Today, Philanthropy Advocates submitted written testimony to the Senate Committee on Education on its interim charge on school transformation talent. Texas has made historic investments in its teachers, and principals play a central role in whether those teachers stay and succeed.
New research from Dr. Jacob Kirksey at Texas Tech University, conducted in partnership with Philanthropy Advocates, finds that nearly 1 in 4 Texas principals leaves their campus each year, and teachers are more likely to leave in a new principal’s first year. The research also quantifies the impact of principals on student learning in Texas. We know teachers are the single greatest in-school factor affecting student learning.
Principals are not far behind: the principal effect is about 60% of the teacher effect. And a principal’s influence reaches every classroom on the campus. Our testimony recommends that the state grow leaders from within, support new principals through their first year, and scale high-quality principal preparation. It also recommends rewarding effective principals through the Enhanced Teacher Incentive Allotment.
Read our full testimony here.
