A 2014 report from the School Leaders Network found that by the end of the third year of the principalship, half of all novice principals leave their jobs.  Which brings up the question, why?   Did they feel supported in their learning process in their new job?   I can answer this based on my personal experience as a novice principal  over ten years ago and the experiences of some of my friends.

Almost eleven years ago, when I became a principal, I was told the name of a person who was assigned by my area office that was to be my mentor.  This was not someone I knew or felt comfortable with.  We had no official meetings of any kind, not even a get to know each other casual meeting.  My first year was a blur.  I jokingly say it was my best year because I did not know what I did not know.  I kind of fell into doing things.  There was no one guiding me, reminding me of due dates, or walking me through processes and procedures.  I did not even know who in the district to call on if I needed  some help.

Compare this to my friend who has been a principal for over 15 years.  He had an official program he went through his first year as a principal.  Monthly meetings to support for upcoming tasks, support for personnel issues, anything needed.  During these monthly meetings district personnel were also invited and introduced so he knew who to call if he had a need.

More recently is a friend who has been a principal for five years.  She had even less support than I did.  She was just thrown in the chair in a sink or swim kind of scenario.  All three of us are in the same district with only a few years separating us as novice principals.

With the high stakes of accountability in the principalship increasing throughout the years, it seems to me the mentoring and support for novice principals is diminishing in our district instead of improving.

As a principal, we are no longer considered just building managers.  We are those as well as instructional leaders.  As a novice principal, it is difficult to have all of these responsibilities without support or with minimal support.  It is time for all school districts to look at their novice principal support program, if there is one, and determine if their novice principals are getting the support they need to be successful leaders of their schools.

I feel with the support needed, novice principals will stay in their positions and be successful leaders of their schools.  And in turn, more schools will be successful because of the strong veteran leadership at the schools.

School Leaders Network. (2014). CHURN: e High Cost of Principal Turnover. Retrieved from https://www.acesconnection.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/405780286632981504/filePointer/40578286632981536/fodoid/405780286632981531/principal_turnover_cost.pdf