Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein announced today that the Department of Education (DOE ) will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a comprehensive Principal Training Program in a continued effort to attract, develop, and retain the best school leaders.  The RFP will include programs that recruit and develop new principals as well as provide comprehensive coaching and training services for existing Department of Education principals.  The contract for these services will begin on July 1, 2008.

"We believe in the importance of strong school leadership, and because we're willing to try new methods to help leaders develop, we used private dollars to create the Leadership Academy to focus entirely on creating and building great principals," said Mayor Bloomberg. "So now that the results are in and we know the program works, it is time to apply to bring the best methods of training to all of New York City's school leaders."

Several of the functions being put out for contract are currently carried out by the New York City Leadership Academy, a nonprofit organization that has been privately funded since 2002.  The Leadership Academy's Board of Directors initially agreed to fund the Leadership Academy for three years. The Department of Education committed to publicly fund the Leadership Academy's model of principal development if it proved successful. The Leadership Academy's Board of Directors later extended funding for an additional two years, making the 2007-08 school year the last year the organization will be privately funded.  Analysis conducted by DOE's Office of Accountability shows that students in schools led by graduates of the Leadership Academy's Aspiring Principals Program (APP) make more academic progress than students at comparable schools led by principals who did not attend APP.

"Strong school leadership is essential to student success," said Chancellor Klein. "I congratulate the Leadership Academy for developing a system of principal training that so clearly benefits students. Through this request, we hope to expand the methods we developed with the Leadership Academy into a model for recruiting and developing all of our principals. "

Student gains at 46 schools led for at least three years by APP graduates are larger than gains at comparable schools led by non-APP principals with similar experience. Elementary and middle schools led for at least three years by APP graduates improved their performance on the State's English Language Arts exam at almost twice the rate of students at comparable schools with similarly experienced principals. Math gains were statistically even. High schools led for at least three years by APP graduates posted better gains in student credit accumulation between the 2006 and 2007 school years than comparable schools led by similarly experienced non-APP principals.

Vendors applying for the leadership training contract will also apply to provide coaching for principals. Proposals are due May 7, 2008.