Constant staffing issues in Ontario’s schools are making the roles of principal and vice-principal less attractive, with more bogged down with administrative minutiae than focused on leadership, a major professional association says.
Peter LeBlanc, a retired principal who worked in three different schools for the Upper Grand District School Board in Guelph, Ont., says he often hears from colleagues struggling to fill administrative positions.
“I know that there are principals who, if they have the opportunity, are leaving the role,” said LeBlanc.
Despite being retired, he adds, he was recently asked if he wanted to interview for a job with a school board that had only received five applicants for eight available positions.