ON THE JOB HOW TO KEEP Principals

BY DR. MICHAEL JAMES

It was well after 4:30 p.m., and high school principal Dawn Stacey was working diligently in her office. She had already told her family to order pizza because she would be late getting home. Angela Simpson, a thirdyear English teacher, came into her office and sat down.

“I just want you to know that I will not be returning next year. I want to go another direction with my career and have turned in my resignation at central office,” Angela informed her principal.

Dawn tried to subdue that sinking feeling in her stomach. “I am sorry to hear that. You do a great job, and the students like you. Is there anything I can say to change your mind?”

Angela shook her head. “I appreciate you and the school; I just need to do something else. Thanks for your support.” Dawn leaned back in her chair and thought to herself, “I am worn out. I can’t do this today.”

Dawn knew that research supports the fact that a principal plays an important role in student achievement. Corcoran (2017), Pendola (2018), Oyugi & Gogo (2019), and other researchers have established that principals play an important role in improving student achievement and overall school effectiveness. Yan maintained that “principal leadership is believed to be the second most influential school-based factor that influences student performance after classroom instruction, accounting for onequarter of all school effects on student achievement” (Yan, 2020).

The sinking feeling in Dawn’s stomach isn’t unique to her. Research shows that about “25% of the country’s principals leave their schools each year, and almost 50% quit during their third year” (Jones, 2021). This alarming statistic makes clear the critical importance of going the extra mile to ensure principals are retained.

In order to increase sustainability for principals, a dissertation research study (James & Bush, 2024) was conducted to better understand the experiences of secondary principals of large high schools in Oklahoma. The data was collected through interviews, following predetermined questions.

The findings, while not surprising, are significant and can help guide pathways to better support site-level administrators. The findings centered around addressing the teacher shortage, effective time management that conflicts with family time, inability to use noncontract days, and a lack of resources for working with students with behavioral characteristics that are challenges for teachers and principals.

In order to address these and other issues from the findings that negatively impact the principal position, the principals recommended ways to address the problems they experienced. Based on the data gathered from these administrators, the abbreviated list of recommendations should be considered by central office staff and Boards of Education:

■ Districts should provide a general schedule of activities and events beyond the school day which principals are required to attend. This will allow a principal to feel confident to know that if they attend the required events, they will meet the district requirements for visibility to the community.

■ The district should provide an athletic and activities facilitator to assist with activities and events.

■ Personnel and hiring decisions should be made quickly, with several assistant principals or building leaders scheduling the hiring teams and making hiring decisions without the principal’s approval when necessary to avoid losing candidates to other districts.

■ Districts should implement instructional improvement practices to address issues associated with student absenteeism, graduation rates, and high-stakes testing. The role of the principal should only be to make sure that the instructional practices from the district are implemented.

■ Districts should provide for a high school administrator other than the principal to cover some portion of summer duties. This would allow the head principal more flexibility to use earned leave or vacation days during the summer.

■ Districts should provide more behavioral resource personnel to those students with behavioral characteristics that are challenges for teachers and principals. Dawn is an effective school administrator who puts students first. She cares deeply about the teachers and staff in her building, enjoys the students, and measures her effectiveness against her primary concern, student success. For Dawn to remain principal, district officials must recognize that she needs support to remain a healthy and effective school leader. ■

Dr. Michael James is Assistant Superintendent for Personnel at Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools.

Corcoran, R.P. (2017). Preparing principals to improve student achievement. Child & Youth Care Forum, 46(5), 769–781. James, M., and Bush, M. (2024). Oklahoma high school principal experiences and their relationship to sustainable principal tenures. (Order No. 31481831). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ Oral Roberts University. (3078512810) Jones, M.L., Jr. (2021). No great principal, no great school: a phenomenological study of principal turnover [ProQuest LLC]. Oyugi, M., & Gogo, J.O. (2019). Influence of principals’ leadership styles on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Awendo Sub-County, Kenya. African Educational Research Journal, 7(1), 22–28. Pendola, A., & Fuller, E.J. (2018). Principal Stability and the Rural Divide. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 34(1). Yan, R. (2020). The influence of working conditions on principal turnover in K-12 public schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 56(19), 89-122.