Ector County ISD is celebrating Principals Month in October with a commitment to developing a strong group of campus leaders who create an environment of excellent teaching and high student achievement.
“Great schools are led by great principals,” ECISD Interim Superintendent Keeley Boyer said in a news release. “Research is clear, the teacher is the biggest influence on student learning, and the principal is the second biggest influence.
“Thank you to our ECISD principals for providing the vision and the leadership necessary for our students to learn and thrive and for our school district to excel.”
Great principals are instructional leaders and mentors, effective communicators, relationship builders, human resource managers, budget directors, and, through it all remain student focused. Continuous learning and growth are paramount not only for today’s school leaders, but also to develop up-and-coming principals, the release said.
In that regard, Ector County ISD is leading the way in talent development efforts through a variety of pipeline programs designed with this specific intention.
- Registered Apprenticeship Program for K-12 Principals — ECISD was the first school district in Texas to have this program. This apprenticeship is a high-quality career pathway where principal candidates are in a full-time, paid position while they gain invaluable job experience. Approved and validated by the U.S. Department of Labor, ECISD’s registered apprenticeship program provides mentoring, on-the-job training, principal licensure (and, typically, an advanced degree), and professional learning to ensure aspiring leaders have the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective. The validated Registered Apprenticeship Program gives Principal Apprentices access to funding through the Texas Workforce Commission
- Principal Resident program — a unique opportunity for highly successful assistant principals to participate in a year-long residency with accomplished principals
- Principal Fellow Program — partnerships with the University of Texas Permian Basin and with Texas Tech University that offer (5) five grant-funded opportunities for teachers to earn their master’s degree and spend a year with a highly successful principal before moving into an assistant principal role
- Aspiring Principal program — open to assistant principals who seek to enhance their readiness for future leadership roles
- Aspiring AP Program — supports teachers aiming for future leadership roles
- Advanced Teacher Leader Academy (ATLA) — part of ECISD’s LEAP grant, an annual group of teachers who receive a stipend to undergo leadership training and professional growth
- Current principals also benefit through LEAP — Leadership for Ector’s Accelerated Performance — which provides professional development opportunities to strengthen a school’s instructional leadership teams, and includes incentive pay of up to $30,000 for the most effective principals.
- The Principal Incentive Allotment (PIA) provides additional money for the most effective principals
- A group of seven (7) ECISD principals are part of the Campus Leadership Program offered through the Holdsworth Center. Funded by grants from the Permian Strategic Partnership and the Scharbauer Foundation, this is a 2-year commitment which helps teams of leaders strengthen their leadership muscles and learn new ways to tackle issues standing in the way of student success. That program is accompanied by Holdsworth’s Leadership Collaborative, a program designed to help district leaders build a strong bench of aspiring principals who are ready to step into school leadership positions when they arise.
“Great leaders can push student achievement to new levels,” said Dr. Boyer. “The stronger our leaders, the stronger our school system, and the more our students benefit.”
