Principal transitions can be disruptive even under the best of conditions, but when a principal is removed, the disruption to the school community can be immense. This case study describes one large, urban elementary school that experienced the forced retirement of a principal after community outrage over discriminatory policies enacted by the principal. This article explores the organizational and interpersonal changes that take place when a principal is removed suddenly. Aspiring school and district leaders can engage with this case to simulate managing a crisis caused by a transition in school leadership involving a scandal.
AravenaF. (2022). Principal succession in schools: A literature review (2003–2019). Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 50(3), 354–370.
2.
BartanenB.GrissomJ. A.RogersL. K. (2019). The impacts of principal turnover. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 41(3), 350–374. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373719855044
3.
BartanenB.RogersL. K.WooD. S. (2021). Assistant principal mobility and its relationship with principal turnover. Educational Researcher, 50(6), 368–380. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X21993105
4.
BéteilleT.KalogridesD.LoebS. (2012). Stepping stones: Principal career paths and school outcomes. Social Science Research, 41(4), 904–919.
5.
BranchG. F.HanushekE. A.RivkinS. G. (2009, January3–5). Principal turnover and effectiveness [paper presented]. American Economics Association, San Francisco, CA, United States.
6.
BurkhauserS.GatesS. M.HamiltonL. S.IkemotoG. S. (2012). First-year principals in urban school districts: How actions and working conditions relate to outcomes (Technical report). RAND Corporation.
7.
DraperJ.McMichaelP. (2003). Keeping the show on the road? The role of the acting headteacher. Educational Management & Administration, 31(1), 67–81.
8.
GrissomJ. A.BartanenB. (2019). Principal effectiveness and principal turnover. Education Finance and Policy, 14(3), 355–382.
9.
GrissomJ. A.EgaliteA. J.LindsayC. A. (2021). How principals affect students and schools: A systematic synthesis of two decades of research. The Wallace Foundation. http://www.wallacefoundation.org/principalsynthesis.
10.
HargreavesA.MooreS.FinkD.BraymanC.WhiteR. (2003). Succeeding leaders.A study of principal rotation and succession. Ontario Principals’ Council.
11.
HenryG. T.HarbatkinE. (2019). Turnover at the top: Estimating the effects of principal turnover on student, teacher, and school outcomes (Ed working paper 19-95). Annenberg Institute, Brown University: http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai19-95
12.
KhalifaM. (2012). A re-new-ed paradigm in successful urban school leadership: Principal as community leader. Educational Administration Quarterly, 48(3), 424–467.
13.
KhalifaM. A.GoodenM. A.DavisJ. E. (2016). Culturally responsive school leadership: A synthesis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1272–1311.
14.
MacmillanR. B.MeyerM. J.NorthfieldS. (2004). Trust and its role in principal succession: A preliminary examination of a continuum of trust. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 3(4), 275–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700760490901993
15.
MascallB.LeithwoodK. (2010). Investing in leadership: The district’s role in managing principal turnover. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 9(4), 367–383.
16.
MeyerM. J.MacmillanR. B.NorthfieldS. (2009). Principal succession and its impact on teacher morale. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 12(2), 171–185.
17.
NoonanW.GoldmanP. (1995). Principal succession and elementary school climate: One year’s experience in an urban school division (ERIC no. ED396426). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED396426.pdf
18.
NorthfieldS.MacmillanR. B.MeyerM. J. (2006). Strategic leadership during principal succession. EAF Journal: Educational Administration and Foundations, 17(2), 72–94.
19.
OgawaR. T. (1991). Enchantment, disenchantment, and accommodation: How a faculty made sense of the succession of its principal. Educational Administration Quarterly, 27(1), 30–60.
