Strengthen teacher pipelines and remove biased promotion barriers to build the principal pipeline¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The brief recommends creating leadership opportunities for strong teachers, particularly teachers of color, since diversifying school leadership begins with diversifying the educator workforce. It warns that "racist promotion practices that favor White men can prevent teachers of color from being 'tapped'" and urges superintendents, who do most principal hiring, to intentionally create promotion opportunities, use diverse search committees, and shift hiring timelines earlier in the year.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• District superintendents who do most principal hiring must intentionally create promotion opportunities for teachers of color
• An expanded pool of candidates built by recruiting and retaining more teachers of color

Constraints¶

• The brief notes biased promotion practices currently operate in the pipeline, so interventions must address them explicitly

Target Learners¶

• Teachers of color aspiring to school leadership
• District and state leaders managing hiring

Target Learning Goals¶

• Growing a diverse pipeline of qualified school leader candidates
• Reducing bias in school leader hiring and promotion

Claims¶

Related Strategies¶

• Invest in principal retention strategies that address the invisible tax on leaders of color
• Grow-your-own and recruitment initiatives: alternative programs, Minority Serving Institutions, high-school pipeline programs, and district human-capital efforts to diversify the teacher workforce.
• Build a diverse teacher pipeline through Grow Your Own grants, teacher academies, scholarships, MSI investment, and residency pathways
• Develop high-quality principal preparation through district-university partnerships with internships and mentorship
• Use district-preparation program partnerships to create pathways identifying high quality educators for district leadership positions

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• The Education Trust. (2022). 5 Things State and District Leaders Can Do to Advance Strong and Diverse School Leadership. EdTrust.org. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED626435