Sixty new South Carolina principals will attend the 21st annual School Leadership Executive Summer Institute for Principals July 16 to 20 at Coastal Carolina University.

The program allows first-year principals (hired before July 1) to develop leadership and presentation skills. The state of South Carolina requires newly-appointed principals to attend the summer institute to prepare for their new jobs.

Each new principal is given the opportunity to bond and learn from experienced principals and experts in the administration field who serve as mentors during the program. Follow-up sessions throughout the year supplement lessons from the summer program and also help first-year principals adjust to their new positions and share their experiences.

At the five-day academy hosted by Coastal's Spadoni College of Education, state and local experts conduct each seminar on topics such as school governance, accountability, finance, professional development, and ethical administration.

Thirty-one school districts across South Carolina are represented, including Aiken, Anderson 4, Barnwell 4, Berkeley, Chester, Clarendon 1 and 2, Dorchester 2, Edgefield and Edgefield 1, Edgewood, Florence 2 and 4, Fort Mill 4, Greenwood 50, Horry, Lee, Lexington 2 and 4, Lexington-Richland 5, Marlboro, Oconee, Pickens, Richland 2, Rock Hill 3, Spartanburg 1, 4, 5 and 7, Sumter 17, Union, Williamsburg and York 1.

The Principal Induction Program is sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Education's Office of Professional Development.