Principal Mobility in Philadelphia Traditional and Charter Public Schools - 2007-08 through 2015-16

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Effective principals raise student achievement, strengthen teacher talent, and sustain school organization. In Philadelphia, principal mobility—moving to another school or leaving the principalship—falls more heavily on districts serving more low-income students and can undermine student outcomes. This report examines principal mobility in Philadelphia’s traditional public schools and charter schools from 2007-08 to 2015-16 using individual-level principal data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Suggested Citation

Summary

Definition of principal mobility

Key findings

Erratum and update note

Principal Mobility in Philadelphia Traditional and Charter Public Schools, 2007-08 through 2015-16 MATTHEW P. STEINBERG HAISHENG YANG Philadelphia Education Research Consortium [www.phledresearch.org](www.phledresearch.org) January 2019 Acknowledgements The authors are grateful for the feedback on drafts provided by Ruth Curran Neild, Kate Shaw, and Kathryn Carter at the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium/Research for Action. This work was made possible through the support of the William Penn Foundation. The foundation did not exercise editorial control over this report, and its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation. How this report was produced This report is the result of an ongoing collaboration between the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium and Dr. Matthew Steinberg, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. About PERC The mission of the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium is to provide timely, actionable, rigorous, and non-partisan research on the most pressing issues facing Philadelphia public education. To do this, PERC seeks to engage the region’s colleges and universities, nonprofits, and the Philadelphia public education sector in respectful, mutually beneficial research-practice partnerships. By providing Philadelphia’s leaders and citizenry with high-quality information about progress, challenges, and effective strategies in education, PERC aims to increase education opportunities and achievement for all Philadelphia students. PERC is based at Research for Action, a nonprofit education research organization in Philadelphia. Erratum This version of the report has been updated to correct a typographical error. Table 2 now correctly indicates that 50 percent of principals who left for a principalship in another Pennsylvania school district were White. Suggested Citation Steinberg, M., & Yang, H. (2019). Principal mobility in Philadelphia traditional and charter public schools, 2007-08 through 2015-16 . Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium. Principal Mobility in Philadelphia Traditional and Charter Public Schools, 2007-08 through 2015-16 Matthew P. Steinberg and Haisheng Yang • January 2019 Summary Effective principals improve student achievement, develop and retain teacher talent, and manage the organization and mission of schools. Since principals become more effective over time, attracting and retaining excellent principals is a high priority for all school districts. But public school districts in large cities like Philadelphia are especially challenged to provide every school with an effective school leader. Principal mobility—that is, transferring from one school to another or leaving the principalship entirely—is disproportionately concentrated in school districts serving more low-income students and has negative consequences for student performance. For these reasons, it is critical for policymakers and school leaders in Philadelphia to have a clear picture of the extent and nature of principal mobility. This report provides evidence on principal mobility among traditional public schools (TPS) in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and charter public schools located in Philadelphia during the 2007-08 through 2015-16 school years. The study uses individual-level data on all principals in traditional and charter schools provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. We describe the characteristics of principals in Philadelphia, the extent of principal mobility, and the characteristics of mobile principals and the schools that they exit. For this report, principal mobility is defined as occurring when a traditional or charter school principal does not return to the same school the following year. By this definition, a mobile principal is one who moved to another school in Philadelphia (either a traditional or charter school), moved to a Pennsylva

FAQs

How does the report define principal mobility?

It occurs when a traditional or charter school principal does not return to the same school the following year. A mobile principal may move within Philadelphia, move outside Philadelphia within Pennsylvania, exit the principalship, or leave public education in Pennsylvania.

What does the report say about differences between traditional and charter schools?

Principal mobility is greater in charter schools than traditional public schools. Across the study period, the rate is 35 percent for charter schools versus 24 percent for traditional public schools.

What are the main characteristics of principals and trends over time?

Traditional public school principals are, on average, older, have more education experience, are more likely to be a racial minority, and earn higher salaries than charter principals. Experience in Pennsylvania public education declines over time for both sectors.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel