New schools, new leaders: A study of principal turnover and academic achievement at new high school in new york city

This condition report focuses on how principal turnover at new high schools affects school culture and student performance and how principals manage the transition to new leadership to minimize this impact. Using both quantitative and qualitative data on high schools in New York City, we examine the organizational structures that allow a sustained focus on student learning while the leadership is undergoing a transition. As the management literature shows “high levels of employee turnover are found to be both the cause and effect of problematic conditions, and low performance in organizations ” (Ingersoll, 1999, pg 7). This is relevant for schools as well since research on school reform shows that organizational stability is an important component of a healthy school (Tesh, 1991; Hanushek & Rivkin, 2000; Purkey & Degen, 1985). Leadership transitions, particularly, in the early years of development, can be especially problematic as many organizations, including schools, begin as innovative entities that are dependent on the energy of a charismatic leader and an enthusiastic staff. New York State has seen a surge of new school development in recent years in the form of small high schools and charter schools. As new organizations, these schools may be especially vulnerable to fluctuations in leadership, as this instability may draw attention away from the creation of infrastructures tha