The job of a school principal is demanding and can often feel lonely. Many feel burned out, especially when working in schools where students face unique challenges.
To combat this isolation and boost stability, Ed Forward DC partnered with School Leader Lab and Teach For America to create the DC Principal Professional Learning Community (PLC). This professional development program unites principals from both DC Public Schools and public charter schools together so they can learn from and support one another.
“A lot of professional development focuses on a single principal presenting a problem and then other cohort members help them problem-solve,” said Ryan Tauriainen, Executive Director of Teach For America, DC and Virginia. “That’s all well and good but ultimately one person is developed and the rest of the group is just trying to help them.”
The PLC distinguishes itself by focusing on “examples of excellence” rather than “problems of practice.” Each cohort participates in five carefully curated school visits that highlight specific strengths, allowing visiting principals to observe successful strategies in action.
“It’s very hard for school leaders to get out of their school buildings,” said Akosua Kelley, a Partner at School Leader Lab. “Part of the burnout they experience — and I am a former principal — is you spend so much time in your own building that you don’t see what else is possible.”
Principal O’Kiyyah Lyons of Powell Elementary School has been in her role for over a decade. In that time, the school has changed. She joined the PLC because there’s always more to be done in support of students. In her eleven years at Powell, the school has changed. With a gentrifying community and shrinking population of Black students, she wanted to ensure that “Black families feel welcome, see themselves reflected, and have a space of support.”
“While I did not go to a school that was focusing on that exact same problem, what I did see were examples of very strong student engagement and culture building that’s transferable,” said Lyons. She adapted concepts from Garfield Elementary School’s culture “playbook” after seeing it on a PLC school tour. Lyons was pleased that they’ve not only maintained student feelings of belonging, but have seen a slight increase according to well-being data.
The PLC’s impact stretches far beyond shared best practices, fundamentally influencing leadership stability. Among recent participants, approximately 90% of participating principals have remained principals — higher than the 83% retention rate published by the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
Lyons still keeps in contact with other leaders from her cohort, has recommended the PLC to several colleagues, and is even serving as a mentor to a first-year principal.
As for the idea of the principalship being “lonely,” Lyons disagrees. “The PLC affirmed my belief that it is not. It’s about creating the conditions for principals. You bring these leaders together and it affirms the work that you’re doing. You know that the work is hard….but you have so many bright spots that affirm: ‘Oh, I can do this!'”
