Corrected: Amanda Karhuse is the director of policy and advocacy at the National Association of Secondary School Principals. An earlier version of this story misidentified her organization.
The new federal K-12 education law contains the strongest requirements to date that states gather and weigh the opinions of principals, parents, and others as they create new education plans.
But whether states are practicing this kind of 鈥渕eaningful consultation"鈥攁nd particularly whether they are tapping the expertise of their principals鈥攄epends very much on the state, according to the two national organizations that represent elementary and secondary school principals.
That is worrisome for the two groups, whose representatives argue that the new law was written to be more inclusive. Principals can provide valuable input about what鈥檚 likely to work in schools, since they know firsthand that ideas that sound good on paper may not play out well in the real world.
It鈥檚 also important for principals to be part of those discussions because changes in the new K-12 law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, will affect their jobs, the groups say.
鈥淭here are a variety of efforts underway, and it鈥檚 really鈥攏o pun intended鈥攁ll over the map,鈥� Kelly Pollitt, the National Association of Elementary School Principals鈥� chief strategist for policy and alliances, said of an unofficial survey of where state education departments stood with their ESSA plans and how they were involving principals in the process.
Efforts include those in Washington state, where principals are key participants in 13 working groups on topics including learning and teaching, effective educators, assessments, early-childhood education, and students with disabilities. Those groups operate under a nearly 50-person consolidated team, which also includes representation from the state鈥檚 principals鈥� associations.
In Georgia, principals are serving on the committees examining accountability systems and school leadership and development.
Still, in other states, principals are being directed to slide-shows and 鈥淔requently Asked Questions鈥� sections on state education websites, Pollitt said.
鈥楳eaningful Engagement鈥�
The latter is not what the law envisioned as meaningful engagement, representatives from the principals鈥� organizations say. And they worry that unless principals play a significant role in crafting policy, they may be left to deal with the unintended consequences of education policies as they did under the No Child Left Behind Act, the last iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act before ESSA.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about talking about the process鈥攕etting goals, priorities, what this is going to look like,鈥� Amanda Karhuse, the director of policy and advocacy at the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said about the engagement process.
The Every Student Succeeds Act includes a number of changes that will affect how principals do their jobs, including:
Sources: National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the department of education and the governor鈥檚 office sharing information and getting feedback,鈥� she added.
The principals鈥� groups are urging principals and superintendents in states that appear to be lagging to work with teachers, parents, students, and others to create their vision of what state plans should include.
There are a number of areas in the new law in which implementation could benefit from the principals鈥� voices, they said. Principals saw first-hand the onerous testing that resulted from the NCLB law, for instance, and can make suggestions about assessments that would provide timely feedback and the right kind of information to teachers. Principals can also provide input on other measures that can be used as part of new multimetric accountability systems. They can also offer valuable insight on how to improve the performance of subgroups within schools.
The federal law allow states to dedicate funds to principal professional development, and principals can have a say in what evidence-based programs and initiatives will best support and prepare them, Pollitt said.
The principals鈥� groups say they don鈥檛 believe that any state is deliberately excluding principals from the process. In many cases, they said, the extent of collaboration, or lack thereof, between the state departments of education and principals is often influenced by state capacity and the previous working relationship between the two groups.
Washington state has included 12 principals or members of the Washington Association of School Administrators in its working groups. The state went beyond the groups specifically mentioned in the law to include representatives from non-profit organizations, business leaders, and civil rights organizations.
鈥淲e reached out to anybody who we knew had an interest in public education,鈥� said Gil Mendoza, the deputy superintendent for K-12 education, who is leading the state鈥檚 ESSA engagement process.
Principals鈥� 鈥渋nsights are invaluable鈥� in shaping the state鈥檚 education plan, Mendoza said. They鈥檝e often served as teachers and paraprofessionals, and sometimes in district administrative positions. They know the demographics of their schools, and can speak about what鈥檚 likely or unlikely to work for various subgroups, he said.
鈥淭hey offer a plethora of perspectives to the ongoing work,鈥� he said.
Where the Buck Stops
Principals, also, under the NCLB law, bore the brunt of accountability, he said.
鈥淏y federal law, we hold the building [leader] and district accountable, but the accountability falls mostly on the building,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he buck stops with the principals.鈥�
In addition to ensuring principals鈥� representation on the committees, Mendoza also conducts forums that give principals additional opportunities to provide input. He also encourages them to call or e-mail him if they have questions.
鈥淲e only get one shot at this,鈥� Mendoza said of the state鈥檚 effort to be transparent and solicit input from as many voices as possible.
Georgia principals who have been tapped to participate in the working committees say that better policies are made when all educators are involved. Georgia started convening its committees in July.
Christopher P. Watkins, the principal of Treutlen County middle and high schools in Sopperton, Ga., a rural town about 170 miles from Atlanta, is one of 21 members of a committee that is reviewing accountability systems and includes another principal, an assistant principal, and two district superintendents. Within the committee鈥檚 charge: Review the state鈥檚 current accountability systems and come up with ways to make them better, more flexible for school districts, and easier for the public to understand.
Watkins said that if principals and other stakeholders were as involved in the process during No Child Left Behind, some of that law鈥檚 unintended consequences might have been averted.
鈥淚 think there would have been more buy-in and a whole lot more support to make sure it was effective,鈥� he said.
Soliciting Perspectives
Soliciting the perspectives of educators is 鈥渁n excellent idea,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ecause if you are making policy and you want policy to be effective, you鈥檝e got to include the stakeholders it鈥檚 going to affect the most.鈥�
Cecelia McLoon, a principal at Jeff Davis High School in Hazlehurst, Ga., with a decade in the principal鈥檚 chair, is also a supporter of the state鈥檚 stakeholder engagement process.
McLoon, who was asked by the state to serve on the assessment working committee, says she brings a principal鈥檚 voice to the discussion.
鈥淚 am boots on the ground,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 am with the kids and the teachers. I know how much time it takes. I know the stress, and I can bring that perspective, along with the perspective, of all the other individuals in the room.鈥�
Early discussions have included addressing who is responsible for scoring tests and the timeline for returning those scores to teachers, she said.
鈥淚 hope that Georgia鈥檚 ESSA plan will be a plan that will provide useful assessment data for our teachers to inform their instruction,鈥� McLoon said. 鈥淚 hope we鈥檒l be able to utilize the less-stringent guidelines from the federal government to have fewer assessments in Georgia.鈥�
鈥淲e are trying to come up with some alternatives or even tweak what we have,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 have no idea what the end result would be, but ... the process the Georgia Department of Education has chosen to use鈥擨 definitely believe in this.鈥�
