Building the Next Generation of Philadelphia’s Leaders

Abstract

The key to the future success of education reform in Philadelphia, as well as to the overall growth and vibrancy of the city as a whole, is our ability to retain and develop talent within our bounds. While there have been strong and successful attempts to keep talent by small pockets of the education community, we would argue that these efforts must be deepened and broadened in order to truly achieve the widespread impact that we all know must occur.

The charge of developing and retaining educational leadership is especially challenging given the characteristics and qualities of young professionals entering the teaching profession and education reform world today. Research on this generation (i.e., generation Y/millennials) indicates that, as a result of cultural changes, such as needing more education to survive in an information-based economy combined with fewer entry-level jobs even after years of college and graduate school, the twenties may be evolving into a new distinct life stage, referred to as “emerging adulthood” (Hennig 2010).During emerging adulthood, twenty-somethings are waiting longer to make long-term commitments, both personal and professional. This is evidenced by the very slim likelihood that the current generation of young professionals will remain in the same job or field for the entirety, or even for large portions, of their careers. These sociological factors magnify the importance of retention and leadership development efforts in all fields, and especially in ours.

Given how hard we know that teaching and educational leadership are, we must also ensure that the individuals we recruit, and then retain, are of extremely high quality. Whereas only 23 percent of our current teaching force graduated in the top third of their undergraduate class (McKinsey 2010), programs such as Teach For America and Teaching Fellows now attract top students into the field. If we are attracting these individuals, who will undoubtedly have many career options, we must be strategic and thoughtful about how we engage them in long-term careers in education reform.