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PSS begins work on ‘Principal Pipeline Initiative’ with NGA
A National Governor’s Association official is meeting the Public System School over the next few days, as PSS looks to strengthen the role of principals in their schools in the coming years.
NGA program director Sarah K. Silverman visited principals and program managers at their monthly meeting to talk about the “Principal Pipeline Initiative” project they will draft, plan, and implement.
The project will focus on helping out school principals be successful as leaders of islands schools. It will “focus on the role of the principal” and strengthening it for the success of the school system, Silverman said.
PSS recently was chosen to receive $15,000 in grant awards from NGA. They were one out of four states and territories chosen to receive the grant.
Silverman will be meeting with stakeholders for a “kick off” and talk about how they will proceed with the program.
She said one of the things that states face is the role of principals getting unwieldy and overwhelming. “One of the things we want to think about is helping principals help teachers get better,” she said.
PSS will go through an assessment tool and talk about “what makes sense” for PSS, and over the next six or nine months put together a comprehensive action plan.
After this, she said, principals and the PSS central office will work together to implement all the aspects of the action.
The plan could focus on how principals are trained
“Many principals report that they don’t feel like they don’t get very clear direction from the state or territory. …Often principals feel like they are being pulled in different directions. One of things about having a conversation about a ‘clear vision’ it will put everybody on the same page about what a principal should be doing—what an effective principal looks like,” she said.
Education Commissioner Dr. Rita Sablan said PSS is always looking for something to improve or strengthen the school district.
She called it significant that they were chosen. “The nation and the CNMI are engaged in a very important project. Principals do matter in a school system… Our work is to ensure that policies are in place for the principals is critical.”
