Strong Pipelines, Strong Principals

Establishing a system to prepare, hire, and support new school leaders can substantially benefit student achievement. This guide helps school districts looking to invest in “principal pipelines” find the most promising federal funding to support their work.

A comprehensive principal pipeline has many elements that must work together to get results. Part 1 of this guide describes seven parts (“domains”) that make up an effective pipeline. It describes activities to strengthen each domain. It also provides potential federal funding sources for those activities. The seven domains are:

1. Leader Standards

2. High-Quality Pre-Service Principal Preparation

3. Selective Hiring and Placement

4. Evaluation and Support

5. Principal Supervisors

6. Leader Tracking System

7. Systems and Sustainability

Part Two of the guide provides details about each federal funding stream including:

• Its purpose and relevant allowable uses

• How it is allocated (e.g., by formula or in the form of competitive or discretionary grants)

• The primary recipients

The guide is based on a 2019 RAND study of six urban school districts that created strong principal pipelines. The study found that the pipelines were affordable and effective. Pipeline-district schools with newly placed principals outperformed comparison schools by more than 6 percentile points in reading and almost 3 percentile points in math.

The authors are an expert in principal pipelines (Brenda Turnbull) and two experts in federal education law and financing (Scott Palmer and Sean Worley). They recommend that district staff members who lead pipeline development efforts use the guide in consultation with their district federal program officers.