That Churning Sound? It’s Coming From Principals

Our View

One of the biggest barriers to bringing educational equity to high-need schools is the constant turnover of principals.

School improvement is tough work that requires a steady leadership hand. It takes time to build teacher capacity, establish authentic relationships with educators and families, and create robust conditions for learning.

Unfortunately, principals in high-needs schools don’t get that time. Among schools serving at least 75 percent low-income students, 21 percent of principals turned over in 2016, the most recent year for which national estimates are available. The comparable figure in schools serving fewer than 35 percent low-income students was just 15 percent. High turnover means the typical principal of a high-poverty school has been in place no more than three years. That isn’t much time to make improvement sustainable.