A principal with students at a public school in North Carolina.

How We’re Preparing Exceptional Principals

School leaders account for up to one-fourth of school-based effects on student achievement. Here’s an overview of how the NC State College of Education’s principal preparation programs have become a national model for preparing dynamic leaders who positively influence a school’s culture and student outcomes.

The Challenge

“The principal pipeline is only as healthy as the teacher pipeline, and many of the same obstacles for teacher recruitment apply for principal recruitment,” says Assistant Professor Timothy Drake, Ph.D., an expert in principal preparation who recently participated in a panel to discuss the condition of the principal pipeline and principal preparation in North Carolina at the invitation of the North Carolina State Board of Education.

Screenshot of Video Clip Featuring Professor Bonnie Fusarelli

The Roadmap

NC State started redesigning its principal preparation program a decade ago by asking local school leaders and practitioners about what skills principals need to succeed in area schools. This video from the Wallace Foundation shows how NC State built partnerships with districts and the state to align the program to leader standards, ground the curriculum in real-world experience, explore systems to track principal performance, and more.

Watch the Video

Principal Donnell Cannon, right, sits with a student at lunch at North Edgecombe High School.

The Impact

Built around research that shows how school leaders can retain effective teachers and create a culture of achievement, NC State’s principal preparation programs graduate K-12 school leaders who make rapid improvements in both student performance and behaviors, leading the programs to be one of only five in the nation recognized collectively as exemplary by the University Council for Educational Administration.

View the Results

Where We Are

Our principal preparation programs encompass over a half-dozen leadership academies and cohorts that serve nearly a quarter of the public school districts in North Carolina and have graduated 140 principals, assistant principals and other school leaders since graduating their first cohort in 2012:

Map of North Carolina where principal preparation programs are located.

Durham Principal Leadership Academy

Johnston Principal Leadership Academy

NC State Cohort Fellows

North Carolina Leadership Academy

Northeast Leadership Academy

Wake Principal Leadership Academy

Wallace Principal Preparation Program

Our principal preparation programs are nationally recognized for developing highly-effective school leaders.

1 of Only 5

Principal Preparation Programs Among 770+ in Nation Recognized as Exemplary by University Council for Educational Administration

#22

National Ranking in Educational Leadership and Administration Specialty Category by U.S. News and World Report

90%

of NELA First-Year Principals Met or Exceeded Growth in High-need, Title I Schools vs. 75% of Experienced Principals (2014-15)

Meet a Few of Our Alumni

NC STATE ALUMNUS NAMED 2019 N.C. PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

Matthew Bristow-Smith ’14MSA, who has led Edgecombe Early College High School to high student performance for the last five years, was named the 2019 Wells…

Meet Matthew

Principal Kim Scott with an elementary school student.

A 1ST IN ENERGY BUS LEADERSHIP JOURNEY

The first school in North Carolina to implement the Energy Bus for Schools Leadership Journey is Willis Hare Elementary School, whose principal is NC State alumna Kim Scott.

School leaders and teachers outside of Phillips Innovative School.

HOW PUBLIC EDUCATORS BUILT A RADICALLY INNOVATIVE SCHOOL

What would a school look like if it was designed by its students? See how a team of administrators — including our alumni Valerie Bridges…

MILLER-WALKER NAMED AP OF THE YEAR

Cindy Miller-Walker ’14MSA, Franklin County School’s 2017 Assistant Principal of the Year, shares how the NC State College of Education shaped her career as a…

Meet Cindy

LEMONDRE WATSON NAMED ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

Vance County Public School’s 2018-19 Assistant Principal of the Year is Lemondre Watson ’17MSA.

TRACEY NEAL EARNS PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

NC State alumna Tracey Neal has been serving as principal of Warren Early College High School since 2015. She was named Warren County School’s Principal of the Year for the…

“This program pulled me so far out of my comfort zone that, looking back now, I know I could never go back to the person I was before. I now walk into school buildings energized, prepared and equipped. Not only did the programs prepare the professional in me, but they also deeply developed the person I am as well. I am better because of this experience.”

– Otis Maben ’18MSA

Meet Otis

Hunt Institute: Lessons from the Field

Jennifer O’Meara and Donnell Cannon, principals in Edgecombe County and graduates of the NC State College of Education Northeast Leadership Academy, welcomed members of the Hunt Institute’s policy team to their schools to show the transformative work that is underway.

The cover of Meaningful Partnerships case study

Hunt Institute: Principal Preparation Case Study

In creating programs to meet the unique needs of districts located in rural and urban settings, NC State has built a rigorous, practice-based principal preparation program utilizing equity-focused school leader development. The Hunt Institute takes a closer look at the program, and considers the conditions that support success.

EdTalk: How NELA Prepares Principals to Lead N.C. Schools

Principals are second only to the teacher when it comes to school-based factors on student achievement, says NC State Professor Bonnie Fusarelli, director of the Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA). She talks with EdTalk Podcast host Alex Granados about how NELA prepares principals for their role as leaders.

Listen to the Podcast

EdNC: NC State’s Acclaimed Principal Program Assesses Candidate Character

Ahead of choosing its eighth cohort, NC State’s principal preparation programs reassessed their goals. They evaluated what kind of traits leaders need to administer schools. Then they split the traits into two categories: those that can be taught through coursework and training, and those that should already exist within individuals.

An elementary school principal with young students.

Education Week: Principal-Prep Programs Adapting to Meet Real-World Demands of Job

In 2016, the Wallace Foundation announced a four-year initiative to overhaul the way university preparation programs trained principals to meet school districts’ needs and reflect what research says is needed for effective school leadership. What are researchers finding about the $48.5-million initiative? Promising news so far.

Members of the governor's commission on education listen to presentations about the principal pipeline.

EdNC: Governor’s Commission Discusses Principal Pipeline and Preparation

The Governor’s Commission on Access to Sound Basic Education convened in October 2018 to consider the role that principals play in ensuring that North Carolina meets its obligation to provide all students with access to a sound basic education. Speakers included NC State Professor Bonnie Fusarelli, who provided an overview of the state’s principal pipeline.