A 2021 Wallace Foundation report reminds us that when it comes to the principalship, “It is difficult to envision an investment in K-12 education with a higher ceiling on its potential return than improving school leadership.” Principals establish expectations and drive school cultures. They have a great deal of statutory authority. Staffing every school with effective principals should be a strategic priority across our state.
That means the pipeline, or bullpen, of future principals must be intentionally strong. With very limited exceptions, the precursor to becoming a school principal requires successful tenure as an assistant principal (AP). The AP role provides vital services and leadership to school communities, with typical responsibilities ranging from coordination of buses and testing to responding to student discipline and safety issues. The job is demanding and complex.
This week, April 6-10, is National Assistant Principals week. The National Association of Secondary School Principals reminds us that APs “work tirelessly to bolster teachers, motivate students, support their principal, create a positive learning community, and face the many unpredictable challenges that land on their desk.”
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As we collectively recognize the contributions of North Carolina’s APs and show gratitude for the multitude of ways they contribute to successful schools, we should also remember that the AP role is a learning space to hone skills before promotion to the principalship. If our citizens desire strong principals to lead public schools, we must invest in the “residency” learning and professional development of assistant principals. Fortunately, there are some existing programs doing outstanding work in this area:
- The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program has a successful history of partnering with almost every district to identify and tap promising school leaders. As part of the fellowship, aspiring school leaders complete a full-time internship with a proven, veteran principal. This model of apprenticeship, commonly accepted in business circles as a highly effective approach to leader competency, allows the pre-service school leader to have an immersive learning experience with a district-selected mentor. Recipients pay back their fellowship in service to the state. The NC Principal Fellows Program serves as a vital organization in the recruitment and preparation of future school leaders.
- The North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals Association (NCPAPA) offers professional learning that is tailored specifically to practicing APs who wish to become school principals. Their Future Ready Leaders program develops skills with human resource, cultural and instructional leadership. One of their newer programs, the Assistant Principal Accelerator, allows superintendents to nominate APs with high potential for advancement for professional learning and coaching.
- Shout-out to other organizations that take intentional steps to invest in school leaders and their development. Examples include the NC Principal of the Year Network, the NC Public School Forum’s Education Policy Fellowship program and the Truist Leadership Institute. Bolstering this work are partnership foundations who understand the value of strong school leaders. Organizations such as the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and Belk Foundation have invested in the strengthening of NC school leaders.
Where might we as a state improve? For starters, the funding formula for assistant principal allotments is flawed. One 10-month AP position is allotted for approximately every 980 students. This formula unfairly shifts much of the financial burden to pay for appropriately ratioed AP staffing down to the local level, where districts have varying capacity to meet the needs.
Another relatively new change that may impact the principal pipeline centers on the new licensing requirement to complete three successful submissions for the North Carolina Principal Portfolio Assessment through Pearson. The additional fees and lengthy process could, potentially, affect the number of candidates seeking to move into school administration.
Just like students need and deserve great teachers, school staff need and deserve great school leaders. School leaders are tasked with creating a welcoming environment for students, parents, teachers, and communities. They play a key role in teacher satisfaction and effectiveness. The Wallace Foundation research concludes that “school leadership is second only to classroom instruction in school-related impacts on student learning.” North Carolina must invest in our children by investing in the educators who serve them.
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