School Leadership
Principal Professional Development
Professional development has been an essential element in policy discussions about how to ensure that school leaders possess necessary and current knowledge and skills. Various programs are designed for school administrators and can vary widely from state to state depending on state priorities. Concern exists that requiring only credit hours may not guarantee that school leaders are exposed to the most relevant professional development experiences. Roughly 25 states have minimum professional development requirements for an administrator or principal to renew his or her license. Variation exists among states with respect to the number of years of experience that are required and the number of additional credit hours that are required. To illustrate, consider the following states.
- Alaska, South Carolina and Wisconsin offer a five-year certificate that can be renewed upon completion of six credit hours of graduate work.
- Indiana offers both a standard license that is valid for five years after completion of six semester hours and a professional license that is valid for another 10 years upon completion of an additional six semester hours or 90 hours of continuing education.
- Rhode Island offers a three-year provisional certificate that cannot be renewed. Upon completion of nine credits, a five-year professional license is valid.
Continued professional learning is an important aspect of any job. For many years, educators have been focused on the professional development needs of teachers. While this is essential, it is equally important to attend to the ongoing learning needs of principals and other leaders in schools and districts. Research suggests that effective professional development needs to be ongoing, embedded in practice, linked to school reform initiatives and problem-based. The professional learning opportunities also need to build on the needs of leaders regarding the skills they have yet to acquire. There are early indications that providing development opportunities to school-based teams of leaders may also be beneficial to the school as a whole.
State Activity
- Washington passed a bill in 2004 to authorize area universities to offer training for principals and superintendents over and above that required for teaching certificates and principals' credentials. This voluntary program will help people who are trying to pursue additional career training but not be able to due to geographic difficulties.
- New York introduced a bill in 2005 to allow for an institute for professional development of school supervisors and administrators. Establishes the institute for professional development of school supervisors and administrators in and for the city school district of the city of New York; provides for joint administration by the New York City board of education and the collective bargaining agent of the supervisors and administrators; appropriates $3 million contingent upon city matching.
- Michigan passed legislation in 2003 to fund the Department of Education (MDE), in collaboration with statewide associations of school principals, that established a principal leadership academy. The academy consists of training for school principals, conducted by other school principals who had a record of demonstrated success in improving pupil performance. The MDE solicits input from school district superintendents and intermediate superintendents to compile a list of successful school principals to conduct training at the academy. This academy focuses on these aspects of successful school leadership: strategies for increasing parental involvement and engaging community support, creative problem-solving, financial decision-making, and management ethics and techniques for cultivating student achievement.
Key Questions for Legislators
1. What professional development requirements exist in your state for school leaders?
2. Is professional development tied to licensure in your state? If so, what is required for re-
licensure? How many credit hours are required?
3. Does your state require clinical or in-school professional development?
4. Is professional development linked with other districts, schools within a district, preparation
programs and local universities?
5. How is professional development funded? Is any support for professional development
provided from federal, state, district or private funds?
6. Are school leaders allowed release time so they can be out of the district or out of their
school building for professional development activities?
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