1. Performance Management - Principals
Capturing Our Learning

2. Overview
Purpose: To manage the career of an employee over time, often using differentiated roles, and ensure the highest performers are retained
Key Elements of Career Management & Retention
Providing Expanded Leadership Roles for Existing School Leaders
Retaining Highly Effective School Leaders
Promoting Highly Effective Leaders to Principal Supervisors and Other Leadership Roles
See the Principal ABC Tool and Executive Summary of the Principal Puzzle Pieces for additional information
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

3. Key Research
50% of principals leave by the end of their third year and 70% after five years
The numbers are even higher in high-need schools, with approximately 28% leaving each year School Leaders Network, 2014
Burnout from the overwhelming demands of the job, lack of decision-making authority, and isolation all contribute to this turnover. School Leaders Network, 2014
This constant “churn” of principals has significant costs to students. Schools that lost principals were more likely to see a drop in student academic performance in the subsequent year. Alvoid & Black, 2014; Rice, 2010
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

4. Metrics
Key metrics to understand performance in this function include:
Retention rate of highly effective principals, by high- and low-need schools
% of low performers exited
% of high performers promoted/retained
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

5. Key Content
Career Management & Retention: Part I

6. HR’s Role in Principal Quality
Betsy
On the principal side, we know that effective principals are:
Good instructional leaders, that is – they can facilitate teachers’ learning about how to improve instruction
Good HC managers – they know how to get and keep the best people in their schools
Have a strong vision and can build a strong culture of academic excellence
Align and manage their resources for student achievement – budget, people, processe
Potential questions to ask the group after reviewing this slide:
Do you feel like these are comprehensive, or do you feel like anything is missing?
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

7. The Principalship is Challenging
Demanding and increasing workload and expectations
Limited autonomy over key decisions coupled with strong accountability
Isolation and lack of support
Pay can overlap with differentiated teacher pay
Betsy
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

8. What We Know: Retain Strategically
Source: School Leaders Network.
¼ of principals leave schools each year
28% in high-needs schools
18% in low-needs schools
50% of new principals are either not retained or leave voluntarily after their first 3 years; 20% only last 2 years
New Principals were more likely to leave when test scores declined in their first year
Betsy
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

9. District Conditions & the Paradox of the Principalship
Effective Instructional Leadership
Most Commonly lacking condition:
ability to target resources where they are needed
hire the best available teachers
provide teachers with the opportunities they need to improve
keep the school running smoothly
Grissom & Loeb, 2009, p. 32
create appropriate staffing models
ability to hire, promote, and dismiss teachers.
Ikemoto, et al., 2014, p. 11
Betsy IF we get great principals – it becomes impossible to keep them because of the conditions in the district. The dysfunctional district will win every time. Even High Quality Principals cannot be great HC Managers or even effective managers in this kind of environment
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

10. Creating Great Principals at Scale
Strand 1: Aligned goals, strategies, and resources Strand 2: Culture of collective responsibility, balanced autonomy, and continuous learning, and improvement Strand 3: Effective Management and Support for Principals Strand 4: Systems and policies to effectively manage talent at school-level
Betsy IF we get great principals – it becomes impossible to keep them because of the conditions in the district. The dysfunctional district will win every time. Even High Quality Principals cannot be great HC Managers or even effective managers in this kind of environment
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

11. What Can HR Do to Contribute?
Bring Data & Information to the Table
Share Power Metrics and ABC Tool strategies
Identify effective teachers and APs
Provide Ideas, such as:
Create teacher leadership and “stepping stone” positions
Seek top performers’ input about what keeps them in your district
Lead/support efforts to make the role more manageable (Admin Managers)
Facilitate Dialogue
How can the district remove/limit barriers and set enabling conditions?
How can we share and facilitate promising practices between principals?
Betsy This is a service. Widen your organizational influence
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

12. Key Content
Career Management & Retention: Part II

13. Why Strategic Retention Matters
Top educators produce stronger gains for students
Top teachers produce 5 to 6 more months of learning per year
Top principals generate 2 to 7 more months of student learning gains
Low performers don’t always opt out
Most ineffective teachers had 9+ years of experience and planned to stay for another decade
More effective teachers are available to hire
75% chance of replacing an ineffective teacher with a more effective one
Turnover is expensive
Betsy
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

14. Turnover can be Good or Bad
Attrition
“Leavers”
Migration
“Movers”
Betsy
Voluntary
Resignations
Retirements
Involuntary
Non-renewals
Dismissals
Involuntary Resignations
High to Low Needs
Low to High Needs
Same Needs
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

15. Common Retention Themes Exist
Gallup identifies key retention themes:
Be clear about what you expect from your employees
Provide employees with the materials and equipment to do their jobs
Give employees opportunities to do what they do best, every day
Ensure employees have a manager who cares about them
Surround talented employees with co-workers who have a similar drive for quality
Provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow
Betsy
Source:
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

16. Retention is Individual
No one-size fits all solution
Teacher and principal voice is important
Different people need different strategies
Younger, less experienced teacher or principal
Teacher or principal with a young family
Experienced teacher
Betsy
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

17. Retention Planning Who leaves? Who stays? In which schools?
1. Diagnose retention challenge(s)
2. Incorporate educator voice
3. Match strategies to needs
4. Take action
Who leaves? Who stays? In which schools?
Why do educators stay or go?
What strategies best address your district’s unique needs?
At what level should you take action? School? Central? Both?
Danielle
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

18. Principles for Calculating Retention
Analyze by performance level
Review district AND school level retention by performance
Don’t penalize principals for “good” turnover
Capture detailed reasons for turnover
Capture teacher movements between schools intentionally
Danielle
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

19. Why They Leave - Leavers
Some leave for better compensation in other fields
Some leave because it wasn’t the right fit
Some are asked to leave
Some leave for personal/family reasons
Betsy
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

20. Why They Leave - Movers Some leave for less disadvantaged populations
Some leave for different working environments
Some leave for stronger instructional/environmental leadership
Some leave for a more effective teacher staff
Betsy
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

21. Diagnosing Retention Challenges
Purpose
Identify gaps in retention strategy
Diagnose key retention challenges to identify retention focus areas
3 steps/sections
Data Analysis: Teacher and principal retention by performance
Understanding why teachers and principals leave (or stay)
Identifying a retention priority area
Refer to your Power Metrics data
May not be able to answer every question
Use Notes and Next Steps to highlight areas for further work at home
Danielle
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

22. Developing & Matching Strategies
Understand underlying reasons for turnover
Seek out – and engage – teacher and principal voices
Develop a wide set of strategies to address reasons
Approach retention from top-down and bottom-up with district- and principal-based strategies
Mix and match strategies to retain top performers
Betsy
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

23. Tools and Activities

24. Tools Principal Power Metrics – Actions of Impact
Offers HR/HC teams actions that have an impact in each bucket of the Principal Power Metrics. It also includes:
Snippets from the Research
Power Metrics Recap
Actions of Impact – High-impact, often low-cost ideas
Top USHCA Tools and Materials
Guide to Calculating Retention
Provides recommended methods and tips for measuring staff retention, particularly for teachers
Diagnosing Retention Challenges
Assists districts in diagnosing their key challenges related to retention
Exit Survey Template
Provides a sample exit survey to understand the levers for retention in a district
Targeted Retention Strategies
Offers district and school strategies to address specific retention challenges and concerns
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

25. Activity: Rate Your District
Does your district:
Get the best principals consistently?
Deploy principals deliberately?
Retain principals strategically?
Deliver services to principal supervisors effectively?
Rate your district on a scale from 1 (worst) to 10 (best)
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

26. Activity: Principal Power Metrics Analysis
Directions:
What do our Principal Power Metrics show?
In what “bucket” area will we focus to improve principal quality
Review the Actions of Impact tool for this area. Any promising ideas?
What is our vision for working with Principal Managers on this?
What are 2-3 concrete steps we will take to contribute to improved principal quality?
Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014