Gwinnett Schools Receive Millions to Fund Principal Excellence

New York-based The Wallace Foundation announced today that Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) is one of six districts in the nation selected to participate in an initiative to develop effective principals and to receive a five-year grant.

Each participating school district — Charlotte-Mecklenburg in North Carolina; Denver; Gwinnett County Schools; Hillsborough County in Florida; New York City; and Prince George's County in Maryland — will receive $7.5 million to $12.5 million over the course of the grant to develop, hire and support new school principals.

The grants will make up two-thirds of the expected financial contribution, and the districts are to contribute one-third. GCPS expects to receive $3.9 million in the first year, according to district officials.

"Not just anyone can be a successful principal today," said GCPS CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks. "The demands of the job are great and require exceptional expertise. To be effective, a principal must have knowledge, skills, and talent that cannot be acquired in college courses alone, and cannot be mastered without opportunities to learn from outstanding leaders in the profession."

Gwinnett County's participation will allow the district to extend its Quality-Plus Leader Academy Aspiring Principal Program, which began in 2006. Since its inception, the program has graduated more than 100 educators, with about 70 in place as principals and at the central office in the school district. This year, 22 educators, including Michael DiFilippo of and Gina Towler of are participating in the district's program.

The same principals important to Gwinnett County's program are also key to The Wallace Foundation initiative. The foundation has identified four key areas that it believes can develop and ensure the success of a principals to meet district needs: rigorous job requirements, high-quality training, selective hiring, and on-the-job evaluation and support.

"For the past decade, Wallace and its partners have helped identify objectively what it takes to shape a principal who can improve teaching and learning, especially in troubled city schools," said Will Miller, president of The Wallace Foundation. "We have now selected exemplary urban districts that are well on their way to putting in place the training and support necessary to have enough effective principals for all of their schools.

"The crucial question these grants and the associated research will explore is: can building a stronger principal pipeline improve teaching quality and student achievement district-wide?"