Principal flight on the rise in the age of accountability

This from the Austin Statesman.

Central Texas school districts losing principals to students' peril.

Geneva Oliva estimates conservatively that she saw seven principals come and go while her children attended Johnston High School in East Austin from 1994 to 2003. The faces changed with such regularity that she says she didn't recognize the principal from year to year.

"Every time a new principal came in, they'd come up with a new program," she says, "but the new program was never completed because the principals left. What good is it to have good ideas if they aren't there to finish it off?"

School districts nationwide are finding it harder to hold on to principals as standards get tougher and the list of demands from the state and federal governments gets longer...

...When the principalship is a revolving door at a school, experts say, it trickles down to teacher retention efforts and school reform initiatives...

..Education experts, principals and parents say the challenges of urban schools, combined with high-stakes testing demands, are driving the trend...

More pressure

The accountability system has changed expectations.

"While principals put stress on teachers to improve outcomes, teachers often do not lose their jobs over low accountability ratings," said [Ed Fuller, associate director of the University Council for Educational Administration at the University of Texas], who has analyzed cumulative state turnover rates. " Principals do."

It's not always clear when principals leave whether they chose to walk out or were forced out, but what is certain is that in high-pressure situations at low-performing schools, they often don't last...