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##  Recruiting and Retaining Rural School Administrators. ERIC Digest.           

School districts nationwide are finding it hard to recruit and                  retain administrators. About half of all districts report a shortage            of qualified applicants, with rural districts reporting slightly                larger percentages (National Association of Elementary School                   Principals and National Association of Secondary School Principals,             1998). In general, the need for secondary school principals seems to            be somewhat greater than for elementary school principals (Cooper,              Fusarelli, & Carella, 2000). Rural states, such as Vermont, report              more unfilled principals' positions than in the past (Hinton &                  Kastner, 2000); and most surveys, whatever the type of district,                indicate that the average tenure of administrators is shorter than              it was (Glass, Bjork, & Brunner, 2000). Research has identified                 several reasons for the shortage as well as strategies that show                promise for eliminating it. REASONS FOR THE SHORTAGERecent                research (outlined below) suggests that job pressures may be the                most serious reason why school districts are finding it difficult to            recruit and retain educational leaders. Always demanding of time and            energy, the administrative roles of rural superintendents and                   principals are more complex and perhaps more stressful than ever                before. In the past 25 years, administrators have had to address                increasing demands for special programs, collaborative decision                 making, and accountability. In addition, potential for conflict with            school boards and various constituencies is greater in the face of              the heightened diversity of many rural communities. Long hours and              relatively low salaries add to problems in recruiting and retaining             new leaders for rural schools, and these problems may intensify if              retirements occur at anticipated rates. 
Pressure for increased                programs, collaboration, and accountability. Federal and state                  mandates have placed many new demands on administrators. The                    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), for example,                though it has improved education for children with disabilities,                adds to the complexity of school administrators' roles. According to            some sources, IDEA represents a major barrier to recruiting                     qualified applicants (Ohio Department of Education [ODE], 2001).                School reform legislation that calls for site-based governance is               also perceived as making administration harder. Shared governance               requires school leaders to relinquish power as well as to make use              of highly developed skills in interpersonal communication,                      negotiation, and conflict resolution (Madsen & Hipp, 1999). 
State             accountability requirements are another source of pressure (Howley,             Pendarvis, & Gibbs, 2002; Ramirez & Guzman, 1999). Alabama                      principals regard accountability for academic performance--measured             by test scores--as the most significant change in their jobs during             the past five years (Kochan, Spencer, & Mathews, 1999). 
Much of               the pressure created by these mandates is caused by the lack of                 resources needed to address them (Public Agenda, 2001).                         Superintendents say inadequate resources detract most from their                effectiveness (Glass et al.,2000), and principals agree. For rural              principals in Alabama, budgeting and unfunded mandates present                  serious problems (Kochan, et al., 1999). Moreover, funding problems             in rural schools may increase with the "graying" of rural America,              if retirees on fixed incomes continue to reject higher taxes for                education. 
Pressure on school leaders also comes from trying to               reconcile the conflicting expectations of different                             constituencies (Goens, 1998). Sometimes superintendents leave one               district for another because of conflict with an important                      constituency--their school board. In fact, nearly 25 percent of                 superintendents who leave small districts report conflict with the              school board as their reason for leaving (Glass et al.,                         2000). 
Long hours and low salaries. Rural principals have                     traditionally worked long hours because they are expected to attend             numerous school and community events, and the long hours needed to              meet these responsibilities make the principals' job seem                       unappealing (Howley, Pendarvis, et al., 2002; ODE, 2001). Secondary             school principals report that working 60- to 80-hour weeks is not               uncommon (Yerkes & Guaglianone, 1998). Perhaps more typical is the              45- to 60-hour week (Graham, 1997). Because of job pressures and                long hours, relatively low salaries can be especially                           demoralizing (Cooper et al.,2000). 
Inadequate salaries seem to                play a role in discouraging educators from applying for positions in            rural districts (Cooper et al., 2000). On average, rural principals             earn almost a third less in yearly income than nonrural principals;             and the differential between teachers' and administrators' salaries             is smaller than in nonrural districts (Stern, 1994). If low salary              differential creates a disincentive for teachers to move into                   administration, that disincentive may be most acute in rural                    districts. 
Impending retirements. Because of the projected                    retirements of many administrators in the near future, districts                anticipate having a large number of openings. During the 1990s,                 approximately 50 percent of all practicing administrators reached               retirement age (Yerkes & Guaglianone, 1998). And some states now                predict that during the early years of the 2000s there will be a                large increase in that percentage. The executive director of the                Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, for example,              predicts that about 75 percent of Minnesota's high school principals            will be eligible to retire by 2005 (Pugmire, 1999). STRATEGIES FOR            RECRUITING AND RETAINING RURAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORSRecent                  research on the shortage of school administrators (described below)             offers some strategies for addressing the problem. Among these are              strategies positioned to improve recruitment of new                             administrators: (1) publicizing the satisfactions of the job, (2)               encouraging applications from women and minorities, (3) improving               salaries and benefits, and (4) providing professional development               programs that enable new administrators to meet the challenges of               educational leadership. Some of these strategies may also help to               increase retention of school leaders. Improved professional                     development, for example, not only gives administrators the                     confidence to take on the leadership role at the beginning of their             careers, these programs also provide administrators with the                    competence to achieve success and, as a result, to realize                      satisfaction through their work. Satisfaction associated with making            a difference for children and families turns out to be a powerful               motivator for most administrators (Howley, Pendarvis, et al., 2002).            Another important strategy for retaining competent school leaders is            to help them build and sustain support networks. Such networks have             been found to be particularly encouraging to rural principals who               may not be able to find mentors and supportive colleagues within                their own districts (Howley, Chadwick, & Howley, 2002). 
Publicize             satisfactions of school administration. The job satisfaction ratings            of rural principals, except their ratings for income, are as high as            or higher than those of nonrural principals (Stern, 1994). And                  similarly high levels of satisfaction are also reported by rural                superintendents (Ramirez & Guzman, 1999). Clearly, school leadership            has satisfactions as well as hardships. According to Howley,                    Pendarvis, and Gibbs (2002), these satisfactions center on the                  ability to make a difference for children, parents, teachers, and               communities. Publicizing such satisfactions may be an effective way             to recruit teachers to positions of school leadership. 
Recruit                more women and minorities. Despite the predominance of female                   teachers, administrative positions are held predominantly by men.               And even with increased numbers of female and minority group                    educators becoming prepared as administrators, school districts                 continue mostly to hire white men (Glass et al., 2000). Qualified               women and minority educators provide an important resource for                  meeting current and impending administrator shortages (Cooper et                al., 2000). To tap into this resource, however, districts will need             to become more open-minded about the types of individuals whom they             believe can achieve success as school leaders. And leadership                   preparation programs will need to make special efforts to encourage             women and minority applicants by partnering with                                local "grow-your-own" and "aspiring principal" programs. 
Improve              salaries and benefits. Even though many rural districts face                    economic hardships, they should nevertheless think about investing              in leadership. Improved salaries are clearly one way to make this               investment, but local boards can also provide benefit packages that             are attractive to principals and superintendents (ODE, 2001).                   Providing stipends for advanced course work, offering portable                  pension plans, and paying moving expenses are among the optional                benefits recommended in recent reports. 
Improve professional                  development. Of superintendents in rural and smaller districts, only            43 percent have doctorates, compared to 64 percent overall (Cooper              et al., 2000), suggesting a need to increase access to formal                   preparation programs through distance learning and paid leave.                  Access to less formal programs, especially those that focus on                  networking, also seems to be important for increasing the competence            as well as the job satisfaction of rural administrators (Howley,                Chadwick, et al., 2002). Indeed, relevant graduate programs and                 other opportunities for professional development may be highly                  effective in attracting new applicants, supporting the work of                  beginning principals, and sustaining the enthusiasm of veteran                  administrators. CONCLUSIONRural school administration has been            made more complex and stressful by a changed social context.                    Difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified administrators               suggest an imbalance between the demands of the job and the                     resources available to meet those demands, particularly in                      underfunded districts. Research suggests the advisability of                    adopting specific strategies to address the growing shortage. Among             these, rural districts might specifically want to focus on efforts              to publicize the satisfactions of administration, encourage                     applications from women and minorities, increase salary and                     benefits, and provide access to relevant professional                           development. REFERENCESCooper, B. S., Fusarelli, L. D., &                 Carella, V. A. (2000). Career crisis in the superintendency? The                results of a national survey. Arlington, VA: American Association of            School Administrators. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED               443 167) 
Glass, T. E., Bjork, L., & Brunner, C. C. (2000). The                study of the American school superintendency, 2000: A Look at the               superintendent of education in the new millennium. Arlington, VA:               American Association of School Administrators. (ERIC Document                   Reproduction Service No. ED 440 475) 
Goens, G. A. (1998). Too many            coxswains: Leadership and the principalship. NASSP Bulletin,                    82(600), 103-110. 
Graham, M. W. (1997, March). School principals:             Their roles and preparation. Paper presented at the National                    Conference on Creating the Quality School, Oklahoma City, OK. (ERIC             Document Reproduction Service No. ED 411 576) 
Hinton, L., &                   Kastner, J. (2000). Vermont's principal shortage. Retrieved December            12, 2002, from                                                                  http://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/doc/vermonts_principal_shortage.htm.                   
Howley, A., Chadwick, K., Howley, C. W. (2002, April). Networking             for the nuts and bolts: The ironies of professional development for             rural principals. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the                  American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. (ERIC               Document Reproduction Service No. ED 463 908) 
Howley, A.,                     Pendarvis, E., & Gibbs, T. (2002, October 16). Attracting principals            to the superintendency: Conditions that make a difference to                    principals. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(43). Retrieved               December 12, 2002, from                                                         http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n43.html. 
Kochan, F. K., Spencer, W.              A., & Matthews, J. (1999, April). The changing face of the                      principalship in Alabama: Role, perceptions, and gender. Paper                  presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research            Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (ERIC Document Reproduction              Service No. ED 431 232) 
Madsen, J., & Hipp, K. A. (1999). The                 impact of leadership style on creating community in public and                  private schools. International Journal of Educational Reform, 8(3),             260-273. 
National Association of Elementary School Principals and             National Association of Secondary School Principals. (1998). Is                 there a shortage of qualified candidates for openings in the                    principalship? An exploratory study. Arlington, VA: Educational                 Research Service. 
Ohio Department of Education. (2001). Toward the            development of statewide policy to address the Ohio principal                   shortage: Recommendations of the Ohio Association of Elementary                 School Administrators/Ohio Association of Secondary School                      Administrators. Columbus, OH: Author. 
Public Agenda. (2001).                  Trying to stay ahead of the game: Superintendents and principals                talk about school leadership. New York: Public Agenda Online.                   Retrieved December 12, 2002, from                                               http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/leadership/leadership.htm.                 
Pugmire, T. (1999, April 10). The principal shortage [radio                   broadcast]. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved December            12, 2001, from                                                                  http://news.mpr.org/features/199908/30_pugmiret_safety/principal.sht            ml. 
Ramirez, A., & Guzman, N. (1999, October). The rural school               district superintendency: A Colorado perspective. Paper presented at            the annual conference of the National Rural Education Association,              Colorado Springs, CO. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 437            235) 
Stern, J. D. (1994). The condition of education in rural                 schools. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. (ERIC                 Document Reproduction Service No. ED 371 935) 
Yerkes, D. M., &                Guaglianone, C. L. (1998). Where have all the high school                       administrators gone? Thrust for Educational Leadership, 28(2),                  10-14. 
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Dr. Aimee Howley is Professor of Educational                   Administration and Chair of the Educational Studies Department at               Ohio University. 
Dr. Edwina Pendarvis is Drinko Fellow and                    Professor of Gifted Education in the Marshall University School of              Education. 
This publication was prepared with funding from the                Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of              Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0027. The opinions expressed             herein do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI,            the Department, or AEL.                                                      **Title:** Recruiting and Retaining Rural School Administrators. ERIC Digest.           **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** AEL, P.O. Box 1348, Charleston, WV 25325-1348. Tel:                             800-624-9120 (Toll Free). For full text:                                        http://www.ael.org/ERIC/digests/edorc02-7.pdf.                               **Descriptors:** Administrative Problems,  Administrators, Collegiality, Elementary              Secondary Education,  Job Satisfaction,  Labor Turnover, Quality of             Working Life,  Recruitment,  Rural Schools, Work Environment                 **Identifiers:**  Administrative Stress, ERIC Digests, Principal Shortage                     
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