Supporting the achievement of all students requires a strong commitment to equity, ensuring a stable high-quality educator workforce, providing access to professional development, and a focus on deeper learning and social and emotional learning. Seven California school districts provide examples of successful approaches to this work.
This report examines the commonalities among seven diverse "positive outlier" school districts in which students are achieving at higher-than-predicted levels. The seven districts are among more than a hundred California school districts in which African American, Latino/a, and White students achieved at higher-than-predicted levels, controlling for their socioeconomic status.
High quality principals are essential to students' educational opportunities and outcomes, but principal turnover is an ongoing problem in the United States. A 2017 survey of public school principals found that approximately 18% had left their position since the previous year. In high poverty schools, the turnover rate was 21%. This brief includes insights, experiences, and expertise from school leaders on the challenges associated with being a school principal and strategies to address those challenges.
School principals play a central role in school functioning and student achievement. When principals leave schools or turnover frequently, it disrupts school progress and can increase teacher turnover and lower student achievement. A series of research projects by LPI and the National Association of Secondary School Principals identified the causes of turnover and the policies and practices that encourage principals to remain.
