SUCCESS FROM THE START Supporting new principals through collaboration Craig Hammonds
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principal is the leading force behind a school’s success or failure. The selection of a new principal is a momentous event in the life of any school. Hargreaves and Goodson (2006) even state that a change of leadership is one of the most significant events in a school most likely to bring about a sizable shift in direction. Because of this, there is considerable amount of time and energy invested in ensuring the right candidate is selected for the job. After the excitement of the hiring process fades away, the newly appointed principal is often left to lead the campus with little or no support. Without the proper support, new principals can feel overwhelmed and question if they are cut out for the job. Because principal leadership has a significant impact on student achievement, it is essential for new principals to receive extra support in their first year.
Succession Planning The typical journey from classroom teacher to campus principal includes the experience of serving as an assistant principal. To those on the outside, this appears to be a great preparation for the principalship; unfortunately, that is not always the reality of the job. It has been said many times that the world of an assistant principal revolves around the three Bs: books, butts, and buses. While contemporary school principals are expected to be instructional leaders, many assistant principals are left to fulfilling the duties of building manager. In a survey of Texas public school principals, only 55 percent of the 78 respondents believed the assistant principal position prepared them for being a principal (Hammonds, 2011). The reality is most assistant principals have insufficient opportunity to exercise strategic leadership or educational curriculum leadership (Simkins, Close, & Smith, 2009). While the work of an assistant principal is vital to the success of a campus, their responsibilities are far removed from that of the principal.The preparation of future principals is a vital aspect for maintaining the momentum of providing viable school leadership. However, research and experience tell us many of the likely replacements are not properly prepared.
The First Year For a long period of time, educators have understood the need for supporting new teachers. “Over the past two decades, there has been a large increase in the number of states, districts, and schools offering support, guidance, and orientation programs. Importantly, the data also indicate that induction can help retain teachers and improve their instruction” (Ingersoll, 2012, p. 51). Despite this knowledge, there appears to be a disconnect in supporting new principals.“Whereas mentoring programs for beginning teachers are commonplace, this is not the situation for beginning administrators” (Rebore, 2012, p.100). While 85 percent of the Texas principals surveyed agreed it was ideal for districts to have a process to assist a principal’s entry to a new school, only 31 percent reported that this is happening (Hammonds, 2011). Survey responses also revealed that while the majority (87 percent) believe new principals should have mentors to help them through rough spots, only 53 percent reported this as an actual practice.Twenty-two percent of the Texas principals surveyed reported having an entry process in place that helped them understand the new context.These findings highlight a significant gap between ideal and actual principal induction programs that promote collaboration.
Seeking Support The role of the public school principal has become increasingly comprehensive and complex. Principals, particularly those in their first year, must increase their collaborative capacity to meet the high demands placed on them. Unfortunately, research and practice tell us most principals work in isolation. While 95 percent of the Texas principals surveyed indicated it would be ideal to receive support to deal with top-down initiatives, only 50 percent reported receiving such support. Sixty-three percent of the respondents stated they received support in dealing with work-related pressures. While 82 percent of the principal respondents welcomed close monitoring by their superintendents in their early years of the principalship, only 59 percent reported receiving such monitoring.
FALL 2015
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