IMPROVING
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
IN TENNESSEE
OVERVIEW:
UPDATE ON THE WORK:
Research demonstrates that principals matter greatly to student achievement. In fact, research has shown that of all inschool factors, principals’ impact on student achievement is
second only to that of teachers, accounting for approximately
25 percent of a school’s impact on student learning.99 Principals are instrumental in efforts to improve student learning, as they are responsible for the effective staffing, management, and continued development of schools. Recent
research finds that principals play a key role in retaining top
performing teachers, creating productive school cultures, and
fostering working conditions that encourage effective teachers to stay in classrooms.100
In order to ensure all schools have access to highly effective school leaders, it is important that all components of
the principal pipeline provide school leaders with the skills
they need to support teachers and students in classrooms
across Tennessee. This includes not only principal preparation programs, but also principal support practices and principal evaluation systems. The following sections will provide
an overview of recent changes in policy, legislation, and programs related to school leaders in Tennessee.
Over the past decade, principals’ jobs have shifted away from
that of a building manager to that of an instructional leader.101
This shift has resulted in a growing need for additional support and professional learning for current principals as well
as a redesigning of principal preparation programs to more
effectively prepare beginning principals for their role as instructional leaders.102
Tennessee laid the foundation for a commitment to the improved development and support of school leaders across
the state with the passage of the Learning Centered Leadership Policy in 2008.103 The Tennessee Instructional Leadership
Standards (TILS), an integral component of the Learning Centered Leadership Policy, were revised in 2013 to reflect current
research and best practices in instructional leadership.104
These policies were a catalyst for shifts in policy related to
principal preparation and evaluation that signify the state’s
continued commitment to school leadership. Even so, it is difficult to determine how effectively these policies are implemented or the impact they have in districts across the state.
For this reason, it is imperative to continue work in the area of
school leadership to ensure all schools have access to principals who can transform instruction and sustain improved
student learning.
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Principal Preparation: The Learning Centered Leadership Policy
created a framework for higher quality principal preparation
programs in Tennessee. This policy required partnerships to
be formed between preparation programs and local school
districts, the implementation of research-based curriculum,
the establishment of new and more rigorous admissions standards, and the provision of high-quality clinical experiences
to all principal candidates.105 This policy did not require any
follow-up data, surveys of partners, or other forms of monitoring and evaluation to ensure accountability and measure the
quality of these partnerships. For this reason, while partnership agreements were written as a result of the Learning Centered Leadership Policy, it is unclear whether these partnerships have been successfully implemented across the state.
There are several examples throughout Tennessee of best
practices in principal preparation and of successful partnerships formed between local school districts and preparation programs. Some of these programs include the Leadership Academy at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the
Memphis Leadership Fellows Program at the University of
Memphis, the Ayers Leadership Fellows program at Lipscomb
University, and the Public Education Foundation’s Principal
Leadership Academy in Chattanooga. All of these programs
include intensive clinical experiences in partnering school
districts and have developed curricula from evidence-based
best practices in principal preparation.106