Who Wants to be a Principal?

Fortunately, many educators still do. But a rash of news coverage questions why anyone would.

This is the time of year many administrators start thinking about the coming school year and must indicate their desire to stay in their current positions, change buildings, change grade levels, move into the central office or retire altogether. (In some cases, the district rearranges the players...)

Yesterday, AWSP was interviewed by The Olympian and KOMO Radio about the turnover in the principalship, particularly at the high school level. Although we don't keep stats on the changes, we do track the position changes for our own employment postings. Extremely long hours, coupled with high pressure and complex demands make that leadership position particularly demanding and subject to greater scrutiny -- and turnover. Then Newsweek hit the newsstands today with its annual "America's Best High Schools" feature.

In addition to stories about some great high schools around the country, the magazine takes a moment to examine the school leaders at work in these schools and acknowledges some of these same challenges. Be sure to check out "The Principal Principle" and the rest of the special issue. Then tell us what you think!

Is there more pressure on high school administrators? Or is the job of the principal generally just getting tougher?

Incidentally, 19 high schools from our state made the magazine's list of the top 5 percent (1,253) in the country.