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A growing number of principal-preparation initiatives are forsaking university classrooms in favor of much more familiar training grounds: the schools and districts where those aspiring leaders will end up working.

Through coaching and mentorship initiatives, residencies and internships, and other new programs, both districts and university education schools are turning their focus to building practical readiness, in context, and offering continued learning and support for principals already on the job.

Traditional principal-training programs 鈥渉aven鈥檛 been as connected to the realities of the profession as they need to be,鈥� said Dick Flanary, the deputy executive director of programs and services for the National Association of Secondary School Principals, based in Alexandria, Va. 鈥淯niversities talk about preparation, and school districts talk about readiness.鈥�

Leadership-training programs in Philadelphia; Chicago; Prince George鈥檚 County, Md.; Gwinnett County, Ga.; Denver; New York City; and elsewhere all aim to give aspiring principals鈥攁nd in some cases, even struggling midcareer principals鈥攃ontext-specific advice and support from experienced educators. And, in a similar vein, districts in Sarasota County, Fla., in New York state鈥檚 middle Hudson Valley region, and elsewhere have created homegrown leadership academies and career tracks to supplement university-based principal-certification programs with hands-on experience, mentoring programs, and training in district-specific information and initiatives.

Filling the Gap

鈥淗omegrown programs often set out to fill a gap鈥� in the training provided by traditional principal-certification programs, said Cheryl L. King, the director of leadership for learning innovation at the Education Development Center, a Waltham, Mass.-based nonprofit organization that evaluates and designs education programs and provides self-assessments for university and district leadership programs.

In the 41,000-student Sarasota County district, educators created a leadership academy and mentorship program for leaders.

鈥淚n our experience, developing our own leaders has helped our district maintain its focus on long-term goals,鈥� said Lori White, the superintendent of schools. "[Academy graduates] are familiar with our culture and have an understanding of our vision.鈥�

Since 2006, 15 of the 25 new principals in the district and 31 of 43 assistant principals have graduated from the leadership academy. The school鈥檚 leaders credit that leadership flow with the district鈥檚 top-level A ranking from the state.

That kind of support also appeals to aspiring leaders. David Jones, the principal at the district鈥檚 North Port High School, said he chose to move to Sarasota County after seeing a presentation on the school system鈥檚 leadership program.

But such programs are often dependent on a district鈥檚 budget situation, said the NASSP鈥檚 Mr. Flanary. 鈥淚n today鈥檚 economic times, with budget cuts and scarce and diminishing resources, it鈥檚 a commitment on the part of a district to create an academy,鈥� he said. In some districts, he said, those commitments are not possible. Even Sarasota County has had to put its principal academy on hiatus for a year because of budget pressures. And Mr. Jones said he鈥檚 seen how the lack of the program has had an impact. One of his assistant principals, he said, 鈥渨ho has phenomenal talent and ability, needs the opportunity to participate in something like that so he can move his career forward.鈥�

The district agrees: It is planning to bring the leadership academy back in the coming spring.

Sustaining the Effort

In New York鈥檚 Hudson Valley, the , based in New Paltz, managed to continue a principal-training initiative that focused on district-specific content and initiatives even after initial grant funding dropped off.

鈥淭he overall value of the program is significant enough that it鈥檚 no longer in question,鈥� said Jane Bullowa, the assistant superintendent for instructional services at the Ulster BOCES. But the program鈥檚 been unable to build a network with neighboring leadership programs or forge a partnership with the State University of New York at New Paltz, as the creators of the initiative had intended, Ms. Bullowa said.

Elsewhere, districts are increasingly collaborating with universities to provide more coaching and longer-term internships and residencies for aspiring principals. A from the New York City-based Wallace Foundation found that districts could improve the quality of principals by acting as 鈥渃onsumers,鈥� encouraging local universities to craft programs that met their needs. (The Wallace Foundation also supports coverage of educational leadership in Education Week.)

The Education Development Center鈥檚 Ms. King said such training is helpful 鈥減articularly in chronically low-performing schools, where context matters so much. Leaders are given an induction into what the experience is like, and how it differs from different contexts.鈥�

The , for instance, which is focused on preparing principals to improve low-performing urban schools, puts students in full-time residencies in schools similar to those where they are likely to end up working.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 believe the best place to train future leaders of Chicago schools was in high-income suburban schools or selective-enrollment schools,鈥� said Steven Tozer, a professor of education policy studies at the university and the coordinator of its urban education leadership program. 鈥淭he right place to develop capacity was in the most-challenging schools.鈥�

Working 鈥楬and in Hand鈥�

Rituparna 鈥淩ita鈥� Raichoudhuri, a resident principal at Wells High School in Chicago and a member of the program鈥檚 tenth cohort, said her residency had been helpful.

鈥淭he biggest learning here has been really learning the day-to-day operations of the school, different things that happen in a day with students and parents,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 work hand in hand with the principal. I鈥檓 doing everything he鈥檚 doing; I鈥檓 in every meeting he鈥檚 in.鈥�

Her mentor principal had been in an earlier cohort in the same program.

The University of Illinois at Chicago鈥檚 program is one of four programs that are part of the Chicago public schools鈥� , through which the district is trying to bring in more principals with internship or residency experiences and whose education has been tied to a set of 鈥減rincipal competencies鈥� outlined by the district.

At Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., the college of education began focusing on coordinating its program with the nearby Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., school system, and now does the same for a number of smaller districts in South Carolina, said Mark W. Mitchell, the program director for education leadership at the university.

鈥淭he things you teach are more relevant when you can sit down and talk with your students about what鈥檚 actually happening in their district,鈥� said Mr. Mitchell, who was a principal before he came to Winthrop. 鈥淲e have to become much more cognizant of how important it is for us to stay current with what鈥檚 happening in the public schools.鈥�

The collaboration with the 141,000-student Charlotte-Mecklenburg system, which now receives funding from the Wallace Foundation, was begun in 2004, when Mr. Mitchell and another former school administrator arrived at the university and set a goal of building a relationship between the district and the university.

Tying universities鈥� programs more tightly to districts also has the benefit of allowing districts and programs to track their effectiveness, said Ms. King of the Education Development Center.

The Chicago program has produced 83 principals in the city鈥檚 public schools so far. Mr. Tozer said that schools headed by graduates of the program are more than twice as likely to close achievement gaps between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

鈥淲e鈥檝e known for 35 years that a really good principal could transform student learning outcomes in a very bad school鈥攂ut we have acted as if such principals were born and not made,鈥� said Paul Zavitkovsky, a former principal who now coaches aspiring leaders through the Chicago program.

鈥淲e have to create the organizational structures,鈥� he said, 鈥渢o take advantage of principals who have succeeded to help pass on to the next generation what they鈥檝e learned.鈥�