Faculty members for the College of Education are fighting to solve Iowa’s shortage of administrators in the K-12 school systems by bringing education to the teachers.

Iowa has a shortage of principals, superintendents and other administrators for a variety of reasons.

“It’s partly because of retirement,” said Harold Smith, temporary assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies. “There are a large number of people retiring in the area of administration. This is happening everywhere, but Iowa especially is being hit hard.”

A lack of people willing to fill the retiree’s shoes has compounded the problem, said Don Hackmann, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies.

“Even though we have a lot of people who have their licenses, we find that they are not becoming administrators,” he said. “This is due to several reasons – the hours are long, and there is a lot of pressure and responsibility that goes along with the job. We want to take it beyond just administration. We want to teach people to make sure that the students really learn.”

Iowa State has worked since 1998 to solve these problems.

ISU faculty members are traveling to different areas of the state, from Elkader to Creston, to deliver the Principal Preparation Program to local teachers who want to take that extra step to further their degrees, Smith said.

This program is a full 36-hour course, similar to what one would find on the college campus, that trains teachers to get their master’s degree in administration, Hackmann said.

While the majority of the teaching is done with the faculty going out into the communities, some of it is done via the Iowa Communication Network.

“We advocate face-to-face communication and teaching methods, as opposed to just a talking head,” Hackmann said.

Faculty members decided the best way to get teachers in these classes was to take the classes to them, he said.

“We try to deliver it in a convenient format. Most of these people work full time and have family commitments as well,” Hackmann said. “We try to build around their schedule while maintaining high expectations for learning.”

Smith said the program has been successful so far.

“In Mason City, there are about 20 to 25 students in the class,” he said.

As long as the funds, students and demand for administrators exist, the College of Education plans to continue this program, Smith said.

“The professors are committed to it,” he said. “We’ve got to have leaders prepared to lead our schools.”