The Cincinnati Enquirer

“In a typical week,” argues this editorial in The Cincinnati Enquirer, “school principals confer with teachers, return calls to angry parents, do paperwork, oversee after-school activities, discipline students, do paperwork, deal with late buses, investigate vandalism, go to meetings at the central office, do paperwork and otherwise support learning in their schools.”

“But who supports principals?” the editorial asks.

The answer: Fewer people than they need. The Enquirer cites the Wallace-commissioned Public Agenda survey Rolling Up Their Sleeves, which revealed that many school leaders find themselves too bogged down by daily emergencies and routine tasks to adequately focus on helping students learn. In particular, three in four principals reported that putting out unexpected “fires” robs them of time they should be spending in classrooms.

The Enquirer calls on states and districts to add “other sets of hands” that can allow principals to concentrate on student performance. It suggests a system with more shared authority and cooperative decision-making by teams of teachers, administrators and support staff that not only lessens principals’ workload, but also makes improving student learning a responsibility shared by all.

This editorial contends that unless such a solution is put in place — or an alternative, such as increased roles for assistant principals, or training academies that continually support principals while they’re on the job — schools risk losing the high-quality principals they do have or attracting fewer qualified candidates in the future.

Full text: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060517/EDIT01/605170302/1020/EDIT