Sustaining School Leadership Through Principal Retention: A Longitudinal Descriptive Study of Maryland’s Promising Principals’ Academy
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Authors
AMSTUTZ, RACHEL VIRGINIA
Issue Date
2025-12
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Educational Leadership & Learning Lifelong , Workforce Development Needs & Industry Alignment , Leadership , Retention , Principal
Alternative Title
Abstract
Principal turnover and the lack of sustained school leadership remain national concerns, with nearly one in five principals leaving their schools each year. Sustained leadership is critical to student achievement, teacher development and retention, and school improvement; however, limited research has explored participation in a job-embedded professional learning and administrators’ longevity. Grounded in Lave and Wenger’s communities of practice theory, this longitudinal descriptive study examined retention among administrators who completed a cohort-based professional learning academy. A near-census sample of 249 academy completers across five cohorts (2014–2022) was analyzed using archival statewide staffing data. Retention in Maryland school-based administrative roles was documented at 3-, 5-, 8-, and 10-year intervals. At the 10-year interval, Cohort 1 retained approximately 39% of participants in Maryland schools—substantially higher than national mover-plus-stayer benchmarks of about ~22%, representing a 77% higher retention rate and indicating participants were 1.8 times more likely to continue serving in school-based leadership roles. Framed as a departure risk, principals nationally face an estimated 78% likelihood of leaving school-based leadership roles within 10 years, whereas the MDPPA Cohort 1 departure rate was 61%, reflecting a meaningful reduction in long-term attrition risk. Together, these findings suggest that structured professional learning models that build collegial networks may contribute to stronger long-term leadership continuity. Findings support continued investment in structured, mentoring-based professional development as a strategy to stabilize the school leadership pipeline. Implications include the need for policy and practice enhancements that strengthen leadership development systems, expand access to mentoring and coaching for principals, and sustaining leaders through collegial networks of practice. Recommendations for future research include longitudinal analyses examining the impact of professional learning on principal effectiveness and school outcomes.