Superior Educational Standards in Ontario, Canada

Brian, my model is Ontario, Canada. When I studied, worked there you had to have a minimum of five years in the classroom before you could apply to take the principal's course. You also had to be a classroom teacher in your subject field before you could apply to take the advanced training to become a department chair. And you had to serve as a department chair before you could apply to be a principal.  I completed the department chair training in social studies; I never served as a chair. Yes, as the old West Point saying goes, "To give an order, you must first learn how to take an order." This applies to education too.