Great Teachers Don't Always Want to Become Principals
Is there a way for teachers to make more money and advance in their careers without leaving the classroom?
Sam is high-school government teacher in Washington D.C. who wanted to take on a leadership role in her school. Last year, she earned a master’s degree and an administration license in order to pursue a position as a principal or a dean. Now, though, she has doubts about leaving the classroom.
“I’m not sure that I want to be a principal,” she tells me. “I think that ideally I would still want to work with kids in some capacity…I don’t perceive leaving the classroom for a while, but I do want to have some other leadership opportunities before that.”
Sam’s dilemma—the seemingly conflicting desires of wanting to advance in her career while remaining a classroom teacher—is one that many teachers face. Many teachers want to lead inside and outside of their classrooms, but often it seems the only way to do that is to become a dean or a principal. While these positions typically provide more money and greater flexibility, they ultimately move teachers further away from the students. In 2013, MetLife surveyed teachers and found that nearly 25 percent of teachers were interested in a