University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Charter school leadership

(USC Thesis Other)

Charter school leadership

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running head: Charter School Leadership

Charter School Leadership

by

Nancy O. Villagómez

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2017

Copyright 2017 Nancy O. Villagómez

2
Charter School Principals
Dedication
I dedicate my dissertation to my daughter Maya. I hope I am example of overcoming
barriers and persevering through to make your dreams come true. Don’t ever let your gender or
your race be barriers to your success. You are my everything and I love you to the moon and
back.
I also dedicate this dissertation to my parents Carlos and Socorro. Through their journey
as immigrants from Mexico, I have learned to appreciate all the opportunities that have been
presented to me. Gracias mami y papi por todo lo que han hecho por mi. El apoyo que me han
dado atravez de toda mi vida, me demuestra cuanto me aman y cuanto desean que tenga exito
total. Espero que esten orgullosos de mi y que haya realizado sus suenos de darles una vida
mejor a sus hijos.
Lastly, I dedicate this work to my husband, siblings, and cousins, all who have played an
important part in helping me complete my dissertation. Frank, thank you for being such an
understanding husband and supporting me when I needed the time alone. I know that it has
taking me a long time, but your patience and support got me to this point and I love you so much
for that. Thank you to my sister Cindy for the times that you took care of Maya when I needed
time to work. To my cousin-brother Ref, you are and will always be an inspiration to me. Thank
you for leading the way. To my cousin-sister Liz, thank you for letting me know that I can
always count on you.

3
Charter School Principals
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my committee members who have made this process as stress free as
possible. I appreciate the time that you have taken to ensure that I finally finish. A special thank
you to Dr. Rey Baca, my committee chairperson who has gone out of his comfort zone to help me
finish a dissertation that I was interested in pursuing. You have been patient and dedicated.
Through this process, I have learned many things from you, both in and out of writing my
dissertation. Words cannot express how appreciative I am that you continued to work with me
even after your retirement. I literally could not have done this without you.
I would like to acknowledge Dr. Linda Fischer for working with me so many years and
getting me to a point in my dissertation where all I needed to do was to write. I would also like to
acknowledge the Doctoral Support Center for providing a place to write and to learn the process
of writing a dissertation. Also, thank you for stepping in when you were asked. I am forever
grateful.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank the charter school principals who made
time to participate in my dissertation. As a charter school principal, I understand how difficult it
is to lend an hour of your time during the school day. I am in awe of the work that you do every
day. I admire your perseverance and the love that you have for your students. I admire your
dedication to the charter school world and the work that you do to ensure that all students graduate
high school and are prepared for college. To Dr. Nik Orlando, my boss and my friend, thank you
for pushing me. I appreciate your support and I thank you for wanting to see me succeed.

4
Charter School Principals
Table of Contents
Abstract 5
Chapter One: Overview of the Study 6
Background of the Problem 11
Statement of the Problem 12
Purpose of the Study 13
Significance of the Study 16
Limitation of the Study 17
Definition of Terms 17
Organization of the Study 18
Chapter Two: Literature Review 19
History of Charter Schools 19
Leadership Need Differences 23
Challenges in Charter School Leadership 26
Chapter Three: Methodology 30
Restatement of the Problem and Purpose 30
Research questions answered within Clusters 31
Design of Study 34
Population and Sampling 35
Charter School Principal Descriptions 37
Chapter Four: Results of the Study 40
Research Question Cluster One 40
Research Question Cluster Two 44
Research Question Cluster Three 46
Research Question Cluster Four 48
Research Question Cluster Five 50
Summary 53
Chapter Five: Discussion 57
How Charter School Principals Conceptualized Success 57
Factors Challenging the Job of Charter School Principals 58
Development of Charter School Principals 61
Factors Influencing the Success of Charter School Principals 63
Epilogue: Reflections on my Research 66
References 72
Appendices
Appendix A: Research Question and Interview Cluster Questions 75
Appendix B: Background Questionnaire 78

5
Charter School Principals
Abstract
This study uses an interview protocol made up of a cluster of questions that refer to five
different stages of a charter school principal. This interview protocol is used to explore the skills
and leadership qualities that charter school principals have in order to analyze the difference
between charter school principals and traditional public school principals. These interviews reveal
the knowledge of charter school principals and how they have adapted to the different roles that
they must perform. The interviews also reveal whether the charter school principals feels prepared
to run a charter school and how they perceive themselves as successful.
Though these principals’ education, credentials held, and years in service varied, all of
them stated that they still have difficulty in managing the several roles that a charter school
principal must navigate. They perceive that traditional public school principal are able to manage
their role better because there are several administrators within their school that can focus on one
of the several roles at the school site.
All of the principals state that the difficulty in the role has led them to question whether or
not this is the right position for them. In analyzing the data, the theme that comes across uniformly
is that they are committed to the charter school and charter management organization because they
believe in the schools mission and vision. They accepted this role and continue in the work because
this is where they feel they can make the most impact to students and the community. That is
something that speaks to their personal passion and core values.

6
Charter School Principals
Chapter One: Overview of the Study
The term “charter” school was first developed in the 1970’s by New England education
professor Ray Budde. In response to low achieving schools, Ray Budde suggested that “small
groups of teachers be given contracts or “charters” by their local school districts to explore new
approaches” (EdSource, Inc., 2004, p. 2). In the 1980’s, Albert Shanker, former president of the
American Federation of Teachers, further developed the idea of charter schools by publicizing
the idea that local school boards could charter “an entire school with union and teacher approval”
(EdSource, Inc., 2004). When the 1983 report, A Nation at Risk was released, it prompted many
reforms in education. One of the many reforms included “charter” schools as an option (Gill,
Timpane, Ross, Brewer, & Booker, 2007). Late in the 1980’s, a predated form of charter schools
known as schools-within-schools was started. Later, these schools-within-schools were called
charters, which were designated, as schools of choice.
The idea was further refined in Minnesota where charter schools were developed
according to three basic values: opportunity, choice, and accountability for results. Minnesota
was the first state to enact charter school legislation in 1991(Zimmer et al., 2003). California was
the next state to pass charter schools in 1992. Soon, this type of school reform was becoming
popular throughout the nation. By 1995, 19 states had signed laws allowing for the creation of
charter schools, and by 2003 that number increased to 38 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of
Columbia (Zimmer et al., 2003). According to the National Charter School Resource Center, in
2015, there are 42 states that have passed laws for charter schools to operate. In addition, the
National Charter School Resource Center reports that at the start of the 2015-16 school year,
more than 6,100 charter schools are operating nationwide, serving about 7% of K-12 students
across the nation (www.charterschoolcenter.org).
7
Charter School Principals
Charter schools have become one of the fastest growing innovations in education policy.
Charter schools are support by both democrats and republicans as well as governors, state
legislators, and past and present secretaries of education. In his 1997 State of the Union Address,
former President Clinton, called for the creation of 3,000 charter schools by the year 2002. In
2002, President Bush called for $200 million to support charter schools. His proposed budget
called for another $100 million for a new Credit Enhancement for Charter Schools Facilities
Program. Since 1994, the U.S. Department of Education has provided grants to support states'
charter school efforts, starting with $6 million in fiscal year 1995
(https://www.edreform.com/issues/choice-charter-schools/facts/).
The California Charter School Association (CCSA) serves as an organization that
advances the charter school movement through state and local advocacy, leadership
accountability, and provides resources for member schools. It is comprised of a board of
directors that is made up of charter schools and charter management organization leaders, as well
as education advocates and representatives of charitable foundations. Their vision is to increase
“student learning by growing the number of families choosing high quality charter schools so
that no child is denied the right to a great public education” (www.ccsa.org). In November 2013,
CCSA announced that 104 new charter schools opened across California, bringing the total
number to 1,130 and charter enrollment is estimated to be 519,000 students, making California
the state with the highest number of charter schools and charter school students in the nation
("Growth in California Charter School Continues to Gain Momentum," 2013).
There are several types of charter schools in the State of California. These include:
 Start-up charter schools: start up charters are new schools that have never been in
prior operation. (Pack, 2008, p. 1)
8
Charter School Principals
 Conversion charter schools: Conversion charters are schools that have been
converted from a pre-existing public school within a local school district. (Pack,
2008, p. 1)
 Independent charter schools: Independent charter schools are governed by a non-
profit corporation (Pack, 2008, p. 1)
 Classroom-Based and Non-classroom – Based: defined as a charter school that
does not require attendance of its pupils be at the school site under the direct
supervision and control of a qualified teaching employee of the school for at least
80% of the required instructional time (Zimmer et al., 2003, p. 13).
For this study, the focus will be on the development and leadership of independent, start – up
charter schools.
One of the reasons why charter schools became such a popular alternative in school
reform was the autonomy that was granted once a charter school was approved. The freedom
given to charter schools can lead to new programs serving diverse needs, to higher expectations
for low-income and minority students, and to more school-focused professional norms for
teachers and leaders (Gross, 2011). Given this independence, it is essential that the leader of the
school understand the intricacies that come with developing a charter school from the ground up
in order for the school to have student success.
The concept of a charter school is “to offer change-orientated educators or others
opportunities to go either to the local school board or to some other public body for a contract
under which they would set up an autonomous (and therefore performance-based) public school
which students could choose to attend without charge. The intent is not simply to produce a few
new schools and hopefully better schools, but to create dynamics that will cause the main-line
9
Charter School Principals
system to change so as to improve education for all students” (Budde, 1996, p. 72); therefore,
any educator, parent, school community member can start up a charter school.
The first step in creating a charter in California is the development and submission of a
charter petition. Petitioners must gather signatures from parents of at least half the students
expected to enroll in the school in its first year. Charter petitions must contain 16 specific
elements that describe the school’s structure and its expectations for student performance. Part of
those expectations, is that every charter school have a school governing board to provide
accountability to the school district. Part of the autonomy giving to charter school through the
governing board includes the length of the school day and the school year, instructional strategies
to be implemented at the school and the instructional materials by which to support those
strategies, and the educational objectives usually based on the population of students that the
charter school will serve. In addition, charter schools are also granted the autonomy of teacher
work rules and salaries, where the school will be located, and are granted greater flexibility than
traditional schools in regards to budgeting. In a traditional school, these elements are most likely
to be handled by the school district. In a charter school, these elements are the responsibility of
the founder and /or principal as they are seen as the entity that is developing the mission and
vision of the school based on the charter petition which is based on the educational objectives
that are proposed, to serve the population of the students that live in the area where the charter
school is to start up (www.ccsa.org). There is much support and guidance available for
stakeholders to create and start –up a charter school; but it takes quality leadership and a distinct
leadership skills base to effectively run a charter school.
The Center for Reinventing Public Education, a research and policy analysis center at the
University of Washington, initiated the National Charter School Research Project in 2007, to
10
Charter School Principals
gather information about the challenges facing charter school leaders and how to best attract and
support charter leadership (Campbell & Gross, 2008, p. 3)
Data was gathered to help understand the different types of challenges that charter school
leaders face as compared to traditional public school leaders “who receive support from districts’
central office” (Campbell, Gross, & Lake, 2008, p. 6). “For the charter school leader, there is no
central office to recruit students and teachers, secure and manage facilities, or raise money and
manage school finances” (Campbell et al., 2008, p. 6). NCSRP surveyed 401 leaders from
California, Hawaii, Texas, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Arizona to answer the following
questions:
1) What is drawing leaders to charter school?
2) What do they struggle with on the job? and
3) What would help them flourish over the long term? ( Campbell & Gross, 2008, p. 3).
In conducting this research, one is able to make conclusions about the type of principal
that is needed to fulfill the demanding requirements of leading a charter school. The skill set
needed goes far beyond an educational background. An administrator willing to take this position
requires some business management background and to some extent political savviness.
“Charter school founders and their successors have complicated tasks in mobilizing
politic and economic support for the mission of the charter school, establishing a separate
facility or one within a regular public school, dealing with the governing board,
negotiating constantly with district officials who provide funding, and a score of other
leadership tasks including managing efficiently a new school and supervising teachers”
(http://larrycuban.wordpress.com, 2010).
11
Charter School Principals
In order to meet the accountability standards set by the governing board, the district, and
the state, the charter school leader must have the capability to successfully manage a variety of
issues at a school site. This researcher looked at the work of Portin, Schneider, DeArmond, and
Gundlach (2003) to identify necessary functional skills that are essential at any school. In
addition, this researcher also looked at the work of Curry (2013), to identify elements for school
success specific to charter school leadership.
Portin et al. (2003) identify seven functions that are identified as vital regardless of the
type of school. The seven functions identified by Portin et al. do not represent a leadership
theory; instead, they provide a bases of skills that are needed by a principal in order to
demonstrate progress of goals and commitments as written in the school’s charter, which
translates, to a successful charter school. The seven functions as identified by Portin et al. are: 1)
instructional leadership, 2) cultural leadership, 3) managerial leadership, 4) human resource
leadership, 5) strategic leadership, 6) external development leadership, and micropolitical
leadership (Portin et al. 2003, p. 18).
When comparing these seven functions with the elements for school success as
researched by Curry (2013) specifically for charter schools, there is a fundamental overlap. In the
work done by Curry (2013), he has identified five key leadership points: 1) culture, 2) mission,
3) vision, 4) communications, and 5) encouragement.
Background of the Problem

Both charter school leaders and traditional public school leaders are faced with many
challenges when leading a school; but charter school leaders are faced with even more challenges
as they develop their school without support of a school district. After 20 years since the first
12
Charter School Principals
charter school opened in California, how are charter school leaders able to assess achievement or
success in school leadership?
The challenges that charter school leaders’ face are different from traditional public
school leaders. Due to the autonomy that charter schools possess, charter school leaders are
responsible for other issues such as creating and supporting a vision, teacher retention,
maintaining facilities, finding resources, developing and supporting human resources, raising
money, and managing school finances.
Statement of the Problem

State and local accountability measures determine the success of charter schools that falls on
the training and skills of the principal. There is a need to identify the key skills a principal needs
to run a successful charter school and how charter school leaders perceive that they are
successful leaders despite not having the support of a traditional school district.
This study is an evaluation of the perspective of four charter middle school principals, of
different charter schools located in Northeast Los Angeles and the Northeast San Fernando
Valley. The schools are part of a Charter Management Organization (CMO) located in Los
Angeles, California. CMOs are non-profit organizations that operate multiple charter schools
with a common mission or instructional design and shared central office support (Farrell,
Wohlstetter, & Smith, 2012). Of these four charter schools, I would like to focus on what the
leaders feel are the skills that are important to run a successful school and how they perceive this
is different from a traditional public school. In addition, I would like to identify from their
perspective, what are the key supports from the CMO that help them be or become successful
and to identify what other support is needed to run a school successfully and feel accomplished
as a charter school principal.

13
Charter School Principals
Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to identify the key skills needed by a charter school principal to
run a successful charter school and to identify how the charter school leaders perceive
themselves as successful without the support of a traditional school district. For the purpose of
this study, the leader is a middle school principal at one of the charter schools of the same charter
management organization for at least one full year. The study examines the perceptions of four
school leaders, whose experience as a charter middle school principal varies in years. A
questionnaire was given to each of the four principals to collect background history of their
experience as an educator in both a traditional public school and a public charter school. A
written interview protocol was used to collect data from the principals in regards to what their
experience has been as it relates to identifying the most important skills that are needed by
charter school leaders and also identify the areas where leaders felt they needed more support
and/or training. The interview protocol used questions that were asked in a form of a cluster.
Each cluster helped answer the following questions:
Research Questions Answered within the Clusters
1. What factors motivated these principals to become charter school principals and to
what degree have these reasons for the job change been realized?

2. How do these principals perceive their job satisfaction level as charter school
principals as compared with their job satisfaction at their previous job?

3. How do these charter school principals compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their former jobs?

4. How do these charter school principals compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their previous jobs?

5. What role tasks do charter school principals spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would charter school principals prefer to spend
their time?

14
Charter School Principals
6. In order to accomplish the leadership roles and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have these charter school principals created at
their schools?

7. What additional qualities, skills, and training do these charter school principals
perceive as necessary for future charter school principals?

The clusters of questions that were used created a research guide that refers to fives
stages of becoming a charter school principal. The chart below illustrates how each of the
clusters are connected to each of the research questions. After conducting the interviews, all of
the clusters answered several of the questions. The chart is organized by question cluster on the
right column and all the research questions that cluster answered during the interview in the left
column.
Research Question Cluster Research Questions the Cluster Answered
Research Question Cluster 1
Initial Career Stage (idealistic, pride, etc.)

Let’s look back just before you became a
charter school principal. What motivate you
to become a charter school principal? What
did you image were the roles of a charter
school principal? What did you feel you
could accomplish as a charter school
principal? What kind of growth did you
experience?

What factors motivated these principals to
become charter school principals and to
what degree have these reasons for the job
change been realized?

Research Question Cluster 2
Survival Career Stage (feeling like
threading water)

Being a charter school principal can at times
be stressful and at times be overwhelming.
Looking back on your career, did there come
a time when you felt stressed and, perhaps,
overwhelmed? If so what are some of the
conditions you faced at these times? What
did you do? What was unexpected? (Here
you should probe for the obstacles that charter
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
15
Charter School Principals
school principals face that public school
principals do not. Hence, if they don’t
mention them, remind them.)
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?
Research Question Cluster 3
Experimentation Stage

Though you have experimented in the past,
when did you get to that stage in your career
as a charter school principal that you felt you
could experiment? Did you experiment? If
so, on what? How did it work out? (Here, if
not mentioned, you can probe for different
topics, e.g., budget, teacher management,
student discipline, facilities maintenance,
parental relationship, community
relationaship, etc.)
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?
Research Question Cluster 4
Disillusionment Stage

Over the years, you’ve learned so much as a
charter school principal. You come to better
understand people, teaching, cultures,
communities, technology, student discipline,
facilities management, and budgets. How you
dealt with them contributed to your
professional growth as a charter school
principal.

But you have also noticed some things along
the way that were easy to dismiss at first but
have grown louder in your mind. Some
people at this point burn out; others fight
through. Some find at this level find that
being a charter school principal can seem
unfulfilling or confusion. Can you tell me
about these times? What issues grew louder
the long you remained as a principal? How
did you overcome these issues?

How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?

In order to accomplish the leadership roles
and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have
these charter school principals created at their
schools?
Research Question Cluster 5
Critical Reflection and Settling in Stage (as
a charter school principal)
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
16
Charter School Principals

When did you feel an inner sense that you had
arrived as a charter school principal? What or
whom helped you get this far in your career?
Reflecting on all that you have gone through,
both positive and negative, what do you have
to tell others about becoming a charter school
principal and eventually feeling a mastery of
this career? (If these do not mention it, then
probe for what made the difference. Probe in
terms of student learning, teacher
development, budget management, student
discipline, parent relations, and community
relations.)

as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?

In order to accomplish the leadership roles
and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have
these charter school principals created at their
schools?

What additional qualities, skills, and training
do these charter school principals perceive as
necessary for future charter school principals?

Significance of the Study
As more charter schools are starting up in Los Angeles and California, it would be
beneficial for founders and principals of charter schools to know the skill set required in order to
better identify future leaders as 1) leaders leave their positions and 2) more schools are opened
by the CMO. In addition using this study could better identify how organizations can implement
principal training and internship programs for future potential charter school leaders. This study
can also provide information on the managerial support that charter school leaders need such as
time management and entrepreneurial skills.
17
Charter School Principals

Limitations of the Study
This study focused on examining the perceptions of charter school leaders about how
prepared they are to successfully lead a charter school and the support that charter school leaders
receive as they face many challenges. As such, the data may be subjective and based on the
relationship built with stakeholders.
In addition, the intent was to conduct interviews of 10 school leaders across 10 charter
schools under the same Charter Management Organization. Although the are several
opportunities to conduct all 10 interviews, the researcher was limited to only solidifying four
middle school principals that agreed to be interviewed. Time restraints, obligations to the school,
and personal time off did not allow for all 10 interviews to be conducted.

Definition of Terms

Charter Management Organization (CMO): non-profit organizations that operate a network
of charter schools with a common mission or instructional design and shared central office
support (Farrell et al., 2012, p. 499).
Charter Schools: publicly funded schools of choice that operate autonomously, outside the
direct control of conventional school districts under the authority of a quasi-contract, or “charter”
granted by a public body (Zimmer et al., 2003, p. 1).

18
Charter School Principals
Organization of the Study

Chapter 1 is an overview of the problem that was studied. This chapter includes a brief
introduction of the related literature, the purpose of the study, research questions, limitations of
the study, significance of the study, definition of terms, and the organization of the study.
Chapter 2 consists of a review of research and literature. The review begins with the history of
charter schools in the United States. Next, is a description about the factors influencing the decision
to become a leader at a charter school and the challenges that have and will face charter school
leaders. Finally, a summary of the types of supports a charter school leader receives.
Chapter 3 discussed the design and methodology of the research. This chapter explains the
methods that were used in the study. It includes the research questions that were studied, the
question clusters that were used to interview the participants, and the population and sample that
were used.

19
Charter School Principals
Chapter Two: Literature Review
History of Charter Schools
Ray Budde, a teacher, principal, and later a professor at the University of Massachusetts,
is credited for the concept of “charter schools”. In 1974, due to his interest in organizational
theory, Budde wrote a paper titled “Education by Charter”. In his paper, he outlined some ideas
for the reorganization of school districts. His proposal included “moving from a ‘four-level line
and staff organization’ to ‘a two-level form in which groups of teachers would receive
educational charters directly from the school board’ and would carry the responsibility for
instruction” (Kolderie, 2005, p. 1). For Budde, the main strategy was for reorganization between
the school district and the teachers. Budde thought this would be a great alternative to the
considerable dissatisfaction with the public education system, but yet no one felt the need to
“change the system”. The belief was that schools can be improved through innovative
programming or in-service training that can fix the problem; therefore, Budde’s concept was
overlooked (Budde, 1996).
Then, in the 1980’s, the media attention from the Nation at Risk report and the Carnegie
Forum report prompted educators to consider restructuring whole school systems (Kolderie,
2005). By 1988, Budde had published a book titled “Education by Charter: Restructuring School
Districts”. In his book, Budde “proposed that teams of teachers could be ‘charted’ directly by a
school board for a period of three to five years. No one- not the superintendent, or the principal
or any central office supervisors—would stand between the school board and the teachers when
it came to matters of instruction” (Budde, 1996, p. 72). The book was widely circulated to
anyone who was interested in the reorganization of public education at the local level (Budde,
1996).
20
Charter School Principals
Albert Shanker, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, reported that, “the
delegates of the 1988 national convention of the American Federation of Teachers had proposed
that local school boards and unions jointly develop a procedure that would enable teams of
teachers and others to submit and implement proposals to set up their own autonomous public
schools within their school buildings” (Budde, 1996, p. 73). Shanker called this proposal “charter
schools” a concept that was suggested by Ray Budde in his book Education by Charter.
After Shanker’s call for change, a study committee of the Citizens League, chaired by
John Rollwagen, the CEO of Cray Research, picked up the idea and modified the concepts
originated by Budde and Shanker (Kolderie, 2005). Rollwagen, “envisioned a framework of state
policy and the possibility of schools being authorized by the state as well as by the local board”
(Kolderie, 2005, p. 2). In October 1988, the League had a planned proposal that would be
presented for the Itasca Seminar where two legislators would be present, Sen. Ember Reichgott
and Rep. Ken Nelson. Soon after, talks of legislation began (Kolderie, 2005). In 1989 and 1990,
Sen. Richgott’s charter provision got into the Senate omnibus bill, but was rejected. In 1991, he
tried again, and a compromised version went through the House. It was approved by the Senate
and Governor Arne Carlson, governor of Minnesota, signed it into law (Koldeire, 2005).
Policy makers and citizen groups in Minnesota pushed the charter concept to focus on
whole school restructuring and are therefore responsible for starting the nationwide charter
school movement (Budde, 1996).
In 1991, Minnesota was at the forefront of the nation in passing legislation to create the
first charter school (Laws of Minnesota 1991, chapter 265, article 9, sction3). In 1992, City
Academy High School became the first school to open its doors as a charter school in St. Paul,
21
Charter School Principals
Minnesota (MN Association of Charter Schools). As more and more school proposals began to
appear, word of the Minnesota legislation began to get around the country.
Eric Premack, an intern with the Citizens League and a native of Minneapolis, was
working for the California Legislature in 1992 (Kolderie, 2008, p. 6). While working in the
California Legislature he began to spread the word about charter schools. He connected with
Senator Gary Hart who then authored a bill for California charter schools. Once this bill was
passed, action was set into motion for several other states to pass charter school bills.
In 1994, as work continued with the Legislature to develop and expand chartering
programs, “remove the cap, add additional sponsors, and improve financing” (Kolderie, 2008, p.
6), Congress acted to provide start-up assistance to new chartered schools based on legislation
originally introduced in 1991 (Kolderie, 2008, p. 6). Financing began with $1.6 million in its first
year and now provides $200 million in startup grants for charter schools. By the 1990’s, almost
all states were participating in some form of chartering, “creating an “open sector” in public
education that was coming to be used more and more by those trying to create new-model
schools” (Kolderie, 2008, p. 6) By 2008, Both Barack Obama and John McCain, included charter
schools as part of their education platforms in their campaigns for President of the United States.
In 2009, with more than $4 billion in federal aid, President Obama and Education Secretary Arne
Duncan pressured states to ease limits on chartered schools (www.educationevolving.org). As of
today, 42 states and the District of Colombia have enacted charter school laws
(https://www.edreform.com/issues/choice-charter-schools/facts/).
Since Budde’s original concept of “chartering” in 1974, there have been several
adaptations of the concept that have expanded the amount of autonomy a school should have
when thinking about how students learn best. After being involved in the start up of two
22
Charter School Principals
independent schools, Budde realized that “there was a much more powerful dynamic at work in
chartering a whole school than in simply chartering a department or program” (Budde, 1996).
Ted Kolderie, a public policy analyst and director of the Public Service Options Project at the
University Of Minnesota School Of Public Affairs, agreed with Budde and explained the new
intent of the charter school in his September 1993 newsletter:
It is to offer change-oriented educators or others the opportunity to go either to the local
school board or to some other public body for a contract under which they would set up
an autonomous (and therefore performance based) public school which students could
choose to attend without charge. The intent is not simply to produce a few new and
hopefully better schools. It is to create dynamics that will cause the main-line system to
change so as to improve education for all students (p.1)

According to the National Charter School Resource Center, in 2015, there are 42 states
that have passed laws for charter schools to operate. In addition, the National Charter School
Resource Center reports that at the start of the 2015-16 school year, more than 6,100 charter
schools are operating nationwide, serving about 7% of K-12 students across the nation
(www.charterschoolcenter.org). The fact that so many charter schools have been opened in the
last two decades, gives evidence that charter school movement has been a leader in innovation
and education reform. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter School:
By unleashing an environment of creativity in states and communities, public charter
schools have demonstrated that all children are capable of achieving high standards and
college and career readiness. Charter schools have led efforts to narrow achievement gaps
and are showing that success is possible in neighborhoods where traditional schools have
been failing (National Alliance for Charter Schools, 2013, p. 2).

As more and more charter schools are being developed, the need for qualified school
leaders is also growing. In the next section, research will be examined to provide information on
the differences between leadership and management in traditional public school and public
charter schools.
23
Charter School Principals
Leadership Need Differences
When comparing leadership between a traditional school and a charter school, the
literature reveals that both types of leaders face many common challenges. Among these
challenges, include “shaping a schools vision, fostering trust among both adults and children,
managing resources efficiently, and balancing internal and external pressures” (Campbell et al.,
2008, p. 3). The literature also reveals that the most challenging and biggest difference between a
traditional public school leader and a charter school leader is that the latter receives support from
a central district office whereas a charter school does not. In addition, the charter leader may also
have to recruit students and teachers, secure and manage facilities, raise money, manage the
school’s finances and manage business operations at the school site level. As the charter school
movement continues to grow, many questions are raised about how to best attract and support
charter school leaders, especially if they are new to school administration.
In order to form an idea of the qualities a charter school leader needs, The National
Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) at the University of Washington, surveyed charter
school leaders in six states in 2007. NCSRP researchers mailed a survey to a random sample of
717 charter school leaders in California, Hawaii, Texas, North Carolina, Rhode Island and
Arizona (Campbell et al., 2008). This survey offers one of the first large scale surveys of the
charter school director, the director’s job, and its challenges. On the survey, charter school
leaders were asked, “How important was each of the following factors in your decision to accept
your current position at this school?” Among the choices were:
a) The school’s educational mission
b) Seeking a challenge
c) Type of student served
24
Charter School Principals
d) Wanted to lead a charter school
e) Location
f) Career advancement within the school
g) Pay and benefits
According to the survey, 86% of the respondents reported that “the school’s educational mission
was the most important factor”, followed by 71% responding to “seeking a challenge” and
finally 66% responding that the “type of student served” is of importance to them when choosing
to become a leader at a charter school (Campbell et al., 2008, p. 13). The top three responses
align to the overarching idea that passion drives most leaders to lead a charter school.
In Cameron Curry’s book, Charter School Leadership: Elements for School Success
(2103), the overarching idea of having passion for the charter schoolwork is also transparent. As
stated in his book, “Charter school leadership is a profession that takes passion, vision, and
personal sense of ownership. Leaders who personalize their goals and believe, “This is my
school. These are my students. These are my parents,” are driven by a commitment to excellence
in meeting the needs of the entire school community” (Curry, 2013, p. 63-64). According to
Curry, most of the work done at a charter school is focused on the “school’s culture, mission,
vision, communications, and encouragement” (Curry, 2013, p. X). This statement supports the
idea that a charter school leader’s reasons for wanting to lead a charter school are based on the
passion of creating an environment that is focused on values that are aligned to mission,
challenge, and students.
In both Curry’s book and the research done by Campbell et al., the idea of seeking a
challenge is appealing to the charter school leader. One of the major differences between a
traditional leader and a charter school leader is the fact that charter school leader must also be
25
Charter School Principals
able to handle most operational issues that are usually supported by employees from the school
district. Although the autonomy that is giving to charter schools leaders in creating the mission,
vision, and culture of a school parallels the reasoning behind choosing to be a charter school
leader, the fact that the charter school has many demands on them surpasses how well prepared
they are to manage all of these demands. According to Curry (2008), “There are many demands
placed on charter school leaders, and among the most important are meeting requirements of the
state when it comes to student’s test results and accurate reporting on the school’s finances. This
is where a business-savvy school leader separates himself or herself from the rest. Great school
leaders must regularly engage in the daily operations and financial issues to keep a pulse on the
backbone of the organization” (p. X).
Lastly, the third reason that leaders decide to lead at a charter school is due to the type of
students that they are serving. Campbell et al. states that:
“…on the job satisfaction is sustained by the opportunity that first attracted them to their
charter schools; namely, the chance to serve a targeted group of students. These leaders
feel committed to the school students and to generally making a difference with young
people (p.15)

This quote implies that although the demands are stressful and sometimes unmanageable, charter
school leaders remain in their position for the mere act of fulfilling their ambition to help
students that are not served well in the traditional public school. This is observed in Gross’
research while stating the following:
By design, “charter schools have a mission to serve a specific population of students (for
example, low income, at-risk, or immigrant students) or to deliver a specific educational program
(Gross, 2011, p. 4)

Charter school leaders face many challenges when it comes to running a charter school.
According to the research, there are four major areas of challenges that have consistently come
up as the challenges that charter school leader’s face. Those challenges are strategic planning,
26
Charter School Principals
facilities, school finances, and hiring. In the next sections, I will describe each challenge and
explain how it is perceived in different literature.
Challenges in Charter School Leadership
One challenge that the literature states as an area of concern is strategic planning for the
future of the charter school. Earlier, I described the reasons why a leader chooses to be a charter
school administrator. The number one reason that a charter school leader chooses to be a charter
school administrator is the passion that emerges a commitment to the success of a school. Due to
this passion and lack of centralized support, a lot of the leaders’ time is spent doing the day-to-
day at the school site. Day to day tasks include instructional leadership, schedules, safety,
security, and student discipline (Campbell & Gross, 2008). According to Campbell and Gross, in
their survey with the National Charter School Research Project, “charter school leaders reported
spending an average of only 9 percent of their time on strategic planning” (Campbell & Gross,
2008, p. 19). Due to the time spent on all other daily demands means that important long-term
tasks such as developing a school improvement plan, including vision, mission and goals, do not
get the attention required for improvement. Although thinking strategically about the schools
future is not where most of a leader’s time is spent, “the importance of strategic planning is
heightened by additional data from the NCSRP. The survey shows that few charter schools are
preparing for leadership transitions with succession plans: about 52 % of charter school leaders
reported having a succession plan in place for their eventual departure” (Campbell & Gross,
2008, p. 20). Of the leaders that say they have a plan, “10 percent are unsure of what the plan is
and another 13 percent say the plan is to have the school district assign a principal” (Campbell &
Gross, 2008, p. 20). Some charter school leaders are leaders of schools that belong to Charter
Management Organization (CMO); in this case, they more than likely, to have a strategic plan.
27
Charter School Principals
According to a study done by Portin et al., strategic planning or leadership is ranked as
one of the seven core leadership functions of leaders in a school. The other core leadership
functions include instructional, cultural, managerial, human resources, external development, and
micropolitical (Portin et al., 2003). In their study, “Making Sense of Leading Schools: A
National Study of the Principalship”, Portin et al. looks at what school leaders actually do. This
data is based on in-depth interviews with principals, vice principals, and teachers in 21 schools in
four cities across four states from different types of schools (public, private, charter, contract,
and magnet). In this survey, Portin et al., reports that the three types of schools (a charter school,
a parochial school, and a traditional school) distribute leadership differently; thus, impacting how
much time the principal or school leader spends specifically on strategic planning. According to
their research, “it is quickly apparent that in the charter school, the principal participates in each
of the seven areas” (Portin et al., 2003, p. 27). As in other research, when comparing the role of a
charter school leader and that of a traditional school principal, the traditional public school
principal’s role is “largely constrained to activities around management, culture, and internal
politics” (Portin et al., 2003, p. 29). The leader in a traditional school is able to delegate roles,
which allows more time for strategic planning to occur; the principal can assign other core
leadership functions to others such as an assistant principal, teachers, or office managers.
According to the survey conducted by National Charter School Research Project
(NCRSP) in 2007 when asked what organizational issues are problems at their schools, charter
school leaders mostly reported that they “lack confidence in addressing the issues of facilities,
hiring teaches, and finances” (Campbell & Gross, 2008, p. 17).
Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools must find their own buildings and pay
for facilities out of the education funds allotted per student (Campbell et al., 2008). Charter
28
Charter School Principals
schools do not have access to similar revenue sources for facilities as traditional public schools.
“Conventional public school districts pay for facilities by issuing bonds, an avenue unavailable
to many charter schools. In addition, charter schools pay for facility expenses that conventional
public schools do not. These expenses may include rent on facilities, utilities, maintenance, and
off-site storage facilities” (Krop, 2003, p. 106). Charter school leaders are responsible for
finding, funding, and maintaining their own building. This is a serious problem for leaders who
are just starting up their school. Leaders from “mature schools, those in existence for more than
five years” (Campbell & Gross, 2008, p.18), have less of a facilities problem because most of the
issues with gaining a facility have already been resolved; but yet, the maintenance of the building
continues to be an issue since typically there is no maintenance personnel.
The hardship with a facility is in finding a building that is suitable for a charter school.
Many start up charters may initially open in a church, YMCA, or other community based
building. As mentioned before, these facilities usually require paying rent, which may cause a
problem with landlords who are not familiar with charter schools needs and policy. The needs
include enough space for classrooms, a cafeteria, a recreational area, and specialized classrooms
for students with special needs. With the passing of Proposition 39 and Senate Bill 740, districts
can provide facilities for eligible charter school and will allow reimbursements of facility costs
for schools in low –income areas (Krop, 2003). The passing of this legislation has allowed for
charter schools to find facilities that are more suitable and affordable; but according to Krop,
“Although districts are not allowed to reject a charter petition because of difficulty in complying
with proposition 39, case study schools stated that they fear that some districts may scrutinize
charter petitions more closely to avoid those with potential facility requirements” (Krop, 2003, p.
111). Even though charters are free from many constraining bureaucratic rules and policies, the
29
Charter School Principals
challenge that charter school leaders face lies in the fact that charter schools are housed within
the city district. According to Deal and Hentschke, “charters must reckon with the reality that
others in the district will, at some level, want them to fail” (Deal & Hentschke, 2004, p. 26). At
this level, the charter school leader must have the skill set suitable to manage not only the
business-like nature of operating a charter school and all the organizational needs, but also the
savviness to articulate effectively with those who have the power to approve or deny a charter
school petition.
Finding a suitable building and maintaining it has its own challenges that a traditional
public school leader does not have to concern themselves with but in addition to fiscally being
responsible for the facility, the charter school leaders also faces the challenge of being the solely
person in charge of finances. In a public traditional school, the principal may be in charge of
some finances associated with school site spending, but at the charter school level, the principal
is charged with ensuring that the enrollment is where it needs to be in order to receive the money
that has been budgeted for that school. The budget includes all the line items that one would see
at the district level. These include salary for classifies and credentialed staff, instructional
materials, student services and events, and facilities maintenance.
As mentioned above, the charter school leader would be better qualified if they had a
business background. Campbell and Gross state that, “Traditional public schools benefit from
known sources of students, funding, and administrative and managerial support” (Campbell &
Gross, 2008, p. 11). A charter school leader typically does not have the same kind of support.
This causes many charter school leaders to be overwhelmed with not only overseeing the
instruction, school culture, and managing people but also managing the facilities, finances, and
community issues.
30
Charter School Principals
Chapter Three: Methodology
In this chapter the design of the study will be discussed. Included in this chapter will be a
restatement of the problem and purpose, research questions to be used, the design of the study,
population and sample and instrumentation.
Restatement of Problem and Purpose
State and local accountability measures determine the success of charter schools which
falls on the training and skills of the principal. “Often qualitative researchers undertake a
qualitative study because there is a lack of theory or an existing theory fails to adequately explain
a phenomenon” (Merriam, 2002, p. 5). Currently, there is very little research that identifies what
makes for a successful leader at a charter school; therefore, there is a need to identify the key
skills principals need to run a successful charter school and how charter school leaders perceive
that they are successful leaders despite not having the support of a traditional school district.
The purpose of this study is to identify two items among charter middle school principals.
The first to identify the key skills needed by a charter school principal to run a successful charter
school; and secondly, to identify how the charter school leaders perceive themselves as
successful without the support of a traditional school district. In Campbell et al. article, The High
–Wire Job of Charter School Leadership, an observation was made that charter school leaders
struggle much more than principals in a traditional district due to added responsibilities and lack
of resources and support. The article also noted that the main struggle can be found in the lack of
prior training and experiences in implementing a strategic, school wide instructional initiative or
school wide improvement plan. For the purpose of this study, the leader is a middle school
principal at one of the charter schools of the same charter management organization for at least
one full year. The study examines the perceptions of four school leaders, whose experience as a
31
Charter School Principals
charter middle school principal varies in years. A questionnaire was given to each of the four
principals to collect background history of their experience as an educator in both a traditional
public school and a public charter school. A written interview protocol was used to collect data
from the principals in regards to what their experience has been as it relates to identifying the
most important skills that are needed by charter school leaders and also identify the areas where
leaders felt they needed more support and/or training. The interview protocol used questions that
were asked in a form of a cluster. Each cluster helped answer the following questions:
Research Questions Answered within the Clusters
1. What factors motivated these principals to become charter school principals and to
what degree have these reasons for the job change been realized?

2. How do these principals perceive their job satisfaction level as charter school
principals as compared with their job satisfaction at their previous job?

3. How do these charter school principals compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their former jobs?

4. How do these charter school principals compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their previous jobs?

5. What role tasks do charter school principals spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?

6. In order to accomplish the leadership roles and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have these charter school principals created at
their schools?

7. What additional qualities, skills, and training do these charter school principals
perceive as necessary for future charter school principals?

The clusters of questions that were used created a research guide that refers to five stages
of becoming a charter school principal. The chart below illustrates how each of the clusters are
connected to each of the research questions. After conducting the interviews, all of the clusters
32
Charter School Principals
answered several of the questions. The chart is organized by question cluster on the right column
and all the research questions that cluster answered during the interview in the left column.
Research Question Cluster Research Questions the Cluster Answered
Research Question Cluster 1
Initial Career Stage (idealistic, pride, etc.)

Let’s look back just before you became a
charter school principal. What motivate you
to become a charter school principal? What
did you image were the roles of a charter
school principal? What did you feel you
could accomplish as a charter school
principal? What kind of growth did you
experience?

What factors motivated these principals to
become charter school principals and to
what degree have these reasons for the job
change been realized?

Research Question Cluster 2
Survival Career Stage (feeling like
threading water)

Being a charter school principal can at times
be stressful and at times be overwhelming.
Looking back on your career, did there come
a time when you felt stressed and, perhaps,
overwhelmed? If so what are some of the
conditions you faced at these times? What
did you do? What was unexpected? (Here
you should probe for the obstacles that charter
school principals face that public school
principals do not. Hence, if they don’t
mention them, remind them.)
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?
Research Question Cluster 3
Experimentation Stage

Though you have experimented in the past,
when did you get to that stage in your career
as a charter school principal that you felt you
could experiment? Did you experiment? If
so, on what? How did it work out? (Here, if
not mentioned, you can probe for different
topics, e.g., budget, teacher management,
student discipline, facilities maintenance,
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
33
Charter School Principals
parental relationship, community
relationaship, etc.)
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?
Research Question Cluster 4
Disillusionment Stage

Over the years, you’ve learned so much as a
charter school principal. You come to better
understand people, teaching, cultures,
communities, technology, student discipline,
facilities management, and budgets. How you
dealt with them contributed to your
professional growth as a charter school
principal.

But you have also noticed some things along
the way that were easy to dismiss at first but
have grown louder in your mind. Some
people at this point burn out; others fight
through. Some find at this level find that
being a charter school principal can seem
unfulfilling or confusion. Can you tell me
about these times? What issues grew louder
the long you remained as a principal? How
did you overcome these issues?

How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?

In order to accomplish the leadership roles
and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have
these charter school principals created at their
schools?
Research Question Cluster 5
Critical Reflection and Settling in Stage (as
a charter school principal)

When did you feel an inner sense that you had
arrived as a charter school principal? What or
whom helped you get this far in your career?
Reflecting on all that you have gone through,
both positive and negative, what do you have
to tell others about becoming a charter school
principal and eventually feeling a mastery of
this career? (If these do not mention it, then
probe for what made the difference. Probe in
terms of student learning, teacher
development, budget management, student
discipline, parent relations, and community
relations.)
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
34
Charter School Principals
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?

In order to accomplish the leadership roles
and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have
these charter school principals created at their
schools?

What additional qualities, skills, and training
do these charter school principals perceive as
necessary for future charter school principals?

In addition to the interview questions, each of the four middle charter school principals
were given a questionnaire that they took prior to the interview. The questionnaire served as a
tool that gave back ground information of each leader. A sample of the questionnaire can be
found in the appendix.
Design of Study
The research was designed as a qualitative study with purposeful sampling. According to
Merriam (2002), Patton explains “Qualitative research is an effort to understand situations in
their uniqueness as part of a particular context and the interactions there. This understanding is
an end in itself, so that it is not attempting to predict what may happen in the future necessarily,
but to understand the nature of that setting – what it means for participants to be in that setting,
what their lives are like, what’s going on for them, what their meanings are, what the world looks
like in that particular setting…the analysis strives for depth of understanding” (p.5). This would
be the most appropriate type of study for this research since it seeks to understand what the
charter school principal’s experiences are like in the setting of their environment that is not
traditional and therefore not a predictable surrounding.
35
Charter School Principals
Patton (2002) states that, “the purpose of a purposeful sampling is to select information-
rich cases whose study will illuminate the questions under study” (p.43). In this case, the
research will attempt to identify and describe the principal skills needed to run a successful
charter school and how a charter school leader perceives success. A purposeful sampling is
“designed to understand the meaning of a phenomenon from the perspective of the participants,
from which the most can be learned” (Merriam, 2002, p. 12).
Population and Sampling
In this study, there were fiur participants who are charter middle school principals and
have been in their position ranging from novice (1-3 years) to experienced (4- + years). All of
these principals are administrators at one of the seven middle schools within the CMO.
Although there are only a few participants in this study, Patton declares that, “there are no rules
for sample size in qualitative research. Sample size depends on what you want to know, the
purpose of the inquiry, what’s at stake, what will be useful, what will have credibility, and what
can be done with the available time and resources” (Patton, 2002, p. 244). This will be an
opportunity to gain that first-hand knowledge of true struggles a novice or experienced principal
have in a charter school.
As their mission statement, the CMOpromises ‘to uplift communities through the creation
of high quality public charter schools in which students are inspired and prepared to graduate
from high school and university and commit to uplift their communities now and forever’. In
order to fulfil this commitment, the principal will have to have the necessary skills and training
to obtain an outcome that is supportive of the mission statement. In addition, this claim would
have to be proven through accountability measurements for which the principal is ultimately
responsible. In order to determine the skills needed to run a successful charter school and in
36
Charter School Principals
which areas the principals perceive that they would need more training, an interview guide was
created which includes items that address each research question. Interviews will be the best
method of inquiry because, “Interviews yield direct quotations from people about their
experiences, opinions, feelings, and knowledge” (Patton, 2002, p. 4). The research questions
were as a structured interview guide. “An interview guide is prepared to ensure that the same
basic lines of inquiry are pursued with each person interviewed” (Patton, 2002, p. 343). An
advantage to an interview guide is that it allows the interviewer to use the time available for the
interview as they see fit to accomplish the goals. “The guide helps make interviewing a number
of people more systematic and comprehensive by delimiting in advanced the issues to be
explored” (Patton, 2002, p. 343). The interview guide will allow the researcher to attain rich,
descriptive perspectives from each of the participants.
In addition, to the interview questions, a questionnaire was given to each of the
participants in order to gather biographical information and perceptions of their current
leadership and managerial skills. This information will later be used to create a biographical
sketch of each principal using a fictitious name.
In conclusion, this study aims to identify the key skills principals need to run a successful
charter school and how charter school leaders perceive that they are successful leaders despite
not having the support of a traditional school district. The research will be qualitative study with
purposeful sampling. The participants will include seven charter middle school principals from
middle schools located in Northeast Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley, all part of the same
charter management organization known as CMO.

37
Charter School Principals
Charter Middle School Principal Descriptions
For this study, seven charter middle school principals were contacted to take part in the
study. All of the principals work for a CMO located in the Los Angeles area. Of the seven, four
principals volunteered to be fill out the questionnaire and agreed to be interviewed. Three of the
principals work for middle schools that are located in the Northeast Los Angeles area. One
principal works for a middle school located in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. All of the
schools are part of the same CMO; therefore, the schools mission and vision are the same and are
based on the belief that every student will graduate from high school and be prepared for college.
In addition, each school uses the following three commitments to focus on the long lasting vision
that the organization has for the students and the community: 1) Five times more college
graduates within the communities we serve, 2) After four years with us students are proficient, 3)
Students commit to uplift our communities now and forever.
All of the principals in this study self-identify as Latino ethnicity/race and their years in
age range from 31 to 40. All of the principals highest degree earned is a Master’s in Education
and one has earned a doctorate. Only one of the four principals has an actual clear administrative
credential. The years of service as a middle school charter principal vary in each of the principal.
Two principals have just completed their first year as principal. Another principal has been a
principal for two and half years. The veteran leader has been principal for 8 years. All the
principals were extremely cooperative and generous with their time but they all difficulty staying
focused due to their heavy involvement in the day-to-day operations of the school. All of the
principals in this study wish to have anonymity and will be referred to in the study as Principal
#1, Principal #2, Principal #3, and Principal #4.
38
Charter School Principals
Principal #1 has self-identified as a 37-year-old Latina woman. Her highest degree earned
is a Master’s and holds a teaching credential but no administrative credential. She has worked as
an educator for the last 12 years; all which have been in the charter school system. She was a
teacher for three year, assistant principal for one year, and a principal for eight year. She stated
that she works 80 hours in a typical week with most of her time spent on discipline and parent
contact.
Principal #2 has self-identified as a 31-year-old Hispanic male. His highest degree is a
Master’s and holds a c lear multiple subject teaching credential. He does not have an
administrative credential. Principal #2 has worked as a teacher in a charter school for four year,
as a charter school vice principal for two and half years, and as a principal for two and a half
year. A typical number of hours worked in a week for him ranges from 10-12 hours a day but
also mentioned that he is constantly working. He stated that most of his time is spent on budget
and maintenance and instruction and curriculum.
Principal #3 is a 36-year-old Mexican- American woman. The highest degree she has
earned is a doctorate. Her credentials include a clear single subject teaching credential and a
preliminary tier 1 administrative credential. She has worked one year as a private school teacher
and four years as a charter school teacher. She began her leadership career as a vice principal of
a charter school and then became principal of the same school. She stated that over a typical
week she works 60 hours. She stated that the bulk of her time is spent dealing with student
discipline.
Principal #4 is a 40-year-old mixed Latina woman who has worked as an educator for 17
years. Five of those years, she worked as a teacher in a traditional public school. She has also
held positions in a traditional school district as a reading coach for four years and a school
39
Charter School Principals
support coach for another four year. She is the only principal out of the four that holds an
administrative credential as well as a clear single subject teaching credential. When she decided
to become a school administrator, she opted to work for a charter management organization,
became a middle school principal, and held that position for four years. When the previous
principal left mid-year, she was promoted to principal and will complete her first year at the end
of the 2016- 2017 school year. According to her questionnaire, she typically works 60 hours per
week. Most of her time is also spent in dealing with student discipline.

40
Charter School Principals
Chapter Four: Results of the Study
Four middle school principals from the same charter management organization took part
in the study, 1 male and 3 females, ranging in years of experience from one to eight years as a
middle school principal in charter schools. This chapter will cover the findings in order of a
cluster of research questions. Each cluster of research question is formed around stages: (1)
Initial Career Stage (idealistic, pride, etc.), (2) Survival Career Stage (feeling like threading
water), (3) Experimentation Stage (experimenting with the status quo of the school), (4)
Disillusionment Stage, and (5) Critical Reflection and Settling in Stage (as a charter school
principal). This chapter will cover the findings in order of the research question clusters.
Research Question Cluster One
Let’s look back just before you became a charter school principal. What motivated you to
become a charter school principal? What did you imagine were the roles of a charter school
principal? What did you feel you could accomplish as a charter school principal? What kind of
growth did you experience?
Initial Career Phase (idealistic, pride, etc.)
Two out of the four principals state that they did not actively seek out a principalship but
were approached by the organization to become a principal because they saw leadership potential
from the work they were doing in other positions prior to becoming a charter school principal.
One of the administrators never saw being a principal as part of their career plans, they had only
planned to be a teacher. On a similar response, one became a principal because someone else saw
a potential in them. Yet another felt they could have more impact helping students as a principal.
For another, helping other principals inspired them to become a principal.
[Principal #1] … I really just wanted to teach at a place where I can have impact and
that’s true to who I am as a person, so coming into the charter school world, I wanted to
be part of something that was intimate enough where there is a difference being made as
opposed to what I was seeing and my lived experience at the district at the time. And then
coming into the actual principalship of a charter school was really around a need and
41
Charter School Principals
senior leaders seeing something in me. It wasn’t something that I was chasing. It wasn’t
something that I was actively applying for, it was something that came to me at a time
when I was asked to serve and I stepped into it.

[Principal #2] It was never in my career plan to be a principal. I just wanted to be a
teacher and just do my job well. I think within 5
th
year of teaching There was an
opportunity to do some type of …um… a principal/teacher residence program at my
former charter school, where I started teaching at so I gave it a try where I was a part time
teacher and quasi administrator. Once I was given the opportunity to be assistant
principal cuz when I applied to this charter school I wanted to be a coach so I got offered
the position of assistant principal and I was like well if someone with years of experience
sees the potential in me, so I’ll give it a try and I definitely felt like it was a lot of work
the first year, but I fell in love with it.

Principal #3 felt that there was a lot of injustice in the education system and thought that she
could make a bigger impact serving as a principal; not just in the service students, but the entire
school.
[Principal #3] What motivated me to get into education overall was that I wanted to be a
psychologist and so I ended up majoring in psychology and government, and I saw the
issues about how the government was treating the educational system and so I got into
teaching, and even in teaching I saw how I could be so much more impactful to my
classroom but how much more impactful I could be and help students as a principal as
well. So my overall thinking as to why I chose to be a principal or get into administration
was how can you really improve the school, the school and just school wide movements.

Principal #4 stated that she had done a lot of work in different aspects of leadership. She felt that
through her experience, she realized how much she enjoyed the work and was ready to take on
the role of principal.
[Principal #4] When I supported that network of schools I helped a school go through a
huge transformation. And the transformation, actually what the school did was we
reconstituted a high school. And in reconstituting that high school we were involved with
every part of the planning for that school for the next school year. so I was involved the
hiring, the professional development, involved with the vision, involved with the course
offering, involved with placing students in the classroom, involved with the like logistics
and parent outreach. And that’s when I realized as I was helping this principal to become,
to launch her year, I realized oh my gosh this is actually what I really want to do.
42
Charter School Principals

When asked what they imagined the roles of a charter principal would be like, all four
principals expressed that the roles that they were given as principals far exceeded how they were
prepared. Two out of the four specifically identified that the role of disciplinarian was more than
what they imagined. They recognized the amount of time that is spent on discipline and
following up with parents, takes such an exuberant amount of time that it does not allow time for
other duties such as teacher observations and professional development. In addition, they
realized that a position such as a charter school principal required a lot of vision, commitment to
personal and core values and often reflecting on those values, and having to charter into the
unknown
[Principal #1] I knew that it was going to require a lot of vision, a lot of commitment to
your core and a lot of having to charter into the unknown just based on what I had seen
leaders before me really engaged in some of that unchartered territory, that sometimes is
more chartered or already developed in a district setting so I knew that there was a lot
that would come with this role. Never did I think that this was a role that would not push
me as a person nor push me as a practioner and that there was going to be a lot of
learning both for myself the school and the stakeholders, based on where the school was
at.

[Principal #2] Yeah, just like teaching. The rules were also evolving. The rules were
always changing. There was always something new that you had to learn. You felt like
you always had to be ten steps ahead of everybody else in order to be competitive. And
stay competitive with the larger school districts.

[Principal #3] I saw myself as discipline but I hadn’t realized how much of the discipline
there was and how intensive the tier 1 parents and students can be and how much of my
time is spent on those high-level kids. And so you would think discipline, that I would be
disciplining 50 kids in a week but it’s really not. It’s the same 10 kids week in and week
out and day in and day out, so I didn’t expect that to happen, but I knew that discipline
was going to be an issue or a huge role I also knew that the whole operations was going
to be a huge role so yeah that’s where I kind of figured it out…figured out what I was
going to get into.

43
Charter School Principals
[Principal #4] I thought that I would have a lot of flexibility in terms of PD , curriculum,
in terms of the work I wanted to do with instructional alignment across the grade levels
and I have had a lot of that . The only thing is that, what I did account for, in the
transition from assistant principal to principal is just the amount of discipline and school
culture that the support and time that goes into that area, that has really taken away my
ability to do, to focus on those other areas that were really inspirational to me at the
beginning.

Two out of the four principals stated very clear goals in what they could accomplish as
principals. Their goals were based on working with the all stakeholders and the community to
build a school that included partnership, outreach, and uplifting students to reach their full
potential, especially getting students to college. Knowing that there would be parental and
teacher support contributed to their becoming a charter school principal; yet one stated that there
would be a lot of work reaching out to parents and keeping the school on track for their core
requirements.
[Principal #1] So I didn’t know what the outcome would be but I knew I trusted in myself
to be able to get and work toward constantly and work towards that mission of getting
students to college and as we developed commitments, the commitment and that I would
continue to work very consciousnessly towards that so I felt that the data would speak if
the practice was strong. So I dedicated myself to the practice of leadership, the practice at
a school and that with a dedication and commitment and the investment of teachers, staff,
students and parents along the way, that our data would speak over time.

[Principal #2] When the opportunity came up to be a principal I think because of the
parent support and the teacher support it made the decision much more easier. Um so
having the parent and the teacher support I felt what I could accomplish was give my
students the opportunities that I had that wouldn’t be so necessarily easy finding on their
own. So opening opportunities of choice, with high standards of excellence and
academics.

Principal #3 and #4 were vague about what they feel they could accomplish. Principal #3
states that she intended to focus on coaching teachers, but realized that as principal, her role
44
Charter School Principals
would include a variety of duties and she would not be able to focus on the instructional
framework of the school.
[Principal #3] I saw the growth in my coaching cycle because it was one of the areas that
I was focusing on and I thought that’s where I feel I could have done more because I was
seeing some growth in my coaching and then …I’m not coaching teachers this year. So I
wish I could have been able to continue that but it’s just chaotic and even last year when I
was the principal in residence I was being pulled out for certain things but I think that
now the culture is a lot more stable so I think I could stick to coaching on certain days.

In addition, although Principal #3 claims that she no longer coaches teachers, she feels like that
was her greatest area of growth.
Principal #4 states that she has gained a lot of experience as an administrator through the
different duties that are done in the school site, but does not state any goals of what she thought
she could accomplish.
[Principal #4] I’ve had to do a load of work with school culture and parents work and
reaching out to parents and setting up processes for you know, just making sure that were
clear on requirements for graduation, requirements for how we want our grading
procedures to move forward. I had to really thinking about, you know, what are decisions
that need to be made with my supervisors and me and decisions teachers were going to
have input on and what the different communications methods that need to be in place so
that people can feel like they’re in the know of what is going on.

All principals state that being a principal in a charter school has pushed their growth beyond their
expectations because they have had to learn how to do all the different roles that come with
charter school leadership.
Research Question Cluster Two
Being a charter school principal can at times be stressful and at times be overwhelming.
Looking back on your career, did there come a time when you felt stressed and, perhaps,
overwhelmed? If so what are some of the conditions you faced at these times? What did you
do? What was unexpected?
45
Charter School Principals
Survival Career Stage (feeling like threading water)
All the principals said that being a charter school principal has been a stressful and
overwhelming job. One even stated that there had been many times where they wondered if this
is what they signed up for. Across the board, the principals state that the different tasks that they
have to perform on a daily basis becomes overwhelming. They also claim that the commitment
that they have made to all stakeholders causes a lot of stress, as they want to maintain the high
standards of the school and the community expectation. All principals believe that traditional
district principals do not have to do all of the tasks that are required of a charter school principal.
Through their personal experience, they wonder how engaged the traditional middle school
principals are with the school culture and the community that surrounds them.
[Principal #1] I think that the stress and overwhelment comes with each and every year,
each and every experience when you are working with this many different stakes holders
with the charges of being a charter school principal everything from local accountability
control from the outside entities to internal, to your own growth, in your desire to grow a
school as well as school wide initiatives…

[Principal #2] It is a hard job. It is a hard job. It is very stressful, it is overwhelming and I
agree with everything in that questions. Looking back in my career span as a school
administrator specifically as a principal, absolutely there’s been many times where if felt,
is this really what I signed up for.

[Principal #3] I had a teacher have a panic attack today because of the SBAC, and I was
just thinking to myself I had a panic attack for the past two weeks every night as I go to
bed, being overwhelmed that not even closing the year and thinking about the site days
already, thinking about next year, thinking about how much is on the line and its super
overwhelming and I don’t know if a traditional principal has to deal with that.
[Principal #4] Well, I mean yesterday, this morning. Yes, feeling a little bit overwhelmed
right now, in particular, we have our oversight visit, which is something you don’t have
to do as a traditional public school principal.

46
Charter School Principals
Research Question Cluster Three
Though you have experimented in the past, when did you get to that stage in your career as a
charter school principal that you felt you could experiment? Did you experiment? If so, on
what? How did it work out?
Experimentation Stage
Out of the four principals, only one said that they were not at a point in their career where
they felt like they could experiment. As a first year principal, the effort was focused on making
sure what was successful in the past with the prior principal was maintained and that during this
year she would determine what should be changed for the following year.
[Principal #4] Not right now, no. This is my first year. I technically started in May 2016
after my other principal quit. But I do consider this, even though I’m approaching my
anniversary of being a principal for a year, this is my first year, this is the first year its
mine. This year I focused on maintaining the structures that have been successful in the
past and now I’m starting to come up for air and say ok, here are the things that I want to
change, here are the things that I want to adjust but I’m just beginning to see that now.

The other three principals stated that they have experimented during their principalship.
A trend that is seen among the three principals that felt that they could experiment is the feeling,
that despite the number of years of experience, the organization allowed them to experiment as
part of their growth as a leader. Principal #3 refers to herself as non-traditional; and therefore,
does not see it as experimentation but as just doing what seems natural based on the needs of her
students and the school.
[Principal #3] I mean I guess, I don’t even know how to answer that but I will answer it
in terms of I think I am so nontraditional that I never think of it as an experiment it’s just
like this is a good idea, let’s go with that. Hey teacher what do you think, you know I
also ask for teacher and staffs opinion, um but I guess I never thought of it as an
experiment I always thought of it as what is the best fit for your needs.

47
Charter School Principals
Another trend that is seen among the three principals that feel comfortable to experiment
in their role is the use of data to measure how successful the experimentation turned out to be.
Principal #2 feels like he has been successful with his experimentation based on surveys and
feedback from teachers, students, and parents. He feels comfortable taking the risks necessary to
experiment and bring innovation to the school knowing that the stakeholders have a voice and
will let him know whether the risks taken are valued added.
[Principal #2] I think I am able to take risks that are beyond what the “how to manual”,
the how to book says because we know what is best for our community. And what guides
off to go off script is the data. Data doesn’t lie. And were always constantly gaging to
make sure that our perception of the data is where it needs to be…. it reflects on our HR
roundtable feedback. Also, like feeling that our teachers have a voice and they feel
respected. That they feel that it is a…it’s not a tier system. we are all equal players . Like
we say in our mission, were all equal players in it. Definitely with the parents because we
are constantly getting... having our parents fill out surveys when they come to family
night or just by being out there in community events and engaging with them and
whenever they have concerns, making sure that we hopefully communicate what they
want us to change within reason.

Principal #1 was the only principal, who reported that, although she felt comfortable in
her position to experiment, she realized that her experimentation did not go well. She focuses on
more of a holistic approach in her experimentation that includes transitions that have happened
on the campus that have influenced how smoothly that experimentation has transpired. She states
that one of the reasons why she felt her experimentation was not successful was in the way the
changes were introduced, and not taking into consideration how the campus would internalize
the changes.
[Principal #1] Nope. I would say that it didn’t at the time because you are still working
and you have a plan and you think it’s going to go well. So this was the beginning of me,
beginning to bring to the campus both theory and practice or theory and research into the
practice and really create a praxis site so it was the beginning of look at cultural
competence and cultural relevance and how do you create a school program that is very
48
Charter School Principals
conscious of the community that we serve and that I felt was lacking in our school. You
have to unpack that. And I wasn’t ready for again, the adults, the professionals working
with the students, having the reactions that they did. So I had to slow it down, to go fast
later. And with time and persistence, and a commitment to a pedagogical practice, that is
not only researched based, but very much bears out that in order to be of service to our
community we also have to understand the community and be culturally responsive.

Research Question Cluster Four
Over the years, you’ve learned so much as a charter school principal. You come to better
understand people, teaching, cultures, communities, technology, student discipline, facilities
management, and budgets. How you dealt with them contributed to your professional growth as
a charter school principal.
But you have also noticed some things along the way that were easy to dismiss at first but have
grown louder in your mind. Some people at this point burn out; others fight through. Some find
at this level find that being a charter school principal can seem unfulfilling or confusion. Can
you tell me about these times? What issues grew louder the long you remained as a principal?
How did you overcome these issues?
Disillusionment Stage
The charter school principals uniformly reported that they have all felt a low point in
during their prinicpalship and in the work they were doing. Most of the confusion or
unfulfillment comes from the different aspects related to the role of charter school principals.
They speak about the pressure of satisfying all stakeholders and the unexpected issues that arise
such as low enrollment, lack of quality teachers, obtaining and maintaining a facility and the
number of discipline problems and the amount of time that it takes to resolve those unexpected
issues. There is also frustration that comes from the amount of hours that each of the principals
spend working or resolving these issues during the week. Many of them work several hours after
school and have difficulty finding time to spend with their families.
[Principal #1] I think that my response to that would be that throughout anyone’s tenure
in a charter leadership position when you are constantly being pushed, prodded, and
poked in many areas of your personal/professional core as it relates to all these different
items that you mentioned… So I would definitely say, there’s always that challenge and
that reality of the work. And those points where you feel incredibly low.
49
Charter School Principals

[Principal #2] Burning out of course, I really put in my time the first three years.
Working 12-15 hours a day, working on the weekends, I really put in my time and putting
money out of my own pockets. I think I paid my dues. And dues can mean different
things to different people but in my own personal experience I feel like I paid my dues
and I have credibility to what we have created here because I really have invested a lot of
time into this work.

[Principal #3] I’m trying think if this year I have ever said, I’m done. I’m sure I have but
I think I used to do it more last year um I can’t think of a time where I was going to throw
the towel in this year. And I think because the team has improved in communication.

[Princpal #4] I feel that the required energy that it takes to complete this job, if am not
doing well, and I’m still giving so much effort then you know is it right for me? Is it a
match you know? Do I have to sacrifice every single thing in order to do this.

Equally, all the principal stated that although they have felt the pressure to want to quit or
move to a different position, they overcame this feeling through their own perseverance and/or
commitment to the organization, students and/or community. They reflect back on what the
charter school organization has established as their mission and vision and remember that this
was the reason they accepted the job as a charter school principal in the first place. In addition,
two of the principals stated that they no longer feel guilty taking time off when they need it in
order to recuperate and bring a sense of balance to life and work.
[Princpal#1] Especially as a leader, as the principal, you are the leader of people, you’re
constantly in meetings with people, and they need to see what that looks like for you. So I
feel like when I have been the lowest, anytime that I have gotten into that point, just
feeling low, whatever that low means, depending on what is weighing heavy. It’s really
doing a lot of self-check in and self-assessment around my own habits of a scholar, as it
relates to those that we have identified, are important to people to not only have success
in their lives to get to their current careers but also have success in the career. And those
times have been when I am, the lowest I would have to say that I would definitely have to
tap into those professional habits of scholars would be when there is anything negatively
impacting students.

50
Charter School Principals
[Principal #2] And so with paying my dues, I don’t feel as guilty anymore for taking a
day off. Or if there is a family vacation that my family is going to go on. Having a
supervisor that support my personal needs so that I can feel better as a human being and
supporting me to go and go and come back. And like I feel like I can go and come back
and feel recharged and those are things that I need in order to fill my own personal bucket
so that I can be the best school principal that I can.

[Principal #3] I just sat there thinking I don’t feel guilty I don’t feel guilty that I took off
Thursday/ Friday to be with my son for his birthday um.. so I guess, I don’t know maybe
that makes me not the best leader make be that makes me a healthier leader maybe it
makes me not cry or quit as we had recent leaders quit.

[Principal #4] I’m very committed. I’m committed to the organization. I’m committed to
my school. I’m committed to my teachers. I did not respect it when my principal left at
the middle of the year, when my teacher left at the middle of the year. That’s not how
school works. You commit to a school year and then leave at the end of the year.

Research Question Cluster Five
When did you feel an inner sense that you had arrived as a charter school principal? What or
whom helped you get this far in your career? Reflecting on all that you have gone through, both
positive and negative, what do you have to tell others about becoming a charter school principal
and eventually feeling a mastery of this career? (If these do not mention it, then probe for what
made the difference. Probe in terms of student learning, teacher development, budget
management, student discipline, parent relations, and community relations.)
Critical Reflection and Settling in Stage (as a charter school principal)
Four out four principals stated that they did not have an inner feeling that they had
arrived as a charter school principal. All four gave the reason that due to the constant changes
that charter schools go through as an innovative system in education, they cannot have not a
mastery in this career. The trend that is established is that they feel more comfortable in the role
of principal as they grow in their experiences and feel more comfortable asking other leaders for
guidance.
[Principal #1] I never really think you have that sense and I never had that sense; nor do I
have it today. I think that, I see this work as the art of leadership and that I am a
practitioner in the work. And I see myself as somebody who is looking at it both the
51
Charter School Principals
science of it and the art of it. And that just like a master chef or master sushi chef, or a
master in music, they are constantly working on their craft and their art.
[Principal #2] I don’t think I will ever feel that way . I think there is moments and
opportunities where I could feel like a sense of what that could feel like, but this world is
always evolving, that Im always feeling that Im chasing you know 5 or 10 years ahead
because I got to me ahead for the sake of the school evolvement to be successful down
the line and what that measure of success. I don’t know, I don’t think anybody knows but
I think what I know is giving people systems in place that can support them to do the big
challenges that may arise, you know down the line.
[Principal #3] I don’t know I been thinking about that lately. Like energy levels, like how
far in how many years I would be working in this position and I just think, I don’t think
that you can ever have a mastery of the principalship because I only have these kids for
three years. And they’re always going to be changing so all the tricks in the book is going
to have to be coming again and recycling and redoing
[Principal #4] I don’t feel like I have mastered being a principal. I know I have learned a
lot and I know that I have grown in some areas but I still have a long way to go. I feel
like my superintendent is supportive and guides me, but there are many things to learn in
a charter school and sometimes it just feels like you don’t have time to learn every single
thing.

When asked what they would tell others about becoming a charter school principal, all four
principals responded differently. The responses are based on what their personal experience has
been and how, if they had followed the advice that they are giving, they would feel a sense of
mastery.
[Principal #1] I would say that the tips that I would give them is to really do their
research on the charter movement, the charter management organizations within a local
city or state that they serve. And doing a little bit of what you are doing, which is looking
at, interviewing leaders that work in a charter setting and leaders that work in a district
setting, in order to truly understand, how is the charter movement aligned to them and
their aspirations and their commitment and their core.
[Principal #2] To be a charter school principal you have to have an open heart and an
open mind. And there is going to be many days that are lonely you feel like you’re on
your own but you need to think about the profound impact that your actually going to
have in the community and that’s going to trump anything else.
52
Charter School Principals
[Principal #3] In the charter world if they see that leadership they’re going to tap into that
leadership but you should stay longer in the classroom to really get all of the strategies
and hone in on teaching. That’s what leaders really need to know how to do, and how to
evaluate um…so I think that is what I would tell myself and then I would tell people in
that pipeline to be and I would tell charter like if they were going into charter leaders,
reach out for help.
[Principal #4] I think they have to be ready for a clear communication plan. They have to
be super excited about their vision. And you want it to be pretty detailed but it needs to
be flexible in some spots as well. They need to figure out how to be warm and demanding
person on campus because….it depends are they going to be the heavy in discipline or is
someone else, are they going to wear that hat. And they need to make sure that they have
support systems in place. Somebody that they can talk to. Try to build relationships.

When responding to what or whom helped the principals get this far in your career, all
principals alluded to their personal sense of work ethic. They speak to what drives them in terms
of perseverance and grit. Also, two principals specifically stated that the people that they work
with have allowed them to grow in their career because they are strong in their own job which
lends them to have time to develop their own skills.
[Principal #1] I would definitely attribute that to people that know me, people that come
across me, always speak to my authenticity. They sometimes use other words for it but I
will just leave it as authenticity. And I think that this what has gotten me through life and
through my, just through life and as a professional just being authentically myself and
following authentically what I love.

[Principal #2] And so, who has helped me to stay focused and stay clear of my path and
stay on a clear path would be the people who I keep close to me. So like my AP who I
really trust. My office manager. Veteran teachers, I really trust them because they have
been here longer than I have so they have a good pulse for where the school community
is. And just people in my own personal life that guide me in the right course.
[Principal #3] I definitely feel like my perseverance has gotten me this far in my career.
Even though I had hard times, I just never gave up. Things have become easier as the
years pass I think that collaborating with my co-leader and superintendents has made me
more proficient.

53
Charter School Principals
[Principal #4] I think that the relationships that I have built have really affected me
continuing in this career. Sometimes I feel like I would like to try a district traditional
school because it seems easier and less tasks but I feel like there are good systems here. I
think also working with people who know how to do their own jobs well so that I can
grow has helped too. I also think that my commitment to my job has allowed me to get
this far.

Summary of Research Question Cluster One Responses
The findings confirm two major themes. First, all of the principals had a sense of making
an impact and changing the status quo in education. All had started out as teachers who felt that
there was something more that they could do in service of students and the school community.
Although two out of the four principals did not set out to become a principal as part of their
career, they all felt a strong sense of being able to make a difference in a setting such as a charter
school. The innovative framework and the purposeful small community of a charter school gives
them the landscape to give equal opportunity and access to those who might not receive it
somewhere else such as a traditional middle school.
Second, because charter school are traditionally small schools, the principals felt that the
sense of community was something that attracted them and motivated them to grow and
accomplish their goals as a principal. All of the principals appreciated the value that is placed on
getting to know the students, families, staff, and off campus stakeholders. There is a connection
to the community that goes beyond the classroom walls, that establishes the school as a beacon
of light within the neighborhood.
Summary of Research Question Cluster Two Responses
The principals all stated that they have throughout their career as principal, felt
overwhelmed or frustrated. The two major reasons that they felt like it was stressful to be a
principal of a charter school is the amount of time that discipline issues take to resolve and the
54
Charter School Principals
number of duties that their role entails, which they believe is different from a traditional school
principal.
The role of disciplinarian is reported as the task that takes the majority of the principal’s
time. So much so that one of the principals states that they wonder what the traditional principal
does in terms of building relationships with the students because she often receives them at the
charter school after they have exhausted their enrollment in the traditional district school. In
addition, they believe that in a traditional school, there are several administrators that are giving
specifics tasks and therefore only work within the limitations of what that role delineates.
The principals also state that they feel overwhelmed by the number of different hats that
they have to wear as the charter school principal. They have to split their time as much as
possible to support several areas of the operational and instructional aspects of the school. These
could include, teacher development, professional development, budget concerns, overseeing
classified and clerical staff, student relations, and parent community, and making decisions on
building maintenance.
Summary of Research Question Cluster Three Responses
Charter schools are a place where principals are able to grow as leaders through their
experimentation. As a charter school principal, part of making the school a successful one, is
having the vision to push the school to a place of excellency within the absence of red tape or
district bureaucracy. The trend that is confirmed through the responses is that all four of the
principals felt that they could experiment if they wanted to but all of them were at different
stages in their career and experimented as much as they felt comfortable doing based on their
experience and their vision of the school. They all felt that they were supported in different ways
55
Charter School Principals
to be able to experiment, but each had their own way of experimenting, their own timeline, and
their own experiences.
Summary of Research Question Cluster Four Responses
The inner sense of perseverance and the service of others is what helps the principal
overcome the sense of overcomes the principal’s feeling of overwhelming stress or confusion.
All of the principals agree that the job of a charter school principal is a difficult one and
definitely has its challenges. Four out of four principals felt that during their time as a principal,
no matter the years of experience, they have at one point or another felt like a low point in their
leadership. Surprisingly, all of the principals stated that all though they were feeling low,
unsuccessful, or confused, none of them felt like they would leave the principalship in a matter
that was unprofessional. They spoke about their sense of perseverance and fighting through the
discomfort. They spoke about their commitment the organization and the personal commitment
they had made to work in the services of others and the responsibility the fell as they have taking
the time to build solid relationships with the students, families, and the community. In addition,
another theme that came across is that at some point they feel like they have “paid their dues”
and no longer “feel guilty” about taking the time off that they need in order to recuperate.
Summary of Research Question Cluster Five Responses
Two general finds were revealed. First, all of the principals stated that they did not have a
sense of mastery and that they probably never will, due to the constant changes in the charter
school movement and the constant need to be the beacon of the community. One of the reasons
why these administrators became principals at charter schools was because of the constant
movement of the charter school system that allowed them to experiment and not have to follow
the bureaucracy that was traditionally top heavy.
56
Charter School Principals
Second, their advice to others who are thinking about becoming principals at a charter
school is similar in that the most success will come from understanding what a charter school is
and the role that the principal plays. The level of commitment that it takes to be a charter school
principal is something that has to be personally reflected as to whether their core and personal
values are a match for this type of role. In addition to researching the role, the principals suggest
that being able to reach out for help and allowing other principals to guide them and hearing their
experiences will facilitate solving many issues that occur at the charter school.

57
Charter School Principals
Chapter Five: Discussion
The information presented in Chapter 4 provides specific insights based on the
experiences of the charter school principals interviewed for this study. In this section, I will
interpret the data and offer responses to the exploratory question that guided this research.
How Charter School Principals Conceptualized Success
Charter schools, just like any traditional public school, are held accountable to provide
data to the state, district, and all stakeholders on all mandated statewide testing. This data is used
to compare schools and demonstrate if the school is achieving and serving the needs of the
students that attend the school. The data to show this type of progress is readily available. What
is more difficult to demonstrate, is describing how charter school principals conceptualize
success. This study does not focus on the idea that a school may be labeled as successful because
of the scores their students achieve. This study is focused on how charter middle schools
principals perceive themselves as leaders and if their perception is deemed as successful. Based
on the cluster of questions that were asked during the interview, all of the principals were able to
reflect on what they do as a principal, why they do what they do, and if what they do gives them
a sense of accomplishment.
When looking at years of experience that the principals have served, this researcher notes
that the years of experience do not correlate with the savviness that the principals has when
dealing with all the aspects of leading a charter school. One of the main skills needed to feel
successful as a charter school principal is being able to delegate tasks, make decisions based on
the needs of the school, and follow up on all the initiatives that are proposed by the CMO. A
leader starts to feel unsuccessful when they are not able to accomplish all of the tasks and starts
58
Charter School Principals
to notice that they are not in the classrooms as often as they should be, they are not providing
appropriate professional development to teachers, and/or are spending the majority of their time
having contact with students and managing discipline issues. In addition, all of the principal state
that the amount of time that they spend at work in general is on average 65 hours per week.
Although, spending this amount of time on work lowers their moral, all of the principals insist
that they are dedicated to the students, parents, and community. They would never consider
leaving or giving up just because of the amount of work they have to do. The more experienced
leaders have learned to take time for themselves. Where in the past they felt guilty about taking
time off because there was work still to be done, presently, they feel like they have earned their
time off and have learned that they need to be healthy both mentally and physically to continue
their work.
In addition, as part of their reflection, the principals have relied on surveys taken by the
students, parents, and other stakeholders to help them come to conclusions about their success.
They all feel strongly about the difference that they are making at the school. They all believe
that their core values have brought them to become a charter school leader. If they are able to
keep true to their core values and continue to hold the mission and vision of the CMO, they see
themselves as successful leaders of their charter school.
Factors Challenging the Job of Charter School Principals
Depending on the leaders’ sense of expertise, the factors challenging the job of the
charter school principal varies. All four principals were able to identify what they perceived were
their strengths as a leader. These strengths ranged from developing teachers, to managing the
operations of the school, to building strong relationships with the school community. But the one
thing that they all did have in common is the amount of time that they spend on student/parent
59
Charter School Principals
contact and discipline. Again, the CMO does provide professional development in refers to anti-
bullying and social emotional education, but this type of professional development is not relevant
to the time that it takes the leader to ensure the student, parent, and the school community that
the school is safe. There becomes added pressure and difficulty when the leader cannot afford to
lose any enrollment due to the dissatisfaction of the parent of the student that is involved in the
discipline issue or the dissatisfaction of other parents because they felt that the principal did not
do enough to discipline the student in question. Tittering this balance is a true struggle because
the reality is that there are so many schools of choice in the surrounding neighborhoods that it
feels like a principal’s hands are tied when trying to make the correct choice for the school.
In addition, another factor that makes a charter school principal’s job challenging is the
fact that the school is indeed a small school. All of the principal enjoy creating relationships
with the student, teachers, and staff; that is one reason why they chose to become a charter
school principal. At the same time, that closeness that was created, allows the parent, teacher,
and/or student to feel that they can approach the principal at any time to discuss a matter that is
important to them. To keep the relationship alive, most of the principals do not how to redirect,
especially when it is a parent, in a way that does not seem like the principal is not approachable.
Many times parents or students will stay in the office until the principal sees them. Again, on its
own this, this situation may be a bit stressful; but for a charter school leader the fact that this
parent might take their child out of the school because they feel dissatisfied with the principals
actions, is ever present in back of the leader’s mind.
Lastly, another factor that challenges the job of a charter school principal is the lack of
additional personnel to delegate other tasks. In the questionnaire given to each of the four
principals, they were asked to provide the percentage of time spent on different items. The items
60
Charter School Principals
included, 1) budget, administration, and maintenance, 2) district reports and state and district
policy implementation, 3) instruction and curriculum issues/ monitoring teachers and learning, 4)
marketing of the school, 5) external community relations, 6) parent relations, student contact and
discipline, and 7) program planning/ evaluation. It has already been established that all of the
principals spend most of their time handling student discipline. What I would like to emphasize
here, is the fact that there are seven different daunting tasks that one person must split their time
on and try to manage. The charter school leaders perceive that in a traditional public school,
there are several administrators (vice/assistant principals, instructional leaders, coaches, dean of
students, etc…) available to manage one or two of the tasks. In this scenario, the administrator
only has to split their time on the amount of issues within that scope of work. In contrast, a
charter school principal may have one other administrator, such as an assistant principal or
instructional leader, who may take one task off their hands; but even if that were the case, the
principal will still feel obligated to oversee that the task was done in fulfillment of the principal’s
vision. As in one principal states, “Well it’s difficult like with a budget because we haven’t had
the enrollment; but I do feel like they are better with line items because they have a bigger staff.
As far as facilities at a traditional, that would be assigned. To me, like in operations, it would be
assigned to the assistant principal, and here (charter school) I feel like it’s all me” (from
interview Principal #4). Again, the charter school leader understands that this is the nature of a
small school setting and therefore although it is challenging and may at times feel burned out,
they are fully committed to the school community and find their own ways to manage and
continue the work that needs to be done.

61
Charter School Principals
Development of Charter School Principals
Out of the four principals interviewed, only one principal holds a valid clear
administrative credential. This is worth mentioning because it highlights two things. One, in
order to become a charter school principal, the applicant does not need to have an administrative
credential. This is not the case when applying for a traditional public school administrator
position. Two, not having an administrative credential supports that fact that charter school
leaders are more likely not to have any training in school administration and are inexperienced in
managing and delegating all the tasks that a school leader must do. As stated in their interview,
three out of the four principals did not seek out to be charter school principals. They were led
into the role of principal and/or administrator by supervisors or their former principal who
observed them as having leadership qualities and potential. Most of their skills were learned
through their observation of other leaders or by making mistakes and learning from those
mistakes.
The CMO does provide professional development to first year leaders. That professional
development consists of a weeklong institute that mostly trains the leader to understand the
mission and vision of the CMO and provides tools for strategic instructional planning.
Theoretically, if the leader were inly responsible for the instructional framework of the school,
the institute may serve as a helpful resource. The CMO provides other professional development
on a weekly basis but this professional development is seen mostly as an update or reminder
session that does not support the really needs of the leaders. When asked about the how they
manage the different tasks, (budget, teacher management, student discipline, facilities
maintenance, parental relationship, community, relationship, etc.), none of the principals were
able to say how they are supported by the CMO. Most of the responses to this section come from
62
Charter School Principals
the Survival Career Stage and the Experimentation Stage cluster of questions. In the Survival
Stage, the principals described how they rely on their gut feeling or common sense to guide them
through the different hats that they wear. They understand that because the school is a small
charter that by default, there is not a lot of money available to have a team of support or the
appropriate professional development. Even when asked what would be the appropriate
development, they were not able to provide a specific answer. The could only recommend to be
able to spend more time with their colleagues or to create a forum where they can talk with each
other about situations that have come for them and what others would do in those situations.
In the Experimentation Stage, the principals expressed that for the same tasks as listed
above; they would just do what they needed to do what and what seemed natural to them or what
they saw as in the best interest of the school and students. One principal told a story about how
she purchased books to build a library without really consulting the budget. She explained that it
was something that the students really needed in terms of supporting how they would in increase
their reading level. Another principal described how she tried to bring cultural relevance to the
school but felt she had failed when the staff took offense when she asked them to reflect on their
own social class identity and racial identity. She admits that she went out on a limb and did
experiment because she thought this would be the best way to look at cultural competence and
cultural relevance in the school and bring something to the school that she felt was lacking in
terms of supporting and being very conscious of the community that they serve.
In essence, charter school leaders do not know what to ask for when asked specifically
what type of professional development would be beneficial to them as a charter school leader.
They are too overwhelmed with all the different areas of management and leadership that come
with the role of principal at a charter school that they are unable to pinpoint what they need other
63
Charter School Principals
than time to talk to others about their experiences and gain knowledge from those leaders that are
more veteran.
Factors Influencing the Success of Charter School Principals
Using the cluster of questions that refers to the Critical Reflection and Settling in Stage,
the principals express what factors have influenced their success as charter school leaders. When
asked if they felt an inner sense that they had arrived as a charter school principal, none of the
leaders answered yes. The common theme among theme was that there are too many tasks that
are constantly moving for them to feel a sense of expertise. They see their leadership as a craft
that is forever developing and adjusting to the innovative nature of a charter school. They are
proud of the work they have done. They are pleased with the opportunity of being able to work
with the scope of students that they want to work with; they feel fortunate that they are able to
give back to their community, and that they are able to create opportunities that are lacking in
that community, and still keep true to their core values or how they identify themselves as a
human being. One principal said, “I have to admit that hearing how much the traditional school
principals make seems pretty appealing, and there’s also people retired and hardly ever have any
accountability, but that’s not who I am and that’s not who I chose to identify myself leaving out
of college. I don’t think I would ever feel comfortable in that space” (from interview Principal
#2).
The principals were also asked what they would tell others about becoming a charter
school principal. This, I believe are the factors that they personally have created that give them
the sense of success or they feel like if they had known these factors coming into the
principalship, they would have been able to lead better. Each principal gave a piece of advice
that is explored in this section.
64
Charter School Principals
Principal #1 stated that a potential leader that is interested in becoming a charter school
principal should do research on the charter school movement and the charter management
organization. She states that it is essential that the charter school leader is able to align their
personal core values to the mission, vision, and goals of the CMO. She recommends “going to
the organization that interests them and interviewing principals, teachers, and other staff to get a
clear picture of the organization and to sit with the data related to their research to truly
understand if this type of setting, movement, speed, and high accountability environment is the
right fit” (from interview Principal #1).
Principal #2 believes that in order to be successful as a charter school principal, “one has
to have an open heart and an open mind, and think about the profound impact that you are
actually going to have on the community” (from interview Principal #2). This also taps into the
intrinsic motivation of becoming a charter school leader as mentioned with Principal #1. Their
commitment to the organization and their belief that they can make difference is what truly
drives their passion. In particular, this principal also mentions that there are days that are difficult
but he his always able to reflect on the fact that giving back to the community, supersedes
anything else. Again, the sense of success comes from an intrinsic sense of accomplishment that
satisfies their own core values.
The third principal, states that finding time to collaborate with other leaders and reach out
for help to them, helps her feel successful. In an organization that has 13 schools like the CMO
that was mentioned in this study, many leaders can share their experience in the form of a
learning opportunity. Unfortunately, this principal feels that due to the insecurity of many of the
leaders, who also are inexperienced, this rarely happens. When it does happen, there is a sense of
relief that someone else is also experiencing the dame difficulties that she is. She advises that
65
Charter School Principals
more transparency among leaders and allotting time for sharing can help leaders develop
resources that they can use as the same frustrations come up for them. Again, there is a lot of
emotion and intrinsic value in the answer. The principal clearly states what is needed to help the
leader feel successful but at the same time, feels like a safe place must be created in order for
leaders not to feel criticized or judged. She states, “ So for all the charter school leaders like….be
vulnerable in sharing but know who you are sharing with because other people may judge or
critique and other people are really listening because they really need help too” (from interview
Principal #3).
Lastly, Principal #4 believes that the factors influencing her success is “to be ready with a
clear and detailed communication plan and to be excited about their vision for the school (from
interview Principal #4). Out of all the four leaders, this leader is more pragmatic about what it
takes to be a charter school leader. Coincidently, she is the only leader that hold a clear
administrative credential. She expresses that leaders must choose who they are going to be on
campus. They need to figure out how to be warm and demanding on campus because they will
wear many hats and need to be very flexible. She does admit that she does not have a detailed
plan and is not able to be flexible because she is the only leader on her campus. In answer the
same question, she also mentions that anyone considering become a charter school leader needs
to make sure that they have a support system in place. To find someone that they can talk to and
build a strong relationship. This last advice somewhat parallels what Principal #3 suggests, but I
also believe that she her comment reflects having someone to turn to away from the school in
order to refocus and refresh.
It is difficult to say what the factors are that influence the success of charter school
principals, since the principals themselves do not really express success in a tangible manner.
66
Charter School Principals
They admit that the job of a charter school principal is challenging but in their experiences, they
have found different ways that intrinsically motivate them to continue their work as principals
and offer those ways to upcoming principals of charter schools.
Epilogue: Reflections on my Research
I wanted to reflect on my research. Not only did I interview charter school principals but
also I used the same interview instrument to interview myself. While more research is needed to
confirm my notions of what charter school principal’s face, including myself, and what must be
done to stream the success of charter school principals, I wanted to speculate a little beyond what
was presented in my study.
I have been a charter school administrator for the last seven years. Before, becoming a
charter school principal, I was a high school teacher in a traditional pubic school. In addition,
before becoming a charter school principal, I had already received a Master’s in School
Administration and I only needed to confirm a job as an administrator in order to move forward
with my credential. I thought that the research and training that I had done while working on my
administrative credential would be enough to become an administrator anywhere, especially with
what I observed my principal did at the school where I taught. I was certainly surprised to find
out that there are far many more challenges in becoming a charter school principal versus what it
is to become a traditional public school principal. My own experiences parallels what all of the
principals interviewed stated. There are simply too many tasks to be administered by one
principal.
Professional development is a strategy that can be helpful to charter school principals but
it would have to focus on broad stroke items such as time management, delegation and student
67
Charter School Principals
discipline. Currently, working in the same organization as the principals in this study, I am
familiar with the type of professional development that is given. In my opinion, it heavily
focuses on how to strengthen the academic framework of the school and how to implement
strategies that can work for teachers in the classroom. It is obvious that this is the main objective
for the success of our students, but I think that the upper management does not truly realize how
difficult it is to implement an academic framework and still be responsible for all the other tasks
that are managed at the same time.
I would like to see how the administration organizational chart could change to better
support the principal. For example, is there a way that there could be a shared administrator who
is charged with managing all the facilities. I do feel like it has to be a former charter school
principal or administrator who should take on this shared administrator role. The reason for this
is that only a charter school principal truly understands what one should consider when working
at a charter school. It is my perception that because traditional schools and districts are so big
that any facilitator coming to the campus may not know the impact that small things such as
moving a trash can, can cause on a small campus. On a small campus, such as in a charter
school, everything is so intimate that any changes really do matter. Only an administrator that
understands these small details will be of help to a principal; otherwise, it will just be another
item that the principal will have to manage.
When reflecting on what motivated me to become a charter school principal, I would
have to agree that the prospect of working with students who were at a disadvantage was and
continues to be appealing to me. I think that most of our charter school leaders at one point in
their own education had someone who helped them navigate the system and gave them the tools
to become successful. Because we are so grateful and because we can see what is happening to
68
Charter School Principals
the students of color or low socio-economic status, this feels like the right place to be and give
back to them that, which was given to us. Therefore, although it is difficult to feel like you are a
successful principal, knowing that you are directly making a difference in these students’ lives
and making an impact in the community that we serve, hits pretty close to our core values and
that motivates us to continue the hard work. All of us, I one point have played with the idea of
leaving the charter school world but once we are giving an opportunity, to reflect, refresh, and
refocus, we come to the conclusion that this is where we belong.
Lastly, I would like to reflect the questions that explore the feeling whether the
administrator has arrived as a charter school principal. As mentioned in this epilogue, I have
been a principal for the last seven years and I still feel like I have not arrived as a charter school
principal. I do believe that I have grown as a leader and I have had many experiences that will
help me make better decisions in the future, but in no way do I see myself as an expert. Upon
reflecting, I agree with the four principals in this study when they state that the charter school
needs and wants are constantly moving. One feels like they constantly have to change policies
and/or rules to combat the next thing that is coming up. For example, Principal #3 mentioned that
she feels like she can never catch up with the students. Whenever she starts to feel like she has a
handle on their academic and social needs, all of a sudden, a new thing comes into play and now
she has to figure out what to do with that. Discipline issues, as mentioned several times in this
study, always stands out as the most challenging task to manage. When dissecting all the changes
that happen, discipline issues and how they are handled have restrictions, not only from within
the charter management organization, but also from the outside district. In this case, the district
has created a rubric that limits the number of students that are to be suspended and/or expelled.
Because the charter schools do not want to be flagged as a school that is suspending or expelling
69
Charter School Principals
students, many strategies in social emotion learning and restorative justice are implemented. This
in itself is stressful because sometimes it is difficult for the school community to understand why
a student continues to be enrolled at the school after committing many disciplinary infractions.
As you can see from the examples, it is reasonable to expect that a charter school leader
may never have the sense that they have arrived. They will feel like they have grown and that
they have learned a lot through their experiences, but I don’t think that a charter school leader
who really lives what it is to be a charter school principal will ever have that sense.
The point of this study was to identify the skills that a charter school principal would
need in order to be successful. In identifying the needed skills, one could better understand what
professional development can be given to charter school principals, that is different from
traditional school principals, to better prepare them for their job, with the hope of making some
recommendations to be implemented by Charter Management Organizations. This research was
able to provide the differences in tasks done by traditional school principals and charter school
principals. This is important because it gives an understanding of what charter school leaders
need to know that unfortunately are not covered in a traditional administration programs.
However, after analyzing the principal interviews and reflecting on my own practice as a charter
school principal, it is difficult to give a concrete recommendation for professional development. I
was able to explore different recommendation from the leaders, which they feel would contribute
to finding success as a charter school leader.
My recommendation to any leaders who is interested in becoming a charter school
principal is to prepare for the multiple roles that they would have to manage at the school site.
Although one may feel like they can handle it, it really does take a lot of investigation into the
charter school principal role to understand what it could be like. Because a charter school is its
70
Charter School Principals
own school district, the principal would be in charge of everything a school district does for its
schools. The most prepared charter school principal would be one who understands and manage
school finance and is able to make reasonable budgetary decisions that affect the whole school.
They would also be able to understand and manage facilities and operations of a school. This is
important because they will have to make decisions regarding the maintenance of the building,
purchase supplies for the building, and consider any construction that has to be done to ensure all
facilities policies are in compliance. In addition, the potential charter school leader would need to
be knowledgeable in the academic framework of the school. This would include providing
professional development that trains teachers to move students’ academic growth and provide
coaching to teachers when needed. Also, they would have to administer teacher evaluations that
provides pertinent and beneficial feedback to the teacher so that he/she can grow as a teacher.
Lastly, at the middle school level, discipline issues are an everyday occurrence. the prepared
charter school leaders must be ready to be a liaison between the school and the families of the
community. They would be in charge of student discipline and parent contact. Although there
may be a quasi-administrator that could assist with student discipline, in my experience, parents
want to speak directly with a principal, especially in such a small school. In order to ensure a
satisfactory result, the principal must be prepared to do a lot of investigation to support all the
students and the families involved. These issues can take up many days to resolve.
While the above description of the charter school principal role may be daunting, the
principals interviewed in this study, including myself, would continue as charter school
principals. The main reason for this is the same across all participants, though voiced in different
ways. Although the salary nor the benefits are comparable to what a district pays, charter school
principals are more interested in the exchange of doing all this work for a meaningful and
71
Charter School Principals
fulfilling career. All of the principals speak to making a difference in students and in the
community. In a setting such as a charter school, they are able to make that impact directly and
are satisfied in knowing that they have helped a community that is in need.
There is still much research and investigation that needs to be done to truly understand
how a charter school leader can systematically and intrinsically develop and manage all aspects
of a charter school and feel successful. The dichotomy exists that the feeling of success comes
from knowing that charter school principals can directly affect student learning and the
community yet not feel like they have success because of all the stress related to the different
roles a charter school principal has to manage.

72
Charter School Principals
References
2013-14 California New Charter Schools Fact Sheet. (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.calcharters.org
Budde, R. (1996). The evolution of the charter concept. Phi Delta Kappan, 78, 72-73.
Campbell, C., & Gross, B. (2008, September). Working without a Safety Net; How charter
school leaders can best survive on the high wire. .
Campbell, C., Gross, B., & Lake, R. (2008, September 8). The High-Wire Job of Charter School
Leadership. Education Week, 28(03), 6-8. Retrieved from www.edweek.org
Campbell, C., & Grubb, B. J. (2008). Closing the Skill Gap: New Optiond for Charter School
Leadership Development [Educational Standards]. Retrieved from National Charter
School Research Project: www.ncsrp.org
Charter School Enrollmet. (April 2016). Retrieved from
nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgb.asp
Curry, C. (2013). Charter School Leadership. Lanham, Md.
Deal, T. E., & Hentschke, G. C. (2004). Adventures of Charter School Creators: Leading from
the Ground Up. Lanham, MD: ScarecrowEducation.
EdSource, Inc. (2004). Charter Schools in California: An Experiment Coming of Age. Retrieved
from www.edsource.org
Farrell, C., Wohlstetter, P., & Smith, J. (2012). Charter Management Organizations: An
Emerging Approach to Scaling Up What Works. Educational Policy, 26(4), 499-532.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0895904811417587
73
Charter School Principals
Gill, B., Timpane, P. M., Ross, K. E., Brewer, D. J., & Booker, K. (2007). Rhetoric versus
Reality: What we know and What We Need to Know about Vouchers and Charter
Schools. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Griffen, N. C., & Wohlstetter, P. (2001, April). Building a Plane While Flying it: Early Lessons
from Developing Charter Schools. Teachers College Record, 103, 336 - 365.
Gross, B. (2011). Inside Charter Schools: Unlocking Doors to Student Success. Retrieved from
National Charter School Research Project: www.ncsrp.org
Gross, B. (2011). Inside Charter Schools: Unlocking Doors to Student Success. Retrieved from
National Charter School Research Project: www.ncsrp.org
Hart, G. K., & Burr, S. (1996, September). The Story of California’s Charter School Legislation.
Phi Delta Kappa International, 78(1), 37-40.
http://larrycuban.wordpress.com. (2010). http://larrycuban.wordpress.com
Kolderie, T. (1993, October). Charter schools: The states begin to withdraw the exclusive. Public
Services Redesign Project, 1-10. Retrieved from www.educationevolving.org
Kolderie, T. (2005). Ray Budde and the origins of the “Charter Concept” [Policy Brief].
Retrieved from Education Evolving: www.educationevolving.org
Kolderie, T. (2008). How the idea of ’chartering’ came about. Retrieved from
www.educationevolving.org
Krop, C. (2003). Charter School Finances and Facilities. In (Ed.), Charter School Operations
and Performance. Evidence from California. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Merriam, S. B. (2002). Introduction to Qualitative Research (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
MN Association of Charter Schools. (n.d.). www.mncharterschools.org
74
Charter School Principals
National Alliance for Charter Schools. (2013). A Growing Movement: America’s Largest
Charter School Communities (8th Annual Edition). Retrieved from National Alliance for
Public Charter Schools: www.publiccharters.org
Pack, E. (2008). Principals’ Perceptions on Opening a New Alliance Charter School: The
Foundations for a Training Program (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from
www.proquest.com
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualatative Research and Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications. Inc.
Portin, B., Schneider, P., DeArmond, M., & Gundlach, L. (2003). Making Sense of Leading
Schools: A National Study of Principalship. : The Wallace Foundation.
S CLoder Look at the Charter School Movement. (February 2016). Retrieved from
www.edreform.com/issues/choice-charter-schools
Schroeder, J. (). Ripples of Innovation: Charter Schooling in Minnesota, the Nation’s First
Charter School State [Policy Brief]. Retrieved from:
http://www.dlc.org/documents/MN_Charters_0504.pdf
Zimmer, R., Buddin, R., Chau, D., Gill, B., Guarino, C., Hamilton, L., Brewer, D. (2003).
Charter School Operations and Performance. Evidence from California. Santa Monica,
Ca: RAND.

75
Charter School Principals
Appendix A: Research Questions and Interview Cluster Questions

Research Question Cluster Research Questions the Cluster Answered
Research Question Cluster 1
Initial Career Stage (idealistic, pride, etc.)

Let’s look back just before you became a
charter school principal. What motivate you
to become a charter school principal? What
did you image were the roles of a charter
school principal? What did you feel you
could accomplish as a charter school
principal? What kind of growth did you
experience?

What factors motivated these principals to
become charter school principals and to
what degree have these reasons for the job
change been realized?

Research Question Cluster 2
Survival Career Stage (feeling like
threading water)

Being a charter school principal can at times
be stressful and at times be overwhelming.
Looking back on your career, did there come
a time when you felt stressed and, perhaps,
overwhelmed? If so what are some of the
conditions you faced at these times? What
did you do? What was unexpected? (Here
you should probe for the obstacles that charter
school principals face that public school
principals do not. Hence, if they don’t
mention them, remind them.)
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?
Research Question Cluster 3
Experimentation Stage

Though you have experimented in the past,
when did you get to that stage in your career
as a charter school principal that you felt you
could experiment? Did you experiment? If
so, on what? How did it work out? (Here, if
not mentioned, you can probe for different
topics, e.g., budget, teacher management,
student discipline, facilities maintenance,
parental relationship, community
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
76
Charter School Principals
relationaship, etc.) managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?
Research Question Cluster 4
Disillusionment Stage

Over the years, you’ve learned so much as a
charter school principal. You come to better
understand people, teaching, cultures,
communities, technology, student discipline,
facilities management, and budgets. How you
dealt with them contributed to your
professional growth as a charter school
principal.

But you have also noticed some things along
the way that were easy to dismiss at first but
have grown louder in your mind. Some
people at this point burn out; others fight
through. Some find at this level find that
being a charter school principal can seem
unfulfilling or confusion. Can you tell me
about these times? What issues grew louder
the long you remained as a principal? How
did you overcome these issues?

How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?

In order to accomplish the leadership roles
and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have
these charter school principals created at their
schools?
Research Question Cluster 5
Critical Reflection and Settling in Stage (as
a charter school principal)

When did you feel an inner sense that you had
arrived as a charter school principal? What or
whom helped you get this far in your career?
Reflecting on all that you have gone through,
both positive and negative, what do you have
to tell others about becoming a charter school
principal and eventually feeling a mastery of
this career? (If these do not mention it, then
probe for what made the difference. Probe in
terms of student learning, teacher
development, budget management, student
discipline, parent relations, and community
relations.)
How do these principals perceive their job
satisfaction level as charter school principals
as compared with their job satisfaction at their
previous job?

How do these charter school principals
compare their leadership roles with the
leadership roles they experienced in their
former jobs?

How do these charter school principals
compare their managerial role with the
managerial role they experienced in their
previous jobs?

What role tasks do charter school principals
spend time on as compared with their
77
Charter School Principals
previous school experiences. How would
charter school principals prefer to spend their
time?

In order to accomplish the leadership roles
and the increased managerial roles of a
principal, what structures and supports have
these charter school principals created at their
schools?

What additional qualities, skills, and training
do these charter school principals perceive as
necessary for future charter school principals?

78
Charter School Principals
Appendix B: Background Questionnaire
Charter School Principal Questionnaire

Background
Ethnicity/Race: _____________________________________________________
Age: ______________________ Gender:  Female  Male
Highest Degree Earned
 Bachelor’s  Master’s  Doctorate
Credentials Held: _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Total Number of Years in Education:
Public school teacher: _____________
Private school teacher: ____________
Charter school teacher: ____________
Public school vice principal: _________
Private school vice principal: _________
Charter school vice principal: _________
Public school principal: _________
Private school principal: _________
Charter school principal: _________
Other positions: (title and years in position): ______________________________
Hours you currently work in a typical week: _____________________________

General Leadership Questions
In defining your role as a charter school leader, please rate the importance of the following
factors.
Developing professional development for staff.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
79
Charter School Principals
Observing and evaluating teachers and other staff.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
Hiring teachers and other staff.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
Managing the budget.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important

Building relationships with the community.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
Planning for future needs and growth.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
Managing facilities.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
80
Charter School Principals
Dealing with parent issues.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
Maintaining school safety and discipline.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
Reporting compliance with state and federal programs.
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
Ensuring the school curriculum and instruction us aligned with state assessments
 Not important
 Somewhat important
 Important
 Very important
To what extent does each of the following make it difficult to do your job?
Time
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

Financial Resources
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

81
Charter School Principals
Quality of teachers
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

Lack of budgetary authority
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

Student Discipline
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

Lack of community support
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely
Paperwork
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

Job stress
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

Burnout
 Somewhat
 Moderately
 Very much
 Extremely

82
Charter School Principals
Within a work week, what percentage of your time is spent on the following items:
Budget, administration, maintenance
__________% of your time

District business. Reports, policy implementation – state and district.
__________% of your time

Instruction and curriculum issues/ monitoring teachers and learning
__________% of your time

Marketing of school
__________% of your time

External community relations
__________% of your time
Parent relations
__________% of your time

Student contact/ discipline
__________% of your time

Program planning/ evaluation
__________% of your time

Other: __________________________
__________% of your time

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study uses an interview protocol made up of a cluster of questions that refer to five different stages of a charter school principal. This interview protocol is used to explore the skills and leadership qualities that charter school principals have in order to analyze the difference between charter school principals and traditional public school principals. These interviews reveal the knowledge of charter school principals and how they have adapted to the different roles that they must perform. The interviews also reveal whether the charter school principals feels prepared to run a charter school and how they perceive themselves as successful. ❧ Though these principals’ education, credentials held, and years in service varied, all of them stated that they still have difficulty in managing the several roles that a charter school principal must navigate. They perceive that traditional public school principal are able to manage their role better because there are several administrators within their school that can focus on one of the several roles at the school site. ❧ All of the principals state that the difficulty in the role has led them to question whether or not this is the right position for them. In analyzing the data, the theme that comes across uniformly is that they are committed to the charter school and charter management organization because they believe in the schools mission and vision. They accepted this role and continue in the work because this is where they feel they can make the most impact to students and the community. That is something that speaks to their personal passion and core values.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Best practices charter school CEOs are implementing to recruit and retain teachers

PDF

"Creaming" students in the charter school admission process: a case study of admission practices in charter schools

PDF

The secondary school principal's role as instructional leader in teacher professional development

PDF

The factors present in an outperforming charter middle school: a case study focusing on promising practices, school leadership, and cultural norms

PDF

Principals' perceptions of their ability, as school leaders, to apply learning from district-provided professional development

PDF

Creating transformational learning opportunities for teachers: how leadership affects adult learning on a school campus

PDF

A case study of promising leadership practices employed by principals of Knowledge Is Power Program Los Angeles (KIPP LA) charter school to improve student achievement

PDF

Grinding harder than a molcajete: a qualitative study of Latina charter school principals

PDF

A comparative analysis of teacher evaluation systems utilized by public and charter schools in Southern California

PDF

Understanding measures of school success: a study of a Wisconsin charter school

PDF

The relationship between ethnicity, self-efficacy, and beliefs about diversity to instructional and transformational leadership practices of urban school principals

PDF

The decreasing offerings of arts education: a cause for concern being addressed by 27 California high schools

PDF

A case study of the roles of principals in dual language immersion programs

PDF

Building leadership capacity to support principal succession

PDF

Undocumented students' personal reflections on the role institutional agents play in providing social capital towards post-secondary education

PDF

Promising practices: building the next generation of effective school principals

PDF

Role of a principal supervisor in fostering principal development to support instructional improvement and a positive school climate

PDF

Representation matters: the ways in which African American faculty support African American students in higher education

PDF

Growing leaders in charter schools

PDF

Staff members’ transfer of social capital to first-generation, low-income Latino/a students of Mexican descent

Asset Metadata

Creator Villagómez, Nancy Ortega (author)

Core Title Charter school leadership

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 09/27/2017

Defense Date 09/27/2017

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag charter school,charter school leadership,charter school principals,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Baca, Reynaldo (committee chair)

Creator Email n.villagomez@pucschools.org,nvillago@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-438621

Unique identifier UC11265617

Identifier etd-Villagomez-5788.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-438621 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Villagomez-5788.pdf

Dmrecord 438621

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Villagómez, Nancy Ortega

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA