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The Wallace Foundation, in association with the RAND Corporation, recently released its 7-year study called “Principal Pipelines: A Feasible, Affordable, and Effective Way to Improve Schools.” A key finding was that a focus on developing school leadership over the long-term benefits student achievement as well as retention of school leaders.

Using a leadership pipeline as a tool for improving, supporting, and building a strong “bench” of up-and-coming leaders can be a key strategy for building a positive district or school climate. That positive climate is sustained by ensuring that schools have the necessary quantity and quality of leaders who are steeped in the district’s culture and eager to shape and maintain the desired climate. This “grow our own” approach enables finding and recruiting appropriate candidates from within the district who have the education, skills, and experience required for the job. This approach also places the focus directly on development and communication among the sitting and aspiring leaders in a district, rather than enculturating new hires.

In general, the current educator development and certification process does not always prepare aspiring leaders for the power and influence of context in leadership. Although context can relate to tactical elements like the nature of the building, demographics, and the like, it’s really a subset of the district climate. In addition, aspiring leaders are not always prepared for the emotional consequences they experience, which challenge their ability to exercise good judgment and require them to be resilient.

Given these challenges, more and more districts are looking to grow their leaders from existing staff, which enables aspiring leaders to be more familiar with the context of the district. Getting the right people into leadership positions and supporting them with solid professional development is actually fairly straightforward, especially when districts use leadership simulations.

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