the stress that my own principal experiences on a daily basis trying to juggle all of her responsibilities in an effort to keep our school afloat. The duty of rolling out Common Core Standards in our school is one endeavor in particular that has resulted in added pressure to our administration and staff. While I am not surprised at the high level of dissatisfaction among principals, I am worried about what these statistics mean for the future of Baltimore City Schools in particular. There are already enough ever changing factors within our schools; the last thing we want is to see lower retention among our school leaders.
One question to ask is whether it is fair for principals to be given the amount of responsibility that has been piled onto their plates. Are there other routes or stakeholders that could help to balance out the workload? Another question to ask--and this is the one that concerns me more--is whether principals are even prepared to take on the workload that has been handed over to them. I realize that there is much work to be done in our schools, and someone certainly has to be the one to step up and take on the responsibility. I also do not doubt that our principals are willing to take on the heavy load that is necessary for their schools to achieve. The problem that I see is that principals are being asked to do more, but they are not being given the support, training, and professional development needed to effectively manage the heavier load and meet the demands of new expectations. I believe that there are some great leaders within our schools in Baltimore, but I think that our schools are unfortunately missing out on the great potential that our leaders bring to the table because the proper mechanisms of training and support are not in place to see the potential of our leaders actualized. Baltimore City has been cracking down on principals, emphasizing new expectations of increased accountability. While I agree that there needs to be a great push for competent school leaders, I also see a need for our district leaders to own up to a commitment to our principals--one in which they don't see demotions as the solution to fixing issues of school leadership, but instead they invest in developing those leaders to be able to meet higher expectations.
1 comment:
Candice, I think you posed an excellent question in your blog, “are principals even prepared to take on the workload that has ben handed over to them?” Similar, to you I think this question is multi-faceted and goes beyond a simple yes or no answer. Principals as you mentioned are for the most part up for the challenge and eager to produce great results for their school. However, as you mentioned they might not be provided with sufficient support needed to implement all the changes necessary to transform their school. The workload of an effective principal is tiresome and never ending. Similar, to that of a teacher’s their work is never over. There is always something that needs improvement, a parent to call, a teacher to observe, a fight to be handled, an evaluation to be completed, and some date to evaluate. They job requires more than one person can handle and if they are not being provided with the support needed to get these things completed, their job can become daunting and intangible. As you mentioned in your response, the district must make them accountable for ensuring that our principals are getting the professional development and support needed so that they can maintain their school staff accountable. Our line of work relies heavily on communication, development, and collaboration from all parties involved if our goal is to improve student achievement across all schools. This task is not easy and requires endless hours of dedication and commitment. Its important to hold our principals to high expectations, however its critical to ensure that they are receiving the support needed to support them throughout the process of implementing those expectations.
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