Proactive Support of Budding Principals

MY VIEW

Ten years ago, we were a school district that lacked clarity around how to effectively and strategically support schools. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of staff from various divisions were working tirelessly to support the schools, but to our schools, this help seemed reactionary and, in many cases, not sustainable.

We had to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, “Why have we created such a reactive system of support?”

The answer became clearer and clearer each time we were charged with filling a principal vacancy. Our candidate pool was drying up. Newly appointed principals were entering their roles lacking the support and training to develop as effective building leaders. This was not fair to them.

Our system was reactive because of a growing lack of trust with principal effectiveness in our schools. We had to rebuild that trust by rebuilding the process for preparing and supporting our principals. And we had to be more intentional.