Principals have a strong effect on teacher retention .
Excellent teachers like to work for excellent principals . By creating a strong school culture , principals can encourage their most effective teachers to keep teaching , especially in hard-to-staff schools . 8 That is why effective teachers cite poor school leadership as a reason for leaving a school — more often than salary or other working conditions . 9 In Tennessee , principals who score higher on their evaluations are also more likely to retain teachers with high observation scores in their schools and counsel out or dismiss teachers with lower observation scores . 10
The diversity of Tennessee students is not fully reflected in the principal work force .
Compared to Tennessee ’ s student population , black and Hispanic principals are underrepresented . Figure 2 illustrates the differences in ethnic and racial diversity between Tennessee students and principals . In the 2016-17 school year , 82 percent of principals in Tennessee were white and nearly 18 percent of principals were black , and there were very few Hispanic principals . 11 As a comparison , nearly 35 percent of Tennessee students were black or Hispanic — nearly double the share of principals . 12
A diverse principal force is instrumental to recruiting and retaining a diverse teaching force , which can help improve the academic achievement of historically underserved students .
Recruiting more racially and ethnically representative teachers in a school can help improve the performance of historically underserved students . In the 2013-14 school year , the most recent year with available data , approximately 15 percent of Tennessee teachers were black or Hispanic compared to 35 percent of Tennessee students . 13 Students from historically underrepresented populations who have same-race teachers have better rates of college attendance , higher student achievement , higher gifted identification , and fewer discipline infractions . 14 Additionally , schools with black principals are more likely to identify black students for gifted programs . 15
Hiring a representative principal force can help districts recruit and retain more racially and ethnically representative teachers since principals of color can play
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