School Districts' Challenges in Recruiting and Hiring School Leaders: A Mixed-Methods Examination

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Six
  In Roundtable Session: Show Me the Honey: Consideration in Attracting Talent to Schools and Classrooms (Table 11)

Abstract

This study investigates the labor market for principals and APs across a diverse range of school district contexts in a single state, with attention to the difficulties school districts face in leader recruitment and hiring and the strategies they use to attempt to overcome those challenges. We take a mixed-methods approach, analyzing administrative data alongside a survey of school district leaders and data from original interviews with two dozen district superintendents about their approaches to the leadership pipeline. Findings suggest a misalignment between the number of leadership vacancies and the pool of actively licensed candidates within each district. While this misalignment can be attributed to numerous factors, districts utilize a variety of strategies to build and sustain applicant pools.

Authors

• Ashley Ellison, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• Jason A. Grissom, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Francisco Arturo Santelli, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author