Foundation for Educational Administration, Inc.

12 Centre Drive, Monroe Township, NJ 08831-1564
Tel: (609) 860-1200 / Fax: (609) 860-6677 / /

June 15, 2016

David Hespe, Commissioner of Education

New Jersey Department of Education

100 Riverview Plaza

PO Box 500

Trenton, NJ 08625-0500

Dear Commissioner Hespe:

On behalf of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, representing over 6,000 New Jersey school principals, assistant principals and other school leaders, we would like to highlight the unprecedented opportunities created by passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to invest in the development of our school leaders. As the state begins to address implementation of the new law, our organization would like to work with you to help drive investments to areas of the state system that will best support the capacity of instructional leaders to drive our common educational vision at the school level.

A new body of knowledge has been amassed over the past decade regarding the importance of school leadership. Valid and reliable research has now proven that effective school leadership is second only to direct classroom instruction in raising student achievement, and evidence shows school leadership has the greatest impact in schools with the greatest need. Over this same decade, the role of principals and other school leaders has become increasingly complex. Principals are not only operational leaders responsible for establishing a safe and supportive school environment; they are also instructional leaders responsible for providingongoing coaching and mentoring to teachers and students.

Despite the increased demands placed on principals, state and local efforts around effective recruitment, preparation, and ongoing support have not kept pace. The New Teacher Center recently found that only 20 states offer any kind of induction or mentoring program for new principals, and in just six states does that support continue into the second year.

Fortunately, New Jersey has led the way in this area with a robust, two year, evidence-based induction and mentoring program as support for novice principals. Since 2005, New Jersey has inducted close to 4,000 new principals through our state mentoring program, New Jersey Leader to Leader (NJL2L). We are proud of the partnership that NJPSA/FEA has developed with the NJDOE in promoting a strong framework of support for new principals through the dedicated work of over 500 trained, experienced and certified school principal mentors.

However, there is more work to be done in our state to support school leaders once they are settled on the job. Section 2101(c)(3) of ESSA allows states to reserve up to three percent of their district allotments for statewide school leadership activities. NJPSA can play an integral role in identifying strategies and effectively utilizing these newly available funds to support the

Developmentof principals and all school leaders in their instructional leadership role. Specifically, we propose the following:

  • Expanding leadership training programs designed to prepare and support principals and other school leaders in high-need schools, by providing funding to expand the current work of the School Leadership Program grant which focuses on the development of a leadership pipeline and leadership skill development targeted to school improvement efforts in Trenton, Bridgeton and Millville, New Jersey;
  • Expanding the work currently taking place in the Connected Action Roadmap (CAR)/Blended Online Learning Modules pilot schools to build leadership capacity to implement New Jersey’s educational vision as embodied in CAR;
  • Supporting the continued expansion of the New Jersey Leadership Academy, a collaborative, team-based leadership approach to professional development for principals and superintendents focused on strong instructional leadership in New Jersey schools. Continued NJDOE funding for this highly effective and well-utilized leadership development program is critical as the current funding stream will end in September 2016;
  • Providing assistance and support to principals and school-based leaders responsible for the provision of early childhood learning programs to ensure alignment with the elementary schools, effective transitions between early learning and kindergarten, staff support and increased parent and community engagement

In addition, ESSA calls on states to coordinate with local stakeholders and principals in the development of plans to use federal funds and to ensure that any strategies to improve student achievement demonstrate evidence. It also requires that state review panels consist of educators who have been practicing within the past five years, including teachers and principals representing various school contexts across the state.

In light of these provisions, we would like to work with you to establish a meaningful process for high-quality engagement with principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders throughout New Jersey. This work must be done together to address professional development, school accountability measures, principal evaluation systems, and other policy or programmatic changes that will improve schools and provide a well-rounded education for every student.

New Jersey has an opportunity to be a national model in the area of building school systems that sufficiently provide for effective school leadership using existing funds for programs, trainings, and resources that will help principals and other school leaders continue to lead their school to success.

We look forward to working with you on this important effort to help advance the much-needed support for principals and other school leaders to the benefit of every student.

Sincerely,

Patricia Wright

NJPSA Executive Director