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Lubbock ISD outlines leadership pipeline to create bench of ready principals and teacher leaders
Summary
District leaders described a multi-part initiative to define leadership competencies, forecast principal vacancies, run a high-potential assistant principal cohort, pilot teacher-leader 50/50 roles and expand campus leadership partnerships.
Lubbock ISD staff presented a multi-pronged leadership development pipeline intended to produce two ready leaders for every principal vacancy.
The initiative starts with a district leadership definition and competency framework created through focus groups of principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches and central-office staff. The district surveyed staff about the definition and found improving clarity: principals’ understanding rose from the mid‑60s to the mid‑80s on a 0–100 scale after roll-out of the framework.
Staff described four linked projects: a vacancy-planning cycle and readiness assessment completed by principals for assistant principals; a high-potential cohort for assistant principals (project work, triad coaching, cohort sessions and a capstone presentation to cabinet); structured teacher‑leader roles that split a position 50/50 between classroom teaching and instructional leadership (to be piloted at six campuses); and campus leadership partnerships (CLP) that place teams in a year-long problem-of-practice program.
JC Underwood, identified in the meeting as principal at Smith Elementary, said the campus’s CLP participation has “helped me as a leader” and pushed the school to dig into math instruction for fourth- and fifth-grade students who were not meeting growth measures. JC described coach support (one-on-one, twice monthly) and action cycles that include teacher coaching and data reviews.
Staff said the district will run a second cohort of high-potential assistant principals starting this summer and will begin an aspiring-assistant-principal cohort in the fall. The teacher-leader pilot will be funded by existing Title allocations at each campus; principals will determine the number and focus areas per campus and applications will open at the end of the month.
Why it matters: district leaders linked principal stability and on-deck leadership to teacher retention and classroom outcomes, arguing that intentionally developing leaders reduces vacancy disruption.
Ending: Staff will return with survey and focus-group results in May and recommended expanding cohorts and CLP participation in subsequent years.
