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Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Answer Sheet - 'Burn and churn' among charter school principals

The Answer Sheet - 'Burn and churn' among charter school principals

'Burn and churn' among charter school principals

This was written by Larry Cuban, a former high school social studies teacher (14 years, including seven at Cardozo and Roosevelt high schools in the District), district superintendent (seven years in Arlington, Virginia) and professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, where he has taught for 20 years. His latest book is "As Good As It Gets: What School Reform Brought to Austin." This appeared on his blog. By Larry Cuban Seventy-one percent of charter school principals expect to leave their posts within five years. That will be a turnover rate of nearly three out of every four principals. As for the actual turnover among charter school principals–-there are over 5,000 charter schools with an average of 400 start-ups annually–-the rate is about the same as regular public schools, according to a recent report. So “burn and churn” among principals scorches even charters where stakeholders are deeply involved in