A close analysis in today's Times confirms what seems to be basic logic: For the most part, principals with more experience fare better than younger, less-seasoned school leaders, even those groomed by the city's Leadership Academy to take over, and often turn around, troubled or failing schools. The observation is particularly acute given the relative inexperience of New York City's public school principals; nearly 80 percent have been school leaders for eight years or less. (For more on principal training, visit New Leaders for New Schools, a national leadership-training program, and read this Q&A with Leadership Academy head Sandra Stein.)
But even with budget control and other elements of autonomy, all principals do not control or direct their school's enrollment, a critical management lapse, according to families of pre-K students and those currently waiting for middle school results (and placement offers) for district and citywide gifted and talented programs.
Principals' job descriptions continue to expand: “You’re a teacher, you’re Judge Judy, you’re a mother, you’re a father, you’re a pastor, you’re a therapist, you’re a nurse, you’re a social worker,” Maxine Nodel, principal of the Millennium Art Academy in the Bronx, told the Times. “You’re a curriculum planner, you’re a data gatherer, you’re a budget scheduler, you’re a vision spreader."
What you're not, apparently, is a source of enrollment information for parents in your community. That power rests with the DOE -- and parents are caught in the gap, waiting for information while the clock ticks toward DOE-imposed deadlines.
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