‘Kids’ in Charge and Doing Fine

School districts looking for principals at a time of national shortage should take a lesson from a most unlikely source--the Compton Unified School District. It’s there that a cadre of young educators is running schools with a stubborn intensity and zero tolerance for excuses.

The so-called “kid principals,” described recently in The Times by staff writer Joe Mathews, came aboard during state control of the troubled district. They were recruited by Randolph E. Ward, the state-appointed administrator. He sought out smart and idealistic young leaders and offered them extraordinary responsibilities that would have taken them years to assume in other districts. That strategy could pay off for a long time as the high-energy leaders, now in their late 20s and early 30s, gain greater experience.

Hiring inexperienced principals solved another problem for a district known for financial struggles, political chaos and poor pay. Older and more experienced principals were not rushing to take schools surrounded by those problems, especially as the state increased its expectations of students. The young principals were willing to take the risk.

Decades younger than some of the teachers on their faculties and the parents of many of their students, these principals face special challenges on top of multiple problems in one of the state’s lowest-performing school districts. But the Compton district is making progress. Test scores are rising. Facilities are improving, and some of the young principals deserve part of the credit.

Running a school is often a thankless task, especially in crowded, urban school districts. Principals are expected not only to raise test scores and make budget but also to deal with mundane matters like seeing that the restrooms are cleaned. The job requires major sacrifices. Working 60 to 80 hours per week is not uncommon for principals, according to a national survey released last year by the nonprofit Education Research Service, and the pay is nothing to brag about.

The “kid principals” aren’t in it for the money. With their educational backgrounds, they had plenty of higher-paying choices. They are choosing to make a difference.