This report examines how five California CORE member districts built principal pipelines to develop effective school leaders. The study, a collaborative effort between CORE-PACE and university researchers, aims to describe the policies, procedures, and practices that make up participating districts’ efforts to establish and maintain principal pipelines and understand the role of principal pipelines in attaining key objectives, including diversifying school leadership, retaining excellent school leaders, and improving student outcomes.

Collaborative networks using continuous improvement principles can accelerate and spread learning. This brief highlights the importance of understanding the benefits of collaboration, building a culture of trust and vulnerability, and engaging in true collaborative work, not just "show and tell." These lessons can help network members work together effectively to improve outcomes for students in changing conditions.

Continuous improvement in education involves engaging stakeholders in problem-solving to discover, implement, and spread evidence-based changes that work locally to improve student success. California sees it as central to enduring education transformation. It requires an initial significant investment in time and money to make it a reality, but can improve education quality. However, California's data systems are inadequate for helping districts monitor progress, and more training and coaching are needed to build expertise for statewide implementation.