Dive Brief:

• The New York City Department of Education's New Principal Support (NPS) program helps the district provide additional support and professional learning opportunities to school leaders, lowering turnover in the process, District Administration reports.
• Data from The School Leaders Network shows that a fourth of all principals nationwide leave their schools each year, with 50% quitting during their third year, and retention is critical to giving schools the consistent leadership and vision that contributes to greater student success.
• In the NPS program, new principals are paired with a full-time coach, coaching fellow or master principal to learn from their experiences and gain insight on best practices, with the coaching amounting to about 72 hours of support over their first year as a principal.

Dive Insight:

The principalship is a demanding position, and as the old saying goes, it can be lonely at the top. School leaders are expected to support a building full of educators, but — especially during their first year — they also need support to perform their best in the role.

Luckily, alongside coaching programs like the one offered in NYC, principals now have the ability to cultivate online professional learning networks via social media platforms like Twitter. Everyone has things they wish they had known their first days on the job, for example, and finding ways to share those experiences with others now in the same position can help them find solace in the knowledge that they're not alone in facing those challenges.