The best leaders, learning from the best

Leadership, Jan, 2001 by Lillie Campbell

Dear Colleague:

A quick search of the literature reveals dozens of studies highlighting the importance of strong leaders for our schools. Unfortunately, you can also find dozens of articles warning of the large numbers of school administrators facing retirement age, and the shortage of qualified candidates to fill those positions.

"Replacing thousands of principals over the next five years with skilled, knowledgeable newcomers will not be easy, but it is a window of opportunity that will close quickly for districts," write Kent Peterson and Carolyn Kelley in our first article. "Making careful selections now and providing significant professional development and support will be key to having successful leaders in our schools."

This issue of Leadership offers strategies for developing ongoing pools of qualified candidates for both teacher and administrator positions, and for training and retaining those educators once they are hired.

Because leadership is a priority for ACSA, we are doing more than publishing articles about the educator shortage. We want to help our members be the best and learn from the best. To that end, we're working on several other fronts.

Earlier this year, I established a task force to examine our state's severe administrator shortage and to recommend an action plan for ACSA's future efforts. We're working with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, higher education, the California School Boards Association and others to develop standards for administrators. Plus, we're lobbying for increased funding for administrator training in leadership skills and for modifying the state accountability legislation to recognize the contributions of leaders. You will be reading more about these efforts in upcoming issues of EdCal.

The administrators we hire now will be leading our school improvement efforts for decades to come. ACSA is prepared to work as your partner as we accept the awesome responsibility -- and opportunity -- to ensure quality leadership for our schools and the best possible education for our students.

Sincerely,

Lillie Campbell President