Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:00
With a recent report on the competing pressures placed on school principals in the face of budgets declines making headlines across the country and state legislatures mandating new principal evaluation systems that include student achievement data, principals continue to be in the spotlight. The District Management Council has a variety of resources for district leaders who are working on developing principal evaluation systems, as well as those who are looking for ways to improve the support, professional development, and effectiveness of their school leaders.
The new report from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning presents the results of a survey of more than 600 California principals. California’s budgetary woes have resulted in drastic cuts to education over the past few years, with more cuts likely to come. The survey shows that as budgets declined dramatically in the past few years, the role of the principal changed in two competing ways: (1)with less money for teacher professional development and training, and state legislation around teacher evaluation systems, the importance of the principal as an instructional leader has increased. At the same time, (2) slashing budgets have meant a decrease in the number of administrative staff, thereby expanding the principal’s role as an organizational manager. But California isn’t alone in its fiscal difficulties, and its principals aren’t alone in their challenges.
District leaders can help their principals increase their effectiveness by clarifying the role of the principal, aligning principal recruiting with evaluation and support systems, and the ongoing management of principals for results. DMC offers a variety of resources and services to help districts at each of these stages. Our spotlight article, Principal Effectiveness: Definitions and a Systems Approach, provides background on the national conversation surrounding principal effectiveness. The materials from our Fall 2011 Leadership Development Meeting: Principal Effectiveness: Aligning Evaluation, Accountability, and Support for a Changing Role, introduce DMC’s 8-Step Framework for Strengthening Principal Effectiveness, as well as our Manager’s Toolkit: Guide for Developing a Coherent and Aligned Principal Evaluation System. A recent case study on the principal evaluation system in Gwinnett County, GA, provides background and tactical advice for districts looking to implement a new evaluation system of their own.
