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Illinois School Board Journal
January-February 2000

Good principals becoming scarce

You say your district has some outstanding principals?

Be nice to them. They're becoming an endangered species.

By the end of the 2005 school year, 78 percent of the people who are now building principals in Illinois either will have retired or left for another job, according to David Turner, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association. That information comes straight from the principals' own mouths.

School boards may be surprised when it is time to replace those people -- good candidates will be scarce. It is already a seller's market when it comes to hiring principals, and that will only increase in the next few years.

The Journal talked with Turner about the shortage of principals.

Journal: What does this shortage mean to school districts?

Turner: Virtually every piece of literature and every study regarding school reform and school effectiveness identifies strong building leadership as one of the primary keys to a good school. The principal is the first level of accountability for quality of teaching and student achievement.

Journal: Where have all the principals gone?

Turner: There are plenty of people holding a principal's certificate in Illinois. The trouble is, those folks don't want to do the job. Once, becoming a principal was the dream of many an ambitious teacher. Now, teachers look at a stressful, difficult job that pays little more money than they are already making. And they are saying, no thanks.

Journal: What can we do to encourage talented teachers to consider becoming principals?

Turner: We all need to emphasize the positive aspects of the job. It is a real leadership opportunity and the satisfaction is very high. Principals have a high degree of autonomy and can determine their own career destinies. A good principal has a positive impact on students, teachers, the school and even the community. Individual principals and our Association need to work to get that word out. School boards can help improve the image by casting their principals in a favorable light and reducing the negative aspects of the job.

Journal: Why do some consider the job undesirable?

Turner: The reasons fall into two broad categories. The job doesn't pay enough compared to other jobs in administration, and it is perceived as too hard and too stressful. Beginning principals often don't make much more than experienced teachers -- so there's little incentive for a teacher to take on the harder, more stressful job.

One implication is that seasoned individuals are not available for the principal's job. Ideally, a candidate would have several years' experience in the classroom, along with extra responsibilities to give that person insight into the workings of the district as a whole. Now, such individuals often feel they are better off staying in the classroom.

Journal: What makes the job so hard?

Turner: One major reason is that principals have little or no help. Typically, a building with six hundred to eight hundred elementary students will have one principal and one secretary, sending both of them to an early grave. That principal needs an assistant principal, a couple of secretaries, a social worker and a nurse.

Journal: That will sound outrageous to many school districts.

Turner: It's not if you consider the extent of a principal's responsibilities. Talking with parents, dealing with IEP's for special education students, coping with the problems of poverty and single-parent families, maintaining safety and discipline: any one of those tasks could easily be a full-time job. Many principals routinely administer medication to students. In addition, principals are expected to attend evening meetings and athletic events. For some, the list goes on and on. In some districts, principals have to supervise the playground and monitor the halls without help.

For some reason, there is a perception that elementary school principals don't need staff help. That's as wrong as lips on a chicken. Every elementary principal has swept hallways, picked up cans in the parking lot, bandaged knees and counted milk money. Teachers are protected by their contracts from such extraneous duties -- and if there's no one else to do it, it falls to the principal.

Not only does this make for a hectic workday, but it draws the principal's attention from what should be his or her major focus: good teaching and student achievement. If I'm counting milk money, I'm not helping new teachers gain skills and confidence.

Even worse, some principals are responsible for two or more buildings, driving back and forth. In a few cases, one individual may serve as both superintendent and principal. Administrators in those circumstances have to decide which of their two jobs gets the bulk of their time and talent. The other suffers.

Journal: You mentioned stress as an important factor.

Turner: Like superintendents, principals are considered to be public figures. They are fair game for criticism by news media, community leaders and, of course, parents. In small to medium-sized communities, they are likely to be recognized whenever they go out and questioned about school business.

If a teacher moves to a new district or classroom, he or she has made a job change. If a teacher becomes a principal, that's a major lifestyle change. Principals work longer hours, including many evenings. They don't get time off in the summer. And they lose tenure and contractual protections.

Principals are a handy target for unhappy parents or even school boards. School boards that use the policy-based governance model recommended by IASB don't get involved in the work of principals except to hold the superintendent accountable for their performance. But not all boards have adopted those government principles. It is not uncommon for principals to be hassled or even fired on political grounds -- not hiring the right (that is, connected) person, disciplining the wrong child.

In a seller's market, there is little incentive for a principal to put up with that kind of grief. What is more, school boards that are hard on their principals gain a reputation. Public education is a small world, and the best job candidates quickly learn which districts to avoid.

Journal: What can be done to alleviate the shortage?

Turner: Legislation would help. The legislature should require that every school building have its own principal.

Legislation encouraging qualified people to become guidance counselors, school nurses, social workers and psychologists also would be helpful. We met the teacher shortage of the 1950s and 1960s by providing student loans that didn't have to be repaid if the individual worked as a science or mathematics teacher. We could offer the same kind of incentives to students who work in shortage areas of school administration. We could also make these jobs more attractive. Existing laws have raised the bar so high that people aren't interested. An individual who qualifies to be a guidance counselor, for example, is qualified for a better-paying job in commerce and industry.

If I could pass one single law, it would be that every school building has to have a nurse. Court decisions, especially those regarding special education children, have dumped numerous medical services and responsibilities onto the schools. And in many, many buildings, those duties fall to the principal.

Journal: Meanwhile, what can a school board do to attract good candidates?

Turner: First and foremost, offer a fair salary.

Then, provide adequate help, depending on the size of the building. Give the principal the option of delegating some tasks. Does the principal need to be present at every single athletic or other student event?

Make sure principals aren't hassled for political reasons. The one question school boards should ask about their principal's work is: "Does this person keep our school running the way we want it to run?"

Stand behind principals if they are unfairly targeted for public criticism because of some legitimate action they have taken. Especially in such touchy areas as discipline, the principal is an easy target for blame. There is a big difference between accepting responsibility and being a target for blame. The first is a legitimate part of the job; the second, no one should have to tolerate.

Good feedback from the superintendent and school board can help counter public pressure. If principals do a good job, tell them!

Finally, provide funding and time off for professional development. Like other professionals, principals need to keep their skills fresh and their knowledge updated. They also need to interact with their peers. The principalship is a very lonely job.

Journal: Are there any other actions school boards should take to ensure that they will have good principals in the future?

Turner: A number of school boards are addressing this problem. One solution is for school districts to "grow their own" administrators. This means identifying and grooming potential principals and assistant principals from among the ranks of school employees (see article on page 13).

School boards can work with university education departments to develop cohorts of potential administrators. Some regional offices of education are working with districts in their area on such projects.

Some districts are finding their own unique solutions to the problem. One district, for example, has hired a retired administrator to mentor its new principals.

Journal: Is this problem limited to Illinois?

Turner: No, it's nationwide. I'm a member of a think tank that includes education leaders from ten states that represent 60 percent of all children in public schools. We have been talking for five years about the shortage of principals. Both the National Association of Elementary Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals are gathering data and studying the problem. One thing is clear: finding good candidates isn't going to be simply a matter of attracting them from other states.

Journal: Do you have any additional advice for school boards?

Turner: Don't be afraid to spend some time, money and talent to develop and nurture principals and assistant principals. Give them enough help to do their jobs without killing themselves with overwork and stress. Make sure new principals get initial me

ntoring and training, and that all principals have an opportunity for ongoing professional development.

If you have talented people who do a good job for your district, let them know that you appreciate their work. Don't take them for granted.

The bottom line is: Treat principals as the highly-skilled professionals they are. That way, you won't become one of those districts with a reputation that causes the best applicants to look elsewhere.

Springfield schools "grow" administrators

One way a school district can make sure it will have quality administrators is to groom existing employees to fill the positions. Springfield District 186 has been doing that for 20 years and it works very well, says Assistant Superintendent Diane Rutledge. Rutledge is one of numerous administrators in the district who came through the program.

The Springfield principals' assistants and interns program is designed to give employees hands-on experience working at the district's schools. The participants receive monthly training in general administrative skills and the workings of the district. The administrators who will hire new assistant principals become familiar with the employees and their performances. The trainees do well when they interview for assistant principal vacancies and "hit the ground running," says Rutledge.

As a bonus, participating principals get an extra pair of hands in their building.

The program includes two types of positions. Principals' assistants help out in the large elementary buildings while they become familiar with the district and receive training. Meanwhile, administrators observe and assess the leadership potential of the assistants. Currently, the district has nine assistants, eight of them paid from the education fund and one from special education funds. Administrative interns are teachers on extended contracts who work in the middle schools.

The district provides ongoing training and support for the principals-in-training. Topics include teacher evaluation, discipline, curriculum and instruction, community relations, shared decision-making and governance, contract management and union relations, and others.