While teacher shortages are an increasingly critical issue in the United States, a lesser known but equally important shortage is also hampering the country’s efforts to provide quality educational opportunities for students — principal shortages. Nearly one in five principals leave their schools each year and the average tenure of a principal is only about four years.
With nearly 1 in 5 principals leaving their schools each year, turnover is high and concerning. This report and brief by LPI and the National Association of Secondary School Principals look at the causes, impacts, and strategies for principal retention.
A hallmark of deeper learning is students’ ability to apply their knowledge to new situations and complex problems. Big Picture Learning, Internationals Network for Public Schools, and New Tech Network have successfully instantiated, sustained, and spread deeper learning practices in ways that advance equity in schools across the nation. A deep look into their systems and structures reveals common threads, including rethinking structures and relationships in schools, collaboration, professional learning, leadership development, and continual improvement.
A hallmark of deeper learning is students’ ability to apply their knowledge to new situations and complex problems. Big Picture Learning has successfully instantiated, sustained, and spread deeper learning practices in ways that advance equity in schools across the nation. This deep look into its systems and structures reveals how the network and its leaders have consistently been responsive to communities and local conditions, which allows network-affiliated schools to take on a distinct character while maintaining fidelity to Big Picture Learning's deeper learning focus.
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 are responsible for maintaining a positive school climate, motivating school staff, and enhancing teachers’ practice. They are vital to ensuring teachers’ success in the classroom and students’ success, but one in five principals leaves their school each year and the numbers are worse in schools in underserved communities. Inadequate preparation, poor working conditions, insufficient salaries, lack of authority, and high-stakes accountability policies are among the drivers of principal turnover that must be addressed.
