As students in Washington, D.C., headed back to school this
year, nearly one quarter of them were greeted by new principals
[read the article]. In Pinellas County, Florida, 27 of the
district’s 118 schools have new leaders at the helm this year,
and 75 of those schools have had two or more principals over the
past five years [read the article]. The high turnover rates
among school leaders in those two districts are not all that
unusual. High turnover is widespread. Such turnover is impacted
by a wide range of causes, from early retirement packages
offered to senior principals in order to generate budget savings
to the appointment of new principals to turn around “failing”
schools. In addition, some districts maintain policies that
require principal rotation as a means of reinvigorating schools
and their leaders. Many of the reasons for school-leader
turnover are unavoidable or can be justified. But districts
would be wise to take notes from a study released in August that
affirms the connection between strong