In this webinar, hosted by the National Governors Association, Dr. Anna Shepherd-Jones presented the Alabama Principal Leadership Development System (APLDS), a program designed to improve principal effectiveness and student outcomes. Dr. Shepherd-Jones grounded her presentation in the significant role school leadership plays in education: effective school leaders shape student achievement and growth, school climate, the quality of teaching and learning, and the ability to attract and retain strong teachers. APLDS was established under Alabama’s School Principal Leadership and Mentoring Act, signed into law in 2023. The Act created the Alabama Principal Leadership Development System for public K-12 education, along with a mentoring program for new principals, a continuing professional learning program for principals and assistant principals, and annual stipends for those who satisfactorily complete the system’s requirements. The system brings together six core components: updated standards for school administrators, a research-based principal leadership framework aligned with those standards, high-quality professional learning, a mentoring program for new principals, an evaluation system for school administrators, and a year-long leadership academy.
The program aims to increase the effectiveness of school administrators to improve academic outcomes for all students, with success measured through principal retention, school climate, and academic achievement and growth. Shepherd-Jones shared practical insights from implementation, including the value of communicating early and often through memos, conferences, recordings, emails, and a dedicated website; remaining available when help is needed; connecting the work to current initiatives; leveraging partnerships; keeping superintendents informed; and preparing clear communication, implementation, and program evaluation plans. Together, these initiatives illustrate how a structured approach to principal development is designed to strengthen school leadership and improve outcomes for students across Alabama.
Resources
- The Alabama State Department of Education: Alabama Principal Leadership Development System
- The Wallace Foundation: The Principal Effect: How Investing in School Leaders Is Key to Solving Today’s Major K-12 Challenges
- The Wallace Foundation: How Principals Affect Students and Schools A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research
- The Wallace Foundation: What We Know About School Leadership
