Reform the principal pay plan to:
- Tie principal pay scale to the highest point on the teacher pay scale + 25%
- Ensures that principals are the highest paid in each building.
- Maintains the ratio between teacher and principal salary.
- Add complexity factors beyond school size
- Every school is different and those differences require unique leadership.
- Increase base pay and reduce steps in performance pay from 10% to 5%
- Reduces the large swings in base pay that occurs mid-year and leads to low morale and attrition.
- Add a retention pay model for experience as a principal
- Incentivizes principals to remain in the role
- Maintain the current bonus structure to reward exceptional performance
- Include a hold-harmless provision to prevent cuts to any principal’s base pay
Establish a Beginning Principal Support Program similar to state board policy TCED-016 (Beginning Teacher Support Program) to:
- Implement a structured mentorship and induction program for first-time principals similar to the NC Beginning Teacher Support Program to enhance the skill development and support of new principals to become highly effective school leaders.
- Provide formal mentoring relationships between new principals and experienced, high-performing school leaders for their first two years in the role to impact teaching and learning in distinguished ways
- Secure state-allocated funds for targeted professional development, including leadership, instructional strategies, and compliance training to ensure the support needed to remain in the profession or become skilled administrators/superintendents.
Improve the state’s School Performance Grade system to include multiple components reflecting success, as follows:
- Retain achievement measures (EOGs, EOCs, and other performance indicators for non-tested subjects)
- Increase value of “meeting or exceeding” student growth targets
- Add or retain additional indicators based on school administrator feedback
- Revise the definition of “low-performing schools” to exclude those that meet growth
Establish a Principal Working Conditions Survey to elevate principal/assistant principal voice, increase understanding of school and district culture/climate from the principal/assistant principal perspective, and collect consistent data across the state.
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