One of the most challenging issues currently facing public education is a nationwide shortage of secondary school principals. In some places, such as Jefferson City, Mo., the problem has become so bad that state governments are being forced to consider relaxing the job requirements. Part of the problem is that as baby boomers reach retirement age, a large number of top public educators are leaving the workforce. But the other point of that double-edged sword is that it has become increasingly difficult to attract younger educators to the position, in part because principals are increasingly accountable for a daunting array of responsibilities, many of which have little to do with education.
In New York City, for example, a plan is afoot to fine principals personally if their students do not have their proper vaccinations. Not only would principals be fined, but the kids would be sent home until they have the shots (usually at school expense). This could add considerable time, cost and disruption to any principal's day. According to the Gallup 1998 Health of the Nation Study*, only 49% of kids aged 12 to 17, report having the necessary vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella. And just slightly more than half (55%), say they have had their shots for tetanus and diphtheria.
Other data from Gallup Youth Surveys hint at the immensity of the problems principals must deal with that are unrelated to education. Many are disciplinary: two-thirds of teens (66%) said in 2000 that fights among students at their school are a "very" or "fairly" big problem; this represented a sizable increase over 1999 when the number was 52%. During this same period, vandalism and destruction of personal or school property rose from 38% to 48%**.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of all teens have been asked to leave a classroom (and presumably head for the principal's office). Nine percent (9%) of students say they have been asked to leave a classroom many times and 28% have been asked to leave a few times***.
To get a better idea of how principals spend their days, Gallup asked several high school principals in the Midwest to log their time for an entire day. One principal honed his negotiating skills by spending one hour on "student disagreement mediation." Another from a large Midwestern high school scheduled a 7 a.m. meeting with her athletic director regarding a "discipline incident" and then went on from there to meet with her assistant principal over a "student issue." Yet another principal spent two hours locating a student suspected of being "under the influence," taking the student to the nurse's office, and attempting to contact the student's guardian.
Adverse physical conditions in school buildings can also preoccupy a principal's valuable time. For example, about one teen in six (17%) reports that doors in school bathroom stalls "almost never" work; that classrooms are "almost always" really hot in the fall or spring (16%); or that classrooms are "almost always" really cold in the winter (15%)^. One Midwestern high school principal reported that in the last week he had "toured with a person from the maintenance office about a concern regarding roofing tar smells making people sick."
Comments from focus groups conducted in 2001 with high school principals from all over the country reflected their diverse days: "There's no time during the day or the week or the year to say I'm ‘off duty'"; "You can't plan your day; it is so unpredictable"; and "There's a dynamic to it like a roller coaster kind of thing …When you walk in, you never know what's going to happen that day." When Gallup asked how they kept from burning out, a typically positive response was, "I'm energized when I see what kids can achieve if they are given the tools and preparation."
Key Points
High school principals, like most people in public education, are motivated by a strong desire to help children learn and develop. Part of the reason for the current principal shortage may be the recognition by potential candidates that, as Gallup data illustrate, much of the job involves reacting to disciplinary and administrative crises, often leaving little opportunity to proactively guide schools to success.
*Health of the Nation survey. AMA. 1998. Results for 12- to 17-year-olds are based on telephone interviews with a representative national cross section of 793 teen-agers, conducted May through June 1998.
**Findings are based on telephone interviews with a representative national cross section of 500 teen-agers, aged 13 to 17, conducted April through June 2000.
***Findings are based on telephone interviews with a representative national cross section of 501 teen-agers, aged 13 to 17, conducted December 2000 through February 2001.
^Findings are based on telephone interviews with a representative national cross section of 500 teen-agers, aged 13 to 17, conducted November 1996 through June 1997.
^^Findings are based on telephone interviews with a representative national cross section of 500 teen-agers, aged 13 to 17, conducted July through October 2000.