Gaps in the Journey to Becoming a Principal

While the role of the principal remains essential, it has evolved over time. Throughout it's evolvement, preparation programs, districts and state policy makers have worked in siloes, creating gaps between the skills learned in an ed leadership program and what a principal actually does at their job. In this episode we learn what the research says about what the the gaps between "learning" and "doing" are and how to address them. Then we hear about how those findings are seen and implemented through the eyes of one of the University Principal Preparation Initiative's Project Directors, Tim Drake. Tim Drake is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy at NC State University. He completed his Ph.D. in education policy studies at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Drake has an M.Ed. in international education policy and management from Vanderbilt and a B.A. in history teaching from Brigham Young University. Dr. Drake studies the policies and practices that influence the effectiveness of school leaders. Specifically, he works at the intersection of research, policy, and practice to inform the ways in which school leaders are trained and supported. His current research projects include educator data use, leadership preparation and development, early grades/pre-K leadership, and turnaround school leadership. Dr. Drake is Principal Investigator of the Wallace Foundation’s University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) for NC State.