Take a Cue

A couple of days ago I cited the work of Eva Chiang of the George W. Bush Institute on Education Reform where Ms. Chiang noted that school principals are talent managers and teachers, so to speak, are the ones to 'get the job done' in the classroom. I believe there are some valuable lessons to be gleaned from her research.

Perhaps most noteworthy, in my estimation, is the fact that great principals need to be sought out and retained. Beyond this priority, if a school has a great principal, he/she should be the ones entrusted to hire teachers. School boards and, yes, superintendents ought to steer clear of the hiring process for the most part.

Allow the talent manager, the principal, the autonomy of finding and cultivating our nation's teachers. We'll all better off for such a move.

Dick