This Trump Budget Cut Stands to Reduce Young Learners’ Odds of Escaping Poverty

Abbie Lieberman and Laura Bornfreund explain how cuts to education in President Trump's budget could negatively affect school-principal quality in the Hechinger Report:

Among the $9 billion in cuts to education spending requested by the Trump administration last week is the elimination of a $2.4 billion funding stream that supports educator quality and professional learning across the country.

Without these dollars, states and districts would lose valuable opportunities to improve the quality of a frequently overlooked section of the workforce: elementary school principals. After teachers, principals have the next-largest impact on student learning.

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Last year our team at New America released reports based on a series of focus groups we conducted with elementary school principals to explore their views about and experiences with early grade students, teachers, and classrooms. The focus groups revealed that many principals enter their role with a limited understanding of child development and unfamiliar with what instruction should look like for young learners.