The job of the principal is not an easy one. The principal is responsible for creating the conditions and culture across a school that make it possible, and expected, that all students succeed. The principal has the unique ability to ensure quality instruction in every classroom through hiring, developing and retaining great teachers. As in all other fields, leadership matters a great deal to the success of a school.

State and district policies often create obstacles for school leaders rather than support in driving academic excellence for students.  Given how important principals are to teacher quality and student achievement, it is essential that school systems work to create the context that allows them to lead effectively. Based on our extensive experience working with a variety of states and districts, we have seen first-hand how they can create the conditions for principals’ success and be active partners in the effort to ensure that all students achieve at the highest levels.

How can states and districts create the context that allows for a principal to be an effective leader?

Pick the right leaders by:

• Establishing rigorous principal certification and selection processes; and
• Building a leadership pipeline by developing the leadership capacity of talented teachers and administrators.

Grant principals autonomy in making school-level decisions by:

• Creating policies that give principals more control over school budgets and use of time; and
• Revising policies and contracts to increase principal decision-making authority over human capital.

 Regularly support and assess leaders by:

• Establishing clear principal performance standards and expectations for effective practice;
• Invest in principals’ professional growth by providing support and development opportunities;
• Evaluate principals based on student outcomes, improvements in teacher effectiveness, and evidence of research-based effective practices; and
• Hold principals’ managers accountable for improving principal effectiveness and student outcomes in the schools they oversee.

 Reinforce and continuously improve systems by:

• Requiring principal preparation programs to track and report on their graduates’ effectiveness;
• Studying and sharing learnings from breakthrough gaining schools; and
• Using data to modify and adapt evaluation systems over time.