Improving Leader of Color Retention: How Lessons on Principal Turnover Are Influencing New District Practices

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Recent studies on leader turnover have provided helpful insights on the reasons why school principals leave the field prematurely, particularly those from racialized background and who work in urban settings. Based on this body of research, districts are developing structures and systems to better support the needs of their leaders. In this symposium, we will explore the national research on principal turnover as well as two district attempts to better support leaders. The first initiative is a leader induction and training program for African American principals and assistant principals in an urban district. The other program is an affinity group for senior-level district leaders of color from five districts across the United States.

Sub Unit

• Division A - Administration / Division A - Section 1: Leadership

Chair

• Mark Anthony Gooden, Teachers College, Columbia University

Papers

• Understanding and Addressing Principal Turnover: A Mixed-Methods Study - Stephanie Levin, Learning Policy Institute

• Insights into White Supremacy Culture from Interviews with African American Leaders About Their Careers - Crystal A. Moore, Education Trust - West

• Designing at the Margins: How Senior School District Leaders of Color Learn to Enact Equitable Policies and Practices - Travis J. Bristol, University of California - Berkeley

Discussant

• Kristin Bijur, San Francisco Unified School District