Rooted in Rural: ECU Principal Fellows transforms leadership in eastern NC
At the heart of the East Carolina University Principal Fellows Program is a homegrown leadership approach.
“We have a service-learning model that’s nationally accredited,” said Dr. Hal Holloman, professor and director of the ECU Principal Fellows Program. “I think the state’s vision and our vision is identifying how we can transform — truly transform — the school culture, and not put a band-aid on it. … What we want to do is identify the transformational leaders who can really have an impact.”
Program fellows are leaders directly nominated from their respective school districts who are ready for the next step in their educational leadership journey.
“We know in rural districts in eastern North Carolina that these schools can’t afford to lose these top-tier leaders within their buildings, and so our model says that you don’t have to lose them at all,” said Selina Riley-Gurganus, ECU Principal Fellows program coordinator and regional leadership coach. “They stay in the work, in their districts, and keep prepping for being a district leader who already knows the culture and the dynamic of the demographic of that district.”
Growing Pipeline
The original North Carolina Principal Fellows Program was created in 1993 as a scholarship program to help exemplary educators become school administrators. In 2016, the Transforming Principal Preparation Program was launched as a competitive state grant that universities would apply for. East Carolina University created the Pirate Leadership Academy in 2020 to train and support over 140 highly qualified leaders by spring 2028.
Since the majority of the ECU Principal Fellows come from rural areas, the program has adapted itself to meet the unique needs of rural districts. Many of the leaders in the program grew up in the areas they currently teach in, which can lead to imposter syndrome.
“I think there’s this rural insecurity of ‘I’m not from a big city and I haven’t had experiences like someone from a big city’,” said Holloman. “We’re helping these rural school leaders overcome and work through that imposter syndrome. … We have to take that outstanding practice and the things you’ve done to engage parents and care for students — and not just care for them but encourage them to work hard, study and learn — take those experiences and replicate that as an assistant principal or principal.”
Vitality Coaching
The program has seen many innovations and enhancements since its inception, including the addition of a vitality coaching model. The program employs four leadership coaches to serve eastern North Carolina in the 37 partnership districts.
“We walk alongside the principal fellows in their first year, their residency year, and in their second year, when they’re in the true internship year, we help them think through any challenges they may be having or the newness of the role, and also help them to understand the power and reflection and celebrating the small wins,” said Riley-Gurganus.
One of the main topics in vitality coaching centers on burnout and how they need to see the signs of burnout and how to handle it. The coaches check in weekly with the fellows as well as visiting them in their residency school.
“Our approach is not cookie cutter,” said Riley-Gurganus. “We don’t go in each time with the same set of questions. We go in knowing what that particular principal fellow is going through because of these weekly updates. … Our coaching model is very personalized so that our principal fellows know they can lead with high care and high expectations all at the same time.”
This coaching has helped fellows persevere through life’s adversities as they work to complete the program.
“I attribute that to the support they’re getting from the districts and the wraparound supports they’re getting from us, from the professors, that we are here for you,” said Riley-Gurganus. “Dr. Holloman says this all the time, ‘If you ever feel like you’re between a rock and a hard place, please remember we’re not going to be the rock and we’re not going to be the hard place.’”
Servant Leaders
One of the traits that has come across in all of the Principal Fellows is they are all service-minded and imbue that in their leadership style.
“The accolades they already have in the education field is just phenomenal,” said Claudia Wall, ECU Principal Fellows program coordinator. “They come to us and say, ‘I can’t believe my superintendent thinks this of me.’ So even though they have all of these accolades, they’re still so humble and it shows their passion about what they’re doing.”
Fellows have a unique experience compared to other principal preparation programs. Instead of taking a theoretical approach to their courses and hypothesizing about how certain actions could impact a school, they are able to speak from experience since they are currently embedded in leadership roles in their districts.
“They have a service leadership project tied to all the standards for the principal evaluation tool,” Wall said. “They are doing the work so that when they graduate and they go to interview, they’re not saying ‘If I was a principal, this is what I would do.’ It’s this is what I have done on my journey to becoming a school administrator.”
This has paid off for many of the fellows who have graduated. Of the members of the 2024 graduating class, four started their first years as principals this fall after spending one year as an assistant principal.
“There are programs across the state that are looking at that and saying that’s too fast. How in the world can you have someone who started the program in 2022 and become a principal in 2025,” Holloman said. “But our model is, we’re attracting people who are proven teacher leaders. These folks have already served. They chaired school improvement teams. They chaired the departments at the high school. … They are seen as local experts and it takes maybe a year in our program of residency and internship, and all the wraparound services Selina is talking about to help them get to that point.”
Alumni Perspective
Just under 80 fellows have graduated from ECU’s Principal Fellows Program since it’s newest iteration in the fall of 2020. Jessica Prayer ’22, an Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools elementary school principal, and Kristal Brooks ’22, a Gates County Public Schools elementary school principal, were members of the first cohort, which graduated in spring 2022.
“The Principal Fellows program is truly an investment in the community that creates opportunities for educators to get a Master in School Administration,” Prayer said. “The financial support allows for candidates to focus on academics while still serving their communities.”
Brooks noted that the layers of support were invaluable as she completed the program.
“I went through two tragic, life-changing situations while in the program and almost quit,” she said. “I was encouraged to continue by the staff and the other fellows.”
John Walls ’24, a Brunswick County Schools middle school principal, added that the program truly prepared you for the realities of being a principal in eastern North Carolina.
“The program doesn’t just theorize what you do as an administrator,” he said. “It gives you ‘boots on the ground’ knowledge and experiences, coupled with intentional, targeted support to help you grow as an administrator, leader and person.”
Nichole Hathaway ’24, a Lenoir County Schools elementary school principal, agreed.
“The very first thing we did is an hour-long scenario simulation where we are given 20+ emails to answers, a meeting with a parent and a meeting with a disgruntled teacher,” she said. “This was a very accurate depiction of the day-to-day we experience as principals, but it was huge in how it was the catalyst for all that we learned. We learned how to do all the things necessary as a principal, but keep people front and center in all we do in this role.”
The fact that this program can influence the next generation of school leaders was a point that all the alumni agreed on.
“I have the privilege of working with a fellow who graduated two years after me and one that is currently in the program,” Brooks said. “These ladies are doing an amazing job in their current roles. The program has prepared us and given us confidence because we have graduated from an amazing program.”