Report: Nearly half of principals considering leaving their schools
A new report based on a survey conducted by the Learning Policy Institute and the National Association of Secondary School Principals finds 42 percent of principals are considering leaving their position, citing heavy workloads, low compensation and lack of evaluation practices, with the percent of principals planning a move higher for those in high-poverty and rural schools. Principals surveyed also said they lack decision-making authority and access to professional development and learning opportunities. Though teachers make the biggest impact on students, the respondents said principals are also important because they define culture and vision, make hiring decisions, and plan. The report suggests, among other things, districts should ease principals’ workloads by fully staffing administrative teams, pay them competitive salaries, and provide professional development opportunities.
Changing Principal Preparation to Help Meet School Needs
The principal’s job has changed in recent years, and principal preparation programs must change with it. A new series on Wallace’s blog will describe how one program, the University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP), is working to do just that. Each week for the next six weeks, the series will explore different aspects of the program, including its curriculum, its internships, its relationships with community partners, faculty, and student views about the new program and its efforts to ensure equity throughout its offerings.
Poll: 20 percent of teachers unlikely to return in fall
One in five teachers surveyed in an USA Today/Ipsos poll said they will likely not return to the classroom in the fall, USA Today reports. A majority of the teachers surveyed (83 percent) said they are struggling to do their job while schools are closed, 76 percent said remote learning is causing students to fall behind, and half were “very” worried about their students. In addition, six out of 10 parents polled in the same survey said they are hesitant about sending their children back to school, with 30 percent saying they are “very likely” to keep their children home in the fall. Four in 10 parents and teachers opposed returning to the classroom before a coronavirus vaccine is available.
Facing an uncertain summer, Teach for America and other prep programs will train teachers online
Teach for America is known for its summer training “institute”—a crash course in teaching for thousands of incoming educators, often with mornings spent teaching summer school students and nights spent planning lessons in local college dorms. But when the coronavirus pandemic arrived in March, TFA leaders knew the organization’s training for some 3,000 new corps members would need an overhaul. This summer, “institute” is going virtual. For four and a half weeks, the incoming teachers will get about four hours a day of live training by video, then spend another four hours learning on their own.
Kansas educator named National Teacher of the Year
Rosproy is the first early childhood educator to win National Teacher of the Year, according to the Council of Chief State School Officers, which oversees the honor. Randy Watson, the commissioner of the Kansas Department of Education, said it’s been 58 years since a Kansas teacher won. Rosproy teaches in a classroom at the Cumbernauld Village retirement community in Winfield.
