Education Excellence – A Matter of Principal

Elementary schools are as good as their principal.  If the principal is engaged, is competent, demands excellence from the teachers, and involves the families, excellent results will follow.  If a principal is not engaged, is not competent, does not demand excellence, or does not involve the families, the school will struggle – meaning the children will struggle.

For years, my neighbors and I begged the District for a leadership change at our school.  Only retirement brought a change.  We got a new principal who is on fire.  The teachers know that things have changed and that excellence is now the standard, and they have someone who can, and does, help them improve or, alternatively, who will show them the door.  Because they are professionals, most of the teachers love the change!  The school has come alive, and is abuzz with activity before, during, and after school.  Parents have been invited in to conduct before and after school activities.  I’ve been telling this story to my legislative colleagues, guaranteeing them that this change in leadership would be reflected in test scores.

The scores are in.  I learned today that test scores improved 7%.  I’ll guarantee the world that next year I’ll report a similar improvement, as the new principal’s leadership continues to be reflected.  Why can I make such a guarantee?  Easy.  Because low expectations for the Title 1 school have been replaced with high expectations.  Someone is tending the store.

Why do I support greater accountability for public education?  Because many of the kids who passed through the school before this change took place were robbed.  They’ll likely pay for the lack of leadership and accountability for the rest of their lives.  Now, at my school, one person, a leader, is helping our kids to soar!

Now, imagine for a minute, what might happen, if that leader had actual power to promote and compensate according to performance.