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May 2010
Patterson has kept a pretty strict timetable when it comes to his professional life, opting to stay at a campus for no more than five years. The strategy helps him to avoid job burnout and motivates him to act swiftly in turning around campuses. He spent four years as principal of an elementary school, three years at a middle school and five years at the high school he led before arriving at LBJ. Now, six years later, time has run out again. Patterson plans to retire from the northeast Austin school in June to take a job in higher education. Patterson’s run as a principal is remarkable in that he has mostly stayed on campuses long enough to watch a freshman class walk across the stage on graduation day. That can’t be said for most principals across the state. A recent study of principal turnover by University of Texas researchers Ed Fuller and Michelle Young revealed low retention rates from elementary school to high school, with high schools reporting the lowest five-year average — only 31 percent. Various factors are to blame for the high rates, according to Fuller and Young, such as inadequate funds and resources, poor working conditions and the pressures of the state’s accountability system. The issue of principal retention is gaining attention among researchers and experts on school reform — and with good reason. A “revolving door” pattern among principals makes it difficult for most reform efforts to gain traction. For high-needs schools, the average principal needs to remain in place for four to five years at the elementary level and five to seven years at the secondary level, Fuller says, adding that it takes a minimum of three years on average for principals to make a “substantial, lasting difference.” “The larger the school, the longer it takes,” Fuller says. “The longer the school has been without a stable principal, the longer it takes. The greater the teacher turnover, the longer it takes. The lower the achievement, the longer it takes.” The study also revealed the characteristics of principals who are more likely to remain at the same school. Female elementary school principals; principals at predominantly white, high-performing schools; and principals at research or doctoral institutions were all more likely to stay. Patterson has served as a principal for 18 years in Austin ISD and is considered the “dean” among Austin’s high school principals. His decision to stick it out for six years at LBJ, a high-needs school with many at-risk students, was personal. “I always wanted to go into environments that were underdogs and make a difference,” says Patterson, who grew up in a rough neighborhood in Chicago. “I want that for other people who have grown up in similar environments.” He found success as an elementary and middle school principal, achieving double-digit gains in reading and math passing rates at one school, and taking another school from low-performing to “acceptable” under the state accountability system. After working a few years at another Austin high school, he decided take the helm at LBJ. Patterson says in his early years at LBJ, he was able to operate fairly autonomously as a school principal. “It was more of what I consider a principal to be; being in charge of a building, the buck really stops at your desk,” Patterson says. “There was a lot of accountability, a lot of responsibility, but a lot of authority to do what you thought was right.” However, he now compares his job to that of a “middle manager,” saying, “It’s very easy to circumvent a principal’s authority. You can’t take a hard-line stance. You’re working more in a gray area for every issue.” Many principals leave not because of low pay, but because they feel “micromanaged” by central office staff or they lack resources, such as additional staff, to be successful. They also report frustrations with a rigorous — many argue punitive — accountability system. “When that happens, then principals get really frustrated,” Fuller says. “They don’t have the tools and autonomy to do their jobs well.” Not all negative However, several principals consider themselves among the lucky ones, thanks to the mentoring, support and training they receive along the way. Daniel Garcia became principal of Connally High School in Pflugerville ISD in December 2005. “I knew the research. I’d read the tenure of a high school principal is three years,” he says. “But I would like to be here a lot longer.” Garcia credits Pflugerville ISD with recognizing the challenges he faces at the 2,000-student campus, which continues to incur rising numbers of at-risk students and those coming from low-income families. Connally is also in its third year of a high school redesign initiative, which Garcia says has posed some challenges in restructuring staff. All the while, Pflugerville ISD has encouraged Garcia to pursue professional development opportunities and has provided the school with other necessary resources, he says. He also found two mentors in the central office who have helped him navigate the difficult terrain. “They have contributed to my longevity at the campus,” Garcia admits.
“You’re able to learn about the various aspects of management — facilities, working with parents and the community, working with various components of instructional leadership, safety,” Ashford says. “Being in that role does prepare you for [being a principal] because you have hands-on experience.” Fuller and Young’s recommendations for achieving better principal retention include ensuring that principals receive “clinical” experience, improving working conditions and restructuring school leadership. TASSP offers networking and mindshare opportunities, as well as training workshops, to boost a principal’s capacity to lead, says Executive Director Archie McAfee. A new principal academy is held annually in San Antonio, in addition to workshops about instructional leadership, student discipline and legal issues. The group also plans to form a closer working relationship with colleges, universities and other principal certification programs. The networking piece is crucial, says Barbara Paris, principal of Canyon Vista Middle School in Round Rock ISD. “I have always felt that I could pick up the phone [and call a TASSP peer] and say, ‘I haven’t a clue what to do,’” she says. When McAfee compares the challenges that principals face today to those he encountered in his 19 years as a principal in the 1980s and 1990s, he says he has nothing but empathy. “The demands on the principal’s time have become greater than back when I opened Plano East as the first principal,” McAfee says. “The challenges today are greater than 30 years ago, even 20 years ago.” Fuller and Young also recommend adding a growth measure to the state accountability system to encourage principals to take assignments in high-needs schools — the very campuses that are least likely to have high retention rates. Other recommendations for state policy changes include:
“Accountability systems are supposed to have carrots and sticks,” Fuller says, “but we dropped all of our carrots and picked up bigger sticks.” As he wraps up his final semester at LBJ, Patterson is working through the school’s accountability issues. LBJ was rated “academically unacceptable” for the first time this year. It’s not all dire, though. His next assignment as the director of the Department of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas is waiting in the wings. “If I were a younger principal, I don’t know if my desire to go into the tougher schools would be as robust,” he admits. “The research says you need three to five years to turn an organization around. With the accountability system, you can be out of a job in two years.” RAVEN L. HILL is a freelance writer and former education reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. |
From the moment in 2004 when Patrick Patterson became principal at Austin ISD’s LBJ High School, the clock started ticking.
Benita Noiel-Ashford, president of the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP), has been a principal for eight years, the last five spent at Pearl C. Anderson Middle Learning Center in Dallas ISD. She says the three years she spent as an assistant high school principal were invaluable to her success as a principal.