Leadership to Date, Leadership Tomorrow: A Review of Data on Charter School Directors

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June 2007
Betheny Gross, Kirsten Martens Pochop

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NCSRP Working Paper # 2007-2

The importance of leadership for a school’s success has long been an undisputed fact in education. Many believe the pivotal role of leadership is only intensified in the context of charter schools because these organizations are inspired—often from the ground up—by individuals or a small group of leaders. Once operational, charter schools and those leading them have a great deal of autonomy over the organization and operation of their schools. Their autonomy expands the need for decisionmaking and also makes their decisions more consequential than in the less autonomous environments of traditional public schools.

As the charter school movement matures and grows in scale, the leadership of charter schools must expand to include not only founding leaders but also those who can take over established schools, solidify operational systems, manage school growth, and guide school improvement initiatives. In this report, we review the available data to describe the current corps of leaders in charter schools: how they are prepared, how they experience their work, and the institutional strategies in place to sustain and transition leadership. Each of these issues can inform how to direct future development resources. We found three areas in which charter school leaders would be well served by improved training and mentorship, including financial development and management, parent relations, and strategic planning. In addition, these data suggest that future training programs should consider approaches that involve local networks and in-the-field mentorship, especially for newer school directors.