Preparing Principals for Today's Demands

Preparing principals for today's demands: as a principal, Ms. Brown has firsthand knowledge of the pressures educational leaders face in the NCLB era. If administrators are going to perform effectively in today's school environment, she argues, the programs that prepare them will have to undergo significant reform. She urges university leadership programs to adopt four changes that will increase the likelihood of their graduates' success. The pressure on public school principals has become unbelievable. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has made a challenging job even more daunting with its requirements to achieve academic gains on a yearly basis and to provide all children with the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. Adequately preparing aspiring principals for this new reality has become an immediate priority. NCLB's emphasis on high standards for all students has changed the dynamics of public school education. Making it possible for all students, regardless of their social, cultural, and economic backgrounds, to reach high academic standards requires greater leadership skills on the part of the principal than ever before. Gone are the days when the success of educational leaders was determined by the achievement of their shining stars and the hard-won success of some of their other students. Many principals are unable to cope with the growing demands and the resulting stress. Exhausted, they are retiring silently. Many of those who remain are increasingly increasingly weary. Fueled only by their passion for educating children, these principals dig deep for the will and energy to stay focused on their mission in the face of expectations that often seem too optimistic. As the role of the principal becomes more demanding and as overwhelmed colleagues leave the profession, I believe that universities must take a hard look at how they are preparing school administrators. I recommend four changes to current training that will help to develop educational leaders who are capable of surmounting the significant challenges facing today's principals. 1. Raise admissions requirements. Currently, the admission standards for many leadership preparation programs are not sufficiently high, particularly in the context of the increasing complexity of the 21st-century principal ship. Admission to these programs should be based on applicants' past experiences that demonstrate proven leadership qualities. Every candidate for a principal training program should have a minimum of four years of teaching experience. Applications for these programs should include letters of recommendation from various education stakeholders (including colleagues, parents, and students), documentation of the applicant's professional experiences, and an essay describing the role the applicant has played in improving student achievement. 2. Rethink required coursework. Core courses in administrator preparation programs, which currently cover a vast amount of theoretical knowledge, need to be much more connected to the realities that educational leaders face every day. …