The United States has a scarcity of capable principals ready to successfully lead schools in an era of outcome-based accountability. This is especially true in high-poverty, high-minority schools. Policy makers welcome opening the principal pipeline to untraditional leaders. Research finds that teachers who have entered education through Troops to Teachers funding make a measurable impact on student learning and tend to work in high-poverty schools. This study suggests that they also may be highly effective principals.
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