In-Service Requirements

While aspiring principals and center directors may best be reached through preparation programs, leaders already in the field also need opportunities to learn and improve their skills. Even the most seasoned early education leaders can benefit from high-quality, ongoing professional learning. Researchers have gained a deeper understanding of the science of child development and early learning in recent years and professional development can help ensure that leaders stay up to date on the best practices for working with young children.

ECE Professional Learning

Too many elementary principals enter the job with a limited understanding of early childhood education. Professional learning focused on early education and the role leaders play in building a strong PreK–3rd grade continuum of learning can improve their capacity to support young students and their teachers. There are a handful of states leading the way on this work. See the full report for more information on efforts in New Jersey and Minnesota.

Joint Professional Learning

Children need to have smooth transitions from one year of schooling to the next in order to sustain the gains made each year. The transition from pre-K to kindergarten can be a particularly challenging time, especially if it is a child’s first time in an elementary school. One way to encourage smooth transitions is to strengthen the alignment of child care centers and elementary schools. Collaboration, coordination of standards and curriculum, and information sharing are key to meaningful alignment. When principals and center directors participate in joint professional learning they can establish relationships with each other and ensure that they have a similar knowledge base. Some states and districts are offering joint professional learning for principals and the center directors whose programs feed into their schools in order to facilitate these smooth transitions.

New America’s Finding: According to our survey responses, only seven states offer joint professional development for principals and center directors: Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

Formal Evaluations

Principal evaluation is key to holding leaders accountable for their performance, and it is also helpful in identifying areas where they can improve their practice. Most principal evaluation systems are only a few years old and there is little research on best practices. There is significant variation in design and implementation by state. 

New America’s Finding: All states require principals to be formally evaluated. Most states give districts the discretion to determine who conducts the evaluation, but evaluations are usually left to the superintendent.

States can do more to support meaningful professional learning for both principals and center directors. While states and districts have some requirements and resources in place to support professional learning for principals, few states are specifically directing that support toward helping principals become stronger leaders for pre-K classrooms.

States often have less infrastructure in place for center director professional learning. Based on the disjointed nature of child care center oversight, it is not surprising that New America and the McCormick Center were unable to find details about ongoing training requirements for directors or determine meaningful details about the type of professional learning opportunities available within a state. Our scan did not determine whether state-provided professional learning focuses on child development, instructional leadership, or administrative skills. QRISs appear to be a primary way that states are encouraging directors to pursue further education and training.