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Responding to the leadership issue...
Having returned from Leadership: An Evolving Vision at Harvard this summer
I can say that the problem of the Principalship is not one restricted to
Jewish schools. Most public school districts and many private schools can
not find people to be their Principals. Basically, you can name the
district in NY State and there are openings. The crisis is in Parochial
Schools as well. The Principal of a prestigious Catholic High School in
Boca Raton was just fired for political reasons. Major Jewish Day Schools
will lack Principals this year. Is this a crisis? Yes. Is it going to get
worse? Again yes.
Rumor has it that upwards of a dozen Jewish schools could not find Principals
this year. What is going to be the case in five years?
Dr. Steve Fain spoke at the Torah Messorah convention last year and called
on Day School Principals to form a union and get organized. Unless, as he
said, going from school to school and from state to state collecting state
flags appeals to you, something drastic has to be done about the state of
the Principalship today.
Is there a financial concern - yes.
Is there a prestige concern - yes.
Is there an accountability concern - yes.
Since this is about leadership, I say to you that unless we as Jewish school
leaders do something about this situation, we will have no one to complain to
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