There are more than 650 principals in Chicago’s public district and charter schools, and 60-90 of them leave every year. Using publicly available data, I look closely at the 228 transitions that occurred in 505 district-managed public schools between 2014 and 2017.
The data in this study suggest that Chicago generally keeps more principals than other large urban districts. Still, transition happens here, in all types of schools. When it does, a new principal typically inherits a school where performance already tracks behind on a wide range of metrics, including student attendance, teacher retention, perception of leadership, math attainment, and reading attainment. My research suggests that school communities experiencing transition also struggle to catch up, even several years after leadership change.
Based on the analyses in this study, I recommend a series of research-based policy and practice changes. Acting on these recommendations could improve the conditions for new principals, the competencies of stakeholders involved in the leadership transition process, and the context and culture of succession planning and transition management overall.
I offer tools for evaluating transition needs and assigning resources. These tools may be particularly helpful for Local School Council members who are charged with principal hiring and management decisions in the city’s schools. Although firmly rooted in Chicago’s context, these recommendations have relevance in other school systems, both big and small. I conclude by outlining additional qualitative and quantitative research that could further inform the field.
","abstract_html":"<p>There are more than 650 principals in Chicago’s public district and charter schools, and 60-90 of them leave every year. Using publicly available data, I look closely at the 228 transitions that occurred in 505 district-managed public schools between 2014 and 2017.</p> <p>The data in this study suggest that Chicago generally keeps more principals than other large urban districts. Still, transition happens here, in all types of schools. When it does, a new principal typically inherits a school where performance already tracks behind on a wide range of metrics, including student attendance, teacher retention, perception of leadership, math attainment, and reading attainment. My research suggests that school communities experiencing transition also struggle to catch up, even several years after leadership change.</p> <p>Based on the analyses in this study, I recommend a series of research-based policy and practice changes. Acting on these recommendations could improve the conditions for new principals, the competencies of stakeholders involved in the leadership transition process, and the context and culture of succession planning and transition management overall.</p> <p>I offer tools for evaluating transition needs and assigning resources. These tools may be particularly helpful for Local School Council members who are charged with principal hiring and management decisions in the city’s schools. Although firmly rooted in Chicago’s context, these recommendations have relevance in other school systems, both big and small. I conclude by outlining additional qualitative and quantitative research that could further inform the field.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Young Anichini, Heather M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - NLU Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Harrington Gibson","Elizabeth Minor","Donald Angelaccio"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z","subjects":["Principal leadership","principal transition","succession planning in schools","school accountability","principal evaluation","Local School Councils","Chicago Public Schools","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Urban Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/500","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Harrington Gibson","Elizabeth Minor","Donald Angelaccio"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Young Anichini, Heather M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-08-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - NLU Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Principal leadership","principal transition","succession planning in schools","school accountability","principal evaluation","Local School Councils","Chicago Public Schools","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Urban Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/500"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["There are more than 650 principals in Chicago’s public district and charter schools, and 60-90 of them leave every year. Using publicly available data, I look closely at the 228 transitions that occurred in 505 district-managed public schools between 2014 and 2017.
The data in this study suggest that Chicago generally keeps more principals than other large urban districts. Still, transition happens here, in all types of schools. When it does, a new principal typically inherits a school where performance already tracks behind on a wide range of metrics, including student attendance, teacher retention, perception of leadership, math attainment, and reading attainment. My research suggests that school communities experiencing transition also struggle to catch up, even several years after leadership change.
Based on the analyses in this study, I recommend a series of research-based policy and practice changes. Acting on these recommendations could improve the conditions for new principals, the competencies of stakeholders involved in the leadership transition process, and the context and culture of succession planning and transition management overall.
I offer tools for evaluating transition needs and assigning resources. These tools may be particularly helpful for Local School Council members who are charged with principal hiring and management decisions in the city’s schools. Although firmly rooted in Chicago’s context, these recommendations have relevance in other school systems, both big and small. I conclude by outlining additional qualitative and quantitative research that could further inform the field.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Running in Place: The Conditions Associated with Principal Transition in Chicago and the Implications for Policy and Practice"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Harrington Gibson","Elizabeth Minor","Donald Angelaccio"],"dc:creator":["Young Anichini, Heather M."],"dc:date.available":["2023-08-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["There are more than 650 principals in Chicago’s public district and charter schools, and 60-90 of them leave every year. Using publicly available data, I look closely at the 228 transitions that occurred in 505 district-managed public schools between 2014 and 2017.
The data in this study suggest that Chicago generally keeps more principals than other large urban districts. Still, transition happens here, in all types of schools. When it does, a new principal typically inherits a school where performance already tracks behind on a wide range of metrics, including student attendance, teacher retention, perception of leadership, math attainment, and reading attainment. My research suggests that school communities experiencing transition also struggle to catch up, even several years after leadership change.
Based on the analyses in this study, I recommend a series of research-based policy and practice changes. Acting on these recommendations could improve the conditions for new principals, the competencies of stakeholders involved in the leadership transition process, and the context and culture of succession planning and transition management overall.
I offer tools for evaluating transition needs and assigning resources. These tools may be particularly helpful for Local School Council members who are charged with principal hiring and management decisions in the city’s schools. Although firmly rooted in Chicago’s context, these recommendations have relevance in other school systems, both big and small. I conclude by outlining additional qualitative and quantitative research that could further inform the field.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/500"],"dc:subject":["Principal leadership","principal transition","succession planning in schools","school accountability","principal evaluation","Local School Councils","Chicago Public Schools","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Urban Education"],"dc:title":["Running in Place: The Conditions Associated with Principal Transition in Chicago and the Implications for Policy and Practice"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - NLU Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z"}