Leadership Void For Turnaround Schools

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Most people agree that most important person in any school is the principal. That person is the instructional leader, the one who sets the climate, and creates the expectations of teachers and students.

Central to the Obama administration's $4 billion turnaround program to radically transform schools is the appointment of new principals. However, according to The New York Times, the strategy has run up against a dearth of available, willing, or experienced principals to step in.

The expectation was that most schools would get new leadership, but data from eight large states shows that in about 44 percent of schools receiving federal turnaround money, many principals in failing schools haven't been replaced.

Pulling schools out of chronic failure is harder than managing a successful school. It requires creative problem-solving and stronger leadership, and the supply of principals capable of that work is small.

Few schools receiving federal money have installed principals with specialized turnaround training. This is not a funding or political problem; it's one of human capital – one that was not anticipated.

Read more in NYTimes.com.

Reported By Dr. Marciene Mattleman, KYW Newsradio