New research indicates areas where principal hiring could, and should, improve
Hiring a school principal isn’t a small task–school leaders must be equipped to handle problems that come their way, all while supporting teaching and learning and modeling the same behaviors they ask teachers and students to display.
But new research from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, based on the candid responses of five school districts, reveals seven challenges in the principal hiring process, along with six solutions to those persistent problems. Those five districts commented so candidly on condition of anonymity.
The report is organized around principal recruitment, selection, and placement, and addresses three questions:
- How do the responding school districts identify, recruit, select, and place high-potential candidates for the principalship?
- To what extent do these practices help districts in hiring great school leaders?
- What steps can these and other districts take to ensure that, going forward, they hire the best candidates to lead their schools?
(Next page: Seven challenges in principal hiring)
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland's prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
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