A growing body of evidence indicates that powerful, charismatic principals are a major factor in the success of a school. Despite the power of teachers’ unions, experiments that give principals more latitude to hire and fire are becoming more popular.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed a bill that would give principals more power to hire teachers they deem qualified, rather than having to accept teachers who have applied for a transfer:

Currently, principals must give teachers seeking a transfer first priority for any open positions, even if they are not performing well.

“Right now we have what we call the dance of the lemons,” Schwarzenegger said at a bill signing ceremony at a Pasadena high school. “Teachers who are failing our students, or getting into trouble in one school, can voluntarily move to another school, and there the school principal has to accept them, even knowing that they’re not good teachers.”

The bill gives principals power to “say no to those teachers and only hire the best candidates,” the Republican governor said.

SB1655 was opposed by the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, two traditional Democratic allies. link

Baltimore Talent Development High School, an experimental school working with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Social Organization of Schools, seems to illustrate this trend well.

TDHS does not have any eye-catching special programs or exorbitant funding. The curriculum is standard, but the expectations are high in this 400-student high school. The principal exercises careful control over the teachers he hires, and takes pains to ensure a positive, orderly environment. And it’s working – the school has almost no dropouts, and attendance rates over 90% – unheard of for an urban school that serves low-income students.

For all its promise, the powerful-principal model has one major limitation: it takes the right person, and if that person leaves, the school’s success may leave as well. However, if the practices and cultural norms the principal introduces are institutionalized and internalized by all staff members, perhaps a long-term turnaround can be effected in a short time.

What are the pros and cons of giving principals more power? Speak up in the comments.