When the Minneapolis Public Schools first set out to hire turnaround school principals, administrators followed their usual process--which focused largely on reputation and anecdotal support and considered mainly internal candidates. Yet success at the complicated task of turning around the fortunes of a failing school depends on exceptionally…

The risks are high when it comes to hiring a new principal. A principal is accountable for the safety, well-being and achievement of all the children in a school, as well as for representing the school to the community. With increasing demands on building administrators, the hiring of principals certainly may be considered high stakes. For several…