Report finds school leadership gaps
Written by Todd Engdahl on Jul 3rd, 2013. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org
Colorado has a shortage of quality candidates for school leadership jobs and needs to improve principal training, according to a new report from the Donnell-Kay Foundation.
The report, “Meeting Colorado Demands for Excellent Leaders,” makes findings and recommendations based on responses to a survey of Colorado superintendents and charter school leaders.The document’s three key findings are that Colorado has a shortage of quality candidates for school leadership positions, that the principal preparation system is low quality and that professional development and accountability can be “effective levers for change.”
The recommendations include:
The state should fund a better principal data tracking system, reduce entry barriers for non-traditional candidates, increase flexibility for training programs and develop other programs and incentives to improve the principal pipeline.
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Schools and districts should increase efforts to build a corps of schools leaders, provide better support for principals who need it and work harder to create environments that attract quality leaders.
Citing what they see as the importance of strong leadership, the report’s writers said, “Until Colorado’s governor, lawmakers, state and local school board members, superintendents, community, and business leaders get serious about rethinking the role of the school principal, training candidates for