Dive Brief:

• Many districts wait until positions are open to think about who can fill them, but experts say it is better to be proactive and incorporate succession planning into broader strategic initiatives.
• District Administration reports deliberate and continuous planning done by stable leadership makes succession planning easy, but high turnover on school boards can complicate matters by bringing in a level of instability.
• Larger districts can benefit from a more formal leadership pipeline through a focus on professional development and internal grooming, but regardless of the strategy, it takes cooperation between top administrators and school board members.

Dive Insight:

Districts impacted by teacher shortages may find they don’t have as many administrators applying for open principal or central office positions either. Large districts are not the only ones that can develop a leadership pipeline, though. When there are more resources and greater internal capacity, it is easier to develop training programs, but most schools are within collaboration distance from higher education institutions that can offer support.

Key is thinking about administrative training and development along with teacher development, which can get more attention. Teachers do have an outsized influence on student achievement, but school and district leaders create the environments that allow them to focus on their jobs.