Challenges for 21st-Century Elementary School Principals

The principalship of the 21st century requires something more than a compendium of skills, Mr. Ferrandino points out. It requires the ability to lead others and to stand for important ideas and values. It requires never losing sight of a vision. These attributes are what tomorrow's principals will need - and what today's outstanding school leaders already possess. OVER THE past decade, we have witnessed major changes in the role of the elementary school principal. The magnitude of some of these changes was revealed in a recent research study, The K-8 Principal in 1998. The findings of this study, the latest in a series conducted every 10 years by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), were derived from a survey of 1,323 randomly selected K-8 principals. Not surprisingly, the study confirmed the obvious - that the principalship today is a much more demanding job than it used to be. For example, the typical elementary school principal today puts in longer hours (an average of nine hours a day and 54 hours a week), leads a larger school (an average of 425 students), and supervises more people (an average of 30 teachers and 14 other staff members) than the typical principal in past decades. Perhaps the most dramatic change has been the remarkable increase in the proportion of elementary school principals who are women: 42% in 1998, up from just 20% a decade earlier. The gender shift is even more pronounced among principals with five years of experience or less: two- thirds (65%) are women. Minorities, however, are still underrepresented in the principalship. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian Americans combined account for only about 15% of principals in elementary schools, where rapidly growing minority populations are expected to reach 55% nationwide by 2004. The Principal Shortage The NAESP study also noted a growing shortage of elementary school principals. The attrition rate now stands at 42% for the decade from 1988 to 1998 and is expected to remain at least as high into the next decade. Indeed, it could reach as high as 60% as principals of the "baby boom" generation reach retirement age. We are already seeing a pattern of principals opting to retire at the earliest possible date. And this is happening at a time when the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the need for principals will grow with rising school enrollments through 2005. Who will replace these retiring principals? Qualified candidates are becoming increasingly hard to find. In a 1998 survey of school districts by NAESP, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Educational Research Service, half of the districts reported shortages of qualified candidates. Why aren't qualified people applying? The survey produced a number of answers to this question, but there was general agreement on three major factors: * Inadequate compensation. The mean salary for elementary principals in 1999-2000 ranged from $57,566 in the Rocky Mountain region to $79,736 in the Middle Atlantic region, with a national average of $69,407. For this salary, roughly equivalent to that of a middle-level bureaucrat, principals are expected to assume many of the responsibilities of a CEO, making daily decisions that spell success or failure for their schools. Little wonder that few veteran teachers - even though their salaries are about a third less than those of principals - are willing to move from their classrooms to the principal's office. * Job-related stress. Burnout has become an all-too-common occurrence as principals try to keep up with the increasing pressures and demands of parents, teachers, and supervisors. To cite an example of these pressures, one of every 10 principals surveyed by NAESP had been named in a civil lawsuit arising from a playground accident, a disciplinary action, or some other work-related activity. Even though there has never been a judgment against a principal in such cases, the fear of litigation is very real today. …