Our new principals tell us they don't have time for a life. Meanwhile, the job responsibilities keep escalating. Principals today are expected not only to be instructional leaders, but also disciplinarians, supervisors, fund-raisers, public relations experts, and fiscal managers. They have to worry about liability concerns as well as who picks up the garbage. In Philadelphia, the 10-point Children Achieving agenda, adopted under Mr. Hornbeck, has meant major changes in the principal's role.
Schools now have local school councils to advise the principal.
And there's a decentralized governance structure that gives principals greater freedom, but also more responsibility. It's a very precarious position. Too often, they complain, they feel out on a limb with little support or recognition from their school systems. In New York City, principals have been working without a contract for three years. The probationary period for new principals has been extended to five years.