| |
Trying to Stay Ahead of the Game
Superintendents and Principals Talk about School Leadership
The job is "almost overwhelming," wrote one public school principal responding to Public Agenda's most recent study on public education. "My desk is never clear of obligations... Constant interruptions from parents, teachers...Principals do not have a lunch hour."
Few would expect a principal's day to be leisurely and contemplative, but the sheer sensory overload experienced by many school leaders is a key theme of Trying to Stay Ahead of the Game: Superintendents and Principals Talk about School Leadership. This new Public Agenda report, funded by The Wallace Foundation, is based on in-depth surveys of 853 randomly-selected public school superintendents and 909 randomly-selected public school principals.
Elected officials, major foundations, academic researchers, leadership task forces — all have begun to wrestle with the challenges of providing strong leadership for the nation's public schools. As part of that effort, the Public Agenda surveys reported on here will be repeated twice over the next three years to help decision-makers understand more about the perspectives of superintendents and principals and to monitor progress in addressing their key concerns.
Public Agenda's research shows that superintendents and principals believe in their work and its importance, with overwhelming agreement that finding a talented principal is the first step in turning around a troubled school. But politics and bureaucracy get in the way, and more than half of superintendents say they have to work around the system to get things done.
The key issues, according to the survey, are authority and autonomy. Large majorities of principals and superintendents say they need more autonomy to reward good teachers and fire ineffective ones — even if they have tenure. Virtually all superintendents and principals surveyed say removing bad teachers would be an effective technique to improve schools. About nine in 10 say it would be an effective technique to give administrators "far more autonomy... while holding them accountable for getting results."
These issues outstrip other concerns about high-profile areas such as standardized testing and funding, with a notable exception: nearly nine in 10 superintendents say federal and state mandates are increasing "without getting the resources necessary to fulfill them" and eight in 10 say they have to use a disproportionate amount of money on special education.
In many cities across the country, business and community groups have organized popular programs that allow local leaders to spend one day "working" as the principal of a school. The goal is to offer leaders outside the field of education an authentic, surround-sound feel for what local schools need and the challenges they face. Trying to Stay Ahead of the Game cannot, of course, put every reader right into the principal's chair, but perhaps it can provide the next best thing: a down-to-earth, nitty-gritty feel for what superintendents and principals contend with on a daily basis. What's more, it contains some perhaps unexpected news on what school leaders say their real hurdles are and what they believe would really help them make schools better.
 |
Chapter One: Politics as Usual
Superintendents and principals nationwide voice confidence that they can improve public education, but say their effectiveness is hampered by politics and bureaucracy.
|
|
Chapter Two: Keeping Our House in Order
What superintendents and principals need most, they say, is more freedom to do their jobs as they see fit — especially the freedom to reward and fire teachers.
|
|
Chapter Three: Standards Bearers
School leaders are less worried about standards and accountability than about politics and bureaucracy, although they have some concerns. On the whole, superintendents are more positive — they are relatively happy with the way tests are used in their own districts and see testing as a way to hold principals more accountable. Principals voice more doubts.
|
|
Chapter Four: Making Ends Meet
Politics and bureaucracy are the main irritants to school leaders, but traditional concerns about funding also receive attention — especially the pressures of unfunded mandates. Although superintendents and principals say funding is a problem, most say they can manage with the budgets they have.
|
|
Chapter Five: Quality, Not Quantity
Although many education experts predict a nationwide shortage of school administrators, few superintendents and principals say this is currently a pressing worry in their own districts. Superintendents do, however, express concerns about the skills of their current principals, and many acknowledge difficulties in finding effective, well-qualified principal applicants.
|
|
Chapter Six: Attracting and Retaining Talented Leaders
School leaders say better working conditions are necessary to attract well-qualified superintendents and principals, and they are enthusiastic about a variety of proposals to improve leadership. Most feel strongly that the best leaders come from inside education, not from fields like business or the military.
|
|
Chapter Seven: On-the-Job Training
Despite the challenges, most school leaders find a great deal of satisfaction in the work they do, but there are some complaints. Superintendents often feel isolated, and both superintendents and principals believe that professional training is too often impractical and unfocused.
|
This is only a summary of Trying to Stay Ahead of the Game. Complete print copies are available for $10, plus $2.50 shipping and handling. Use our fax order form or call 212-686-6610.
|
