Delaware Seeks to Improve Principal Standards

The Delaware State Board of Education’s discussed changes to principal preparation requirements at November’s meeting will increase rigor and align with expectations currently in place as part of the Delaware Leadership Project – solidifying the program’s place as a trailblazer in Delaware.

The standards would require all principal certification programs to have a minimum of 200 hours of coursework, a 600 hour residency under the supervision of an effective or highly effective principal, 100 hours of additional training after the residency, training and calibration in DPAS II, and an evaluation of each candidates’ ability from mentors and teachers upon completion of the program. In addition to changes for certification programs, the State Board of Education made similar changes to traditional courses of study by requiring a minimum of 240 clinical hours throughout the program.

These proposed changes demonstrate Delaware’s commitment to put in place what school leaders on the ground already know – learning about leadership inside a classroom isn’t adequate and a hands-on, clinical experience is necessary to truly attain the essential knowledge and skills for success.

These changes could yield enormous benefits for all potential school leaders and ensure that Delaware schools have principals equipped and ready to build teams of great teachers, develop and manage them, and create good working conditions where they can thrive.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog post incorrectly reported that the Delaware State Board approved these changes. The Board discussed them at the October meeting; however, they remain as proposed. This post has been updated to reflect our correction.

Related Topics: Delaware Leadership Project, professional development, State Board of Education