CULTIVATING EXCEPTIONAL PRINCIPALS
A Guide for Principal Supervisors to Hire , Develop , and Retain School Leaders
LISA M. REDDEL
JASMINE K. KULLAR
BRUCE FRASER
CULTIVATING EXCEPTIONAL PRINCIPALS
A Guide for Principal Supervisors to Hire , Develop , and Retain School Leaders
JASMINE K. KULLAR
BRUCE FRASER
LISA M. REDDEL
Copyright © 2026 by Solution Tree Press
Materials appearing here are copyrighted. With one exception, all rights are reserved. Readers may reproduce only those pages marked “Reproducible.” Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher. This book, in whole or in part, may not be included in a large language model, used to train AI, or uploaded into any AI system.
555 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404
800.733.6786 (toll free) / 812.336.7700
FAX: 812.336.7790
email: info@SolutionTree.com SolutionTree.com
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership to download the free reproducibles in this book.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Control Number: 2025005308
ISBN: 978-1-960574-64-0 (paperback)
Solution Tree
Cameron L. Rains, CEO
Edmund M. Ackerman, President
Solution Tree Press
Publisher: Kendra Slayton
Associate Publisher: Todd Brakke
Acquisitions Director: Hilary Goff
Editorial Director: Laurel Hecker
Art Director: Rian Anderson
Managing Editor: Sarah Ludwig
Copy Chief: Jessi Finn
Developmental Editor: Gabriella Jones-Monserrate
Production Editor: Tonya Maddox Cupp
Copy Editor: Anne Marie Watkins
Proofreader: Jessica Starr
Text and Cover Designer: Fabiana Cochran
Content Development Specialist: Amy Rubenstein
Associate Editor: Elijah Oates
Editorial Assistant: Madison Chartier
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers:
John D. Ewald
Educational Consultant
Frederick, Maryland
Doug Gee
Superintendent Clear Lake Community School District Clear Lake, Iowa
Demetra Mylonas
Educational Researcher
Headwater Learning Foundation Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Denise Wilcox
Superintendent Beach Park District 3 Beach Park, Illinois
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership to download the free reproducibles in this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jasmine K. Kullar, EdD, is a chief school leadership officer overseeing over one hundred schools in a large metropolitan school district in Georgia. She is also a faculty member in the College of Professional Studies Educational Leadership Department at a postsecondary institution outside of Atlanta, where she has been involved with the national University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) in redesigning university educational leadership programs.
She is a lifelong learner, with her latest certificate from Harvard University in leading school systems at the national level. She earned a doctoral degree from Argosy University in Georgia, a master’s degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a teaching certificate from Medaille College in New York, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto.
Bruce Fraser, EdD, is an assistant superintendent with the Cobb County School District in Georgia. He has been in education for over twenty-five years, serving as teacher, principal at the elementary and middle school levels, and director of Human Resources. He has worked in a variety of schools and communities and with varied stakeholder groups.
Fraser served as a board member with the Principals Center at Georgia State University, a member of Georgia Aquarium’s educational advisory board, and a member of international accreditation teams with Cognia. He works as an adjunct professor with the University of West Georgia. While serving as principal, his schools were recognized by the Georgia Department of Education as Schools of Excellence. While serving as principal at a middle school, the school was recognized by the Georgia Association for Middle Level Education (formerly Georgia Middle School Association) for exemplifying the traits necessary to serve the middle level learner effectively.
Fraser earned two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Ottawa and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Fort Kent. He completed a master’s degree in educational administration at the University of Southern Mississippi, an educational specialist degree in leadership at the University of West Georgia, and a doctorate in leadership at the American College of Education.
2
Lisa M. Reddel is executive principal of school improvement in a large metropolitan school district in northern Virginia. She has over three decades of experience in schools and districts as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, district director, executive principal, and educational consultant.
Reddel has served as an elementary school principal in three schools in Virginia and Colorado. She was nominated for the Outstanding Principal Award several years in a row. Reddel has also worked in central offices supporting preK–12 administrators in both states and has been a practitioner of and advocate for successful PLCs since 2000 after attending several workshops with Becky and Rick DuFour.
Reddel has experience working in schools with diverse populations and is committed to providing all students with the access and opportunities they need for academic success. She has a proven track record of raising student achievement, closing special education achievement gaps in various subjects, and increasing access to advanced academic resources in classrooms for all students. She places an emphasis on a caring and collaborative culture for students, staff, and families and has made it a priority to inspire students to build positive relationships with each other as well as with the staff and their community.
Reddel presents at conferences across the United States. She is a skilled coach, teacher, trainer, speaker, and leader for a variety of educational areas and roles. A lifelong learner, she holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mary Washington, a master’s degree from Virginia Tech, a superintendent license through the Commonwealth of Virginia, and a recent certificate from Harvard Business School Online in leading change and organizational renewal.
2
To book Jasmine K. Kullar, Bruce Fraser, or Lisa M. Reddel for professional development, contact pd@SolutionTree.com.
INTRODUCTION
Education is at the heart of our society’s future, shaping not only individual lives but the collective trajectory of communities. In this ever-evolving landscape, school principals serve as the anchors of their schools. They set the tone for teaching and learning, creating a safe and supportive environment and ensuring that educational goals align with the needs of students and staff alike. But who supports these principals as they juggle the complexities of leadership, innovation, and day-to-day management? Who ensures they’re equipped with the tools, guidance, and vision necessary to lead effectively? The answer lies with the often overlooked but critically important role of the principal supervisor.
Principal supervisors, though sometimes invisible to those outside the education system, play a pivotal role in the success of schools. They aren’t merely overseers or evaluators but essential mentors, strategic partners, and change agents who help principals thrive in their roles. In many ways, they’re the driving force behind the scenes, steadily guiding school leaders to ensure every student receives a high-quality education. In our dynamic educational landscape, where the expectations placed on school leaders are greater than ever, the role of principal supervisor is becoming increasingly central to the future of our education system. School districts have gradually recognized the importance of principal supervisors for enhancing school leadership and student outcomes. This recognition has led to a deliberate restructuring of the principal supervisor’s role to focus more on supporting principals as instructional leaders rather
than merely overseeing administrative tasks. School districts involved with the Wallace Foundation’s Principal Supervisor Initiative eventually decreased the average number of principals per supervisor from seventeen to twelve, allowing for more focused support (Goldring et al., 2018). Several school districts have engaged in a paradigm shift from a compliance-oriented approach to one centered on capacity building. As a result, the role of principal supervisor now emphasizes helping principals grow as leaders and become more effective in their roles (National Association of Secondary School Principals [NASSP], 2021). Strengthening central office support for principal supervisors requires a shift in culture and structures and remains a challenge (Goldring, Rogers, & Clark, 2020).
This book serves as a comprehensive overview of the vital roles, duties, and responsibilities of principal supervisors and provides insights needed to fully equip and empower them for success. Through an exploration of the changing role of principal supervisor, we delve into how this position has evolved from one of administrative oversight to one of instructional leadership and capacity building. The book uncovers how principal supervisors are uniquely positioned to influence not just individual principals but entire systems, ensuring that they nurture leadership pipelines and align professional development with the demands of the ever-evolving field of education.
About This Book
Strong school leadership is essential for student success, and principal supervisors play a pivotal role in cultivating exceptional principals. While much attention has been given to principal preparation, less focus has been placed on the role of principal supervisor and the ongoing support, coaching, feedback, and professional development they provide. With increasing demands on school leaders, districts need a clear road map for how principal supervisors can effectively recruit, hire, mentor, develop, and retain exceptional principals. This book fills a gap by providing research-based strategies, real-world examples, and actionable tools for principal supervisors to build a robust pipeline, foster continuous professional growth, and create a lasting impact on schools and students. This book is divided into five chapters. Each chapter discusses an important dimension and responsibility of a principal supervisor.
• Chapter 1, “The Changing Role of the Principal Supervisor,” acknowledges that the modern principal supervisor must be an instructional leader who provides principals with the strategic insight and support they need to create thriving school environments.
As the role of principals has grown to encompass responsibilities like community engagement and data-driven instruction, the principal supervisor’s role has expanded to support these complex demands. In this chapter, we address barriers that principal supervisors face and offer strategies for overcoming these challenges, ensuring they can effectively support and guide school leaders in an ever-evolving educational landscape.
• Chapter 2, “The Principal Pipeline,” asserts that one of the key roles of the principal supervisor is to help build and sustain a robust principal pipeline. Principal supervisors, through their direct mentorship and coaching, play a vital role in identifying emerging leaders, cultivating their talents, and providing the support necessary for their success. In this chapter, we explore how intentional pipeline-building strategies can ensure a steady flow of capable, visionary leaders into the principal role. Additionally, we focus on strategies for retaining current principals and fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous growth.
• Chapter 3, “Professional Development for Principals,” establishes professional development as a cornerstone of effective school leadership, and principal supervisors are uniquely positioned to offer tailored, high-impact development opportunities. In this chapter, we explore how professional development can move beyond theory into actionable strategies that make a real difference in schools. We discuss what makes professional development truly effective, focusing on adult learning principles, relevant professional development practices, and the practicality and applicability of those practices to a principal’s daily challenges. By addressing these key components, we aim to show how high-quality professional development can transform leadership practices and improve school performance.
• Chapter 4, “Principal Collaboration,” offers tools to help principal supervisors build a strong collaborative environment in their schools. Principals often work in isolation, even though their challenges are shared across schools and districts. Principal supervisors are uniquely situated to break down these silos and encourage collaboration among principals. By fostering networks of support, supervisors can create communities of practice where school leaders can share strategies, tackle common problems, and learn from each other. In this chapter, we examine how principal supervisors can create and
nurture collaborative spaces, whether through formal professional learning teams, leadership teams, or informal networking opportunities. Ultimately, we show how fostering collaboration not only strengthens individual leaders but also enhances the collective capacity of schools to innovate and tackle challenges together.
• Chapter 5, “Feedback,” confirms that feedback is the key to growth and at the core of any improvement process. Principal supervisors are in a unique position to provide the kind of constructive, actionable feedback that leads to real growth. In this last chapter, we discuss the nuances of effective feedback: how to deliver it in a way that empowers rather than discourages and how to integrate it into a culture of continuous improvement. We explore key elements of effective feedback (such as specificity, timeliness, and alignment with clear goals), as well as how to provide feedback in a constructive and supportive manner through the evaluation process.
This book is an in-depth guide to understanding and excelling in the role of a principal supervisor so that principals everywhere are guaranteed access to a confident and capable mentor. Through their guidance, expertise, and leadership, principal supervisors don’t just support school leaders—they build the foundation for educational success across entire systems. This book is an essential resource for anyone who seeks to understand and advance the crucial work of principal supervisors, ensuring that every principal, teacher, and student thrives in their schools.
BCHAPTER 2
THE PRINCIPAL PIPELINE
Leadership is the second most influential school-level factor on student achievement, after teaching quality.
—Matthew Clifford, Ellen Behrstock-Sherratt,
and Jenni Fetters
uilding and sustaining a leadership talent pool for principals are important components of a school district’s and principal supervisor’s responsibility. The term principal pipeline is a framework implemented by school districts to systematically identify, develop, hire, and retain excellent school leaders. A pipeline focuses on leadership competencies and behaviors, preservice preparation, hiring and placing principals, and on-the-job support and evaluations. This approach provides a continuous supply of qualified principals who are capable of driving school improvement and enhancing student outcomes.
As of 2025, there are 115,171 K–12 schools in the United States. This includes 95,852 public schools and 19,329 private schools (Winograd, 2025).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), employment of elementary, middle, and high school principals is projected to decline only 1 percent from 2023 to 2033: “Despite declining employment, about 20,800 openings for elementary, middle, and high school principals are projected each year.” These openings are a result of new positions and “the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Because highly effective principals are a key ingredient for student learning and successful schools overall, investing in new and aspiring school leaders is a priority.
Numerous studies conducted by the Wallace Foundation measure the effectiveness of a principal pipeline. One such report, titled Principal Pipelines: A Feasible, Affordable, and Effective Way for Districts to Improve Schools, states, “Our findings suggest that when districts focused attention on activities related to principal pipelines, then principals, schools, and students benefited” (Gates, Baird, Master, & Chavez-Herrerias, 2019, p. xxv). Activities related to a principal pipeline include a range of strategic efforts to recruit, prepare, support, and retain excellent school principals. These activities ensure principals are positioned for long-term success to improve student outcomes and safeguard the leadership talent pool while aligning it with district and student needs.
As a result of the need to hire exceptional principals and build a principal pipeline for these much-needed and valued positions in the future, we focus on four components in this chapter.
1. Building aspiring-principal programs
2. Vetting the interview process, including questions, considerations, and tips
3. Sustaining principal-induction programs
4. Retaining current principals
To address the critical need for strong school leadership, the focus must first be on cultivating potential candidates from within a school district. Therefore, a successful principal pipeline begins with designing a robust development program meant to locate potential principal talent within your existing staff. Let’s get started!
Building Aspiring-Principal Programs
Some educators aspire to be principals from the start, while some have yet to decide whether they want to take on this responsibility. Aspiring-principal programs are designed to help hopeful school leaders develop the skills they need to become highly effective principals. These programs also help identify people who aren’t actively seeking the role but show characteristics that indicate they would be successful as a principal and develop their skills. Aspiring-principal programs help prepare potential candidates with job-embedded learning so they’re ready for a long-lasting principalship that positively impacts student learning.
There’s research to show that building an aspiring-principal program is important. The Wallace Foundation commissioned a guide titled Principal Pipeline Self-Study Guide for Districts (Aladjem, Anderson, Riley, & Turnbull, 2021), which emphasizes the impact that a comprehensive and aligned principal pipeline can make. The guide is grounded in research and emphasizes that a well-structured principal
pipeline is more than just a guide for recruitment and hiring—it’s a powerful driver of student success and school improvement. The guide explains that when districts intentionally align leadership development with clear standards, rigorous preparation, selective hiring, and ongoing support, they create a system that strengthens schools from within. A truly effective pipeline weaves these elements together, transforming principal development into a districtwide strategy that elevates leadership and advances student outcomes (Aladjem et al., 2021). In other words, principal supervisors cannot just wait for the perfect candidate to appear.
Equipping aspiring principals with the skills and knowledge they need to become successful in the role is a proactive step to take. Part of that development requires knowing what aspects, traits, or features a principal preparation program needs to have to be effective. A report titled Cultivating Talent Through a Principal Pipeline (Turnbull, Riley, & MacFarlane, 2013) suggests that district programs and some external preparation programs are showing desired features of an aspiring-principal program. These features include the following (Turnbull et al., 2013).
• Selective admissions: Selective admission includes establishing criteria for candidate selection, including demonstrated instructional expertise and leadership potential. This also features a multistep selection process that includes applications, interviews, and performance tasks to comprehensively assess candidates.
• Standards-based content: School districts align program curricula with national and state or provincial standards to ensure relevance and rigor. District programs should focus on essential areas such as instructional leadership, data-driven decision making, school culture, and community engagement. Districts can create leadership competencies to identify what specific skills the district is looking for in principals.
• Problem-based learning: Learning based on theoretical information and practical application strengthens a program. Incorporating real-world challenges into coursework and allowing candidates to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations make learning real and strengthen skills. Utilizing case studies, simulations, and action-research projects enhances problem-solving skills for future principals.
• Cohort models: When districts organize participants into cohorts, they foster peer support, collaboration, and networking. Cohorts naturally encourage shared learning experiences and help build strong professional learning teams.
• Clinical experience: Providing candidates with hands-on experiences in schools, such as through internships under the mentorship of experienced principals, strengthens a program. These experiences offer opportunities to lead initiatives, engage with the school community, and manage staff.
The principal’s role is increasingly more complex and demanding than mere oversight. It involves being a visionary leader, instructional expert, and community builder. Consider a situation that many schools face: A long-standing principal retires and leaves the school in need of leadership. A newly hired leader struggles to balance the competing demands of the role, such as negotiating with staff, managing budgets, handling unexpected crises, and fostering relationships with the community. The school’s morale begins to drop, tensions rise, and student performance suffers. Now imagine a different outcome. A district has an aspiring-principal program in place. A well-trained candidate steps into the leadership role, equipped with the skills they gained from their preparation: strategic thinking, crisis management, and team leadership. They hit the ground running, making confident decisions, keeping staff engaged, and maintaining a strong sense of stability throughout the school. The transition is seamless, and the school thrives, with students, teachers, and the community feeling supported.
All of these factors illustrate how important an aspiring-principal program is. Now, principal supervisors must learn ways to build one—namely, by growing their own internal principal candidates, identifying potential principal candidates in their districts, developing an aspiring-principal program framework of relevant topics, planning ahead for succession, and taking metrics to determine participants’ success.
Growing Your Own Internal Principal Candidates
Depending on their district’s structure and policies, principal supervisors may often play a key role in hiring new principals. Principal supervisors make recommendations about candidates, since they understand the school needs; participate in interview panels; and provide input to the superintendent or human resources, who are often the final decision makers. In larger school districts, the process is more centralized, and principal supervisors have hiring influence, but in smaller districts, principal supervisors may have greater autonomy and decision-making power in hiring principals.
When hiring a principal for a school, principal supervisors may have either an external candidate (from another school district) or an internal candidate (inside the same district). Hiring an external candidate for a principal role can bring fresh perspectives and ideas to a school, potentially invigorating the culture with innovative approaches. However, external hires often face a steep learning curve, needing
time to understand the unique dynamics of the school community and build trust with staff and families. This can slow progress and create challenges in aligning with the established values of the school. In contrast, a “grow your own” program cultivates leadership from within, ensuring that aspiring principals are deeply familiar with the school’s and district’s needs, culture, and goals. This approach fosters smoother transitions and stronger continuity, allowing new leadership to step into the role with a clear vision and established relationships.
“Growing your own” refers to a practice of selecting and cultivating leaders from within a school or school district to take on the role of school principal. There are several reasons internally selected principals can be beneficial.
• Trust and relationships: Internal candidates have had time to build relationships and establish trust with students, staff, parents, and community members. This foundation can be invaluable when leading change and nurturing collaboration.
• Enhanced staff morale: When staff members see colleagues being promoted to leadership positions, it can boost their morale and motivation and signals that growth and promotion opportunities exist within the organization (Parker & Horowitz, 2022). This can also lead to employee retention.
• Familiarity with district culture: Internal candidates are already familiar with the school’s and school district’s unique culture, community, policies, expectations, and challenges. This understanding can help facilitate a smoother transition, since they’re already acquainted with students, staff, the community, and stakeholders.
• Cost-effectiveness and lower turnover: Hiring externally can be expensive, with the need for advertisements, job fairs, and recruiting trips. When growing their own leaders, schools and districts can potentially save on recruitment costs.
• Professional development: Identifying potential leaders early in their careers allows for focused training and development programs tailored to their needs. This investment can lead to strong and competent leaders in your own community.
• Continuity: Internal candidates who have been involved in a school’s or district’s ongoing initiatives and strategic-plan goals are more likely to continue with sustained improvement, progress, and innovation.
The U.S. News and World Report (Wood, 2022) published an article titled “What to Know About ‘Grow Your Own’ Teacher Programs.” The article emphasizes that when internal candidates are encouraged to develop the skills necessary to become
a principal of their school, “there’s a better understanding of the system they are coming into and more of a commitment to wanting to help improve the schools from their current experience here as students” (Wood, 2022), according to Carmen Ogoli, director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Iowa City Community School District. So, once the decision is made to put an aspiring-principal program into place, the question becomes, How are potential principal candidates identified within a school district?
Identifying Potential Principal Candidates in Your District
The practice of recognizing and nurturing talented educators within a district is necessary to prepare the most qualified and highest-potential candidates for leadership roles as school principals. Systematic dedication to identifying and supporting talented educators within the school system tends to provide current employees with the development they need to succeed as school principals. By investing in these individuals, the school district not only prepares high-quality candidates for leadership but also reinforces a culture of growth and opportunity. As the Wallace Foundation (2013) states, “A central part of being a great leader is cultivating leadership in others” (p. 14).
Identifying individuals who demonstrate the necessary skills, qualities, and potential to become effective school leaders is the first step. More often than not, most principals in their current roles will share their personal experiences with mentors or supervisors who encouraged their leadership journeys. Don’t underestimate the power of recruiting and tapping into talent. Here are some recommended actions to help identify potential candidates for a principal pipeline.
• Recognize leadership skills: Look for educators who demonstrate leadership skills, such as effective communication, emotional intelligence, problem-solving abilities, vision, a collaborative mindset, and a commitment to the school’s mission and values. Skills that can indicate potential candidates include change leadership, innovation, decision making, problem solving, communication, self-confidence, courage, conflict resolution, lifelong learning and emotional intelligence (Kullar, 2024).
• Observe performance and impact: Assess the impact of potential principals in their current roles. Look for candidates who have made positive changes to improve student outcomes as well as those who foster a collaborative and supportive environment among their peers.
• Create leadership opportunities: Offer opportunities for aspiring principals to take on leadership roles—such as department heads, collaborative-learning team leaders, or committee chairs—to gain experience and showcase their potential. If a candidate is currently an
assistant principal, they could assume different responsibilities within the school and district before applying for a principalship. If a candidate is currently a teacher, they could assist with professional development for the school and district, which would provide them with opportunities to interact with and demonstrate their abilities to a wider audience.
• Encourage professional development: Encourage aspiring principals to engage in professional learning opportunities, attend workshops and conferences, pursue advanced degrees to enhance their skills and knowledge, and shadow a principal for practical experience for a period of time to fully understand the role. A school district should focus on nurturing leadership potential from existing staff, such as teachers or assistant principals, and providing them with professional development and opportunities to prepare for the principalship.
A rubric, such as the one in figure 2.1, can help objectively identify potential candidates for an aspiring-principal program.
Directions: Complete the rubric according to your needs. A rubric can be a tool for principal supervisors to use to objectively identify potential candidates for an aspiring-principal program, based on the school district’s needs and goals.
Candidate name:
Evidence of:
Qualifications and experience
Leadership skills
Instructional leadership and datadriven decision-making experience
Ability to build a productive and positive school climate
Management and organization skills
Parental and community engagement
Crisis-management experience
Innovation and continuous improvement
Communication and presentation skills
References and recommendations
Exceptional Strong Adequate Developing
FIGURE 2.1: Rubric for assessing aspiring-principal program candidates. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership for a free reproducible version of this figure.
Developing an Aspiring-Principal Program Framework
Once you’ve identified potential principal candidates and they’re in the process of growing into leaders, the next step is to formally develop the aspiring-principal program. Districts that invest in developing an aspiring-principal program cohort should carefully consider essential topics that address various aspects of educational leadership and administration. Here are four actions that successful leaders practice (Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2020).
1. Sets directions: Effective leaders establish and communicate a clear and compelling vision for the school, which helps inspire and unify staff, students, and the community toward a sense of purpose and a common goal of continuous improvement. For example, a principal might set clear expectations of increasing reading proficiency by 10 percent in two years and align professional development efforts with this objective. This clarity inspires teachers to work collaboratively, helping students improve their reading skills and unifying the entire school around a common goal.
2. Builds relationships and develops people: Successful leaders understand the importance of building strong, trusting relationships with students, staff, and the wider school community. They invest in the professional growth of their team, providing mentorship, feedback, and opportunities for development, and ultimately contribute to the school district’s success. For example, a school leader might prioritize building strong relationships with staff and students by meeting with teachers one-on-one, offering personal feedback, and helping them set goals for their professional growth. Another example might be to create opportunities for staff to lead school initiatives to help build trust and camaraderie and improve student outcomes.
3. Develops the organization to support desired practices: Leaders share the structures and systems needed to sustain effective teaching and learning. This includes aligning resources, establishing routines that support the district’s vision and goals, and ensuring the organization’s functions support the practices that drive student achievement. For example, if a leader notices that teachers feel overwhelmed by administrative tasks that take time away from instruction, perhaps reorganizing staff roles could help ensure teachers have more time to focus on instruction. This creates an environment that prioritizes teaching and learning.
4. Improves the instructional program: A leader’s key role is to focus on continuous improvement of teaching and learning. They assess and
refine instructional practices, promote data-driven decision making, and encourage innovative practices that enhance student outcomes. They also provide the necessary resources and professional development to ensure teachers can deliver high-quality instruction that meets the diverse needs of students. For example, a principal analyzes student data and notices gaps in mathematics performance. This principal works with the leadership team to implement new instructional strategies, organizes professional development workshops on data-driven instruction, and brings in specialists to support teachers in differentiating lessons for diverse learners.
As a school district builds its comprehensive framework for an aspiring-principal program, it’s important to create a program balanced with a mixture of and emphasis on leadership standards, relevant topics, and case scenarios to develop the necessary skills and knowledge for their roles. There are numerous ways to plan an aspiring-principal framework. Here are some topics and ideas to consider for your district’s framework.
• Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL): These standards, formerly known as the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards, are the performance standards that states and school districts use to develop and refine their own leadership performance standards. Aspiring principals should understand the performance standards expected of a school leader. They could devote each month to unpacking and understanding expectations. If time is limited, cover some of the standards during each meeting to ensure aspiring principals understand them (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015).
+ Standard 2 (Ethics and Professional Norms)—School leaders model ethical behavior and conduct, demonstrate integrity and responsibility, and make decisions that create a culture of trust, respect, and accountability.
+ Standard 4 (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment)—Principals guide the implementation of a rigorous standards-based curriculum, high-quality instruction, and use of data-driven decisions for student learning.
+ Standard 6 (Professional Capacity of School Personnel)—Effective principals recruit, develop, and retain skilled teachers; provide growth opportunities; and foster a culture of high expectations.
+ Standard 8 (Meaningful Engagement of Families and Community)— Schools thrive when principals actively engage families and the
rest of the community through transparent communication, partnerships, and decision-making processes.
+ Standard 10 (School Improvement)—Principals drive continuous improvement by using data to identify challenges, implementing evidence-based strategies, and promoting innovation to enhance student learning and overall school performance.
Additional topics that overlap with PSEL standards could be embedded in your school district’s aspiring-principal program. Examples of additional topics are listed here.
• Leadership styles: Educational leadership includes understanding different leadership styles and their impacts on school culture. Explore the various types of leadership—managerial, organizational, instructional, and transformational—that we discussed in chapter 1 (page 5). This could overlap with PSEL Standard 6.
• Education law and ethics: Education law and ethics go hand in hand. This topic could include a discussion about ethical decision making in educational leadership. Ethics involves navigating situations with a moral duty and responsibility, ensuring that decisions align with fundamental core values. This session could unpack timely, relevant, and sensitive community and school issues, and aligns with PSEL Standard 2.
• Curriculum and assessments: Curriculum and assessment development includes thoroughly understanding how to focus on student learning, evaluate instructional programs, understand assessment methods and their role in driving student achievement, and use data-driven decision making for instructional improvement. This overlaps with PSEL Standard 4.
• Instructional leadership and feedback: Instructional leadership includes how to conduct classroom observations and provide feedback to teachers to enhance instructional practices. This topic also includes how to evaluate and provide professional development for teachers and promote best practices in teaching and learning. It’s important principals know how to identify areas of school improvement and develop action plans while building a culture of continuous improvement. This overlaps with PSEL Standards 4 and 10.
• Positive culture and climate: Building and maintaining a positive school climate is essential. This includes strategies for fostering a safe and supportive learning environment, establishing community relations,
communicating effectively, resolving conflict, and avoiding pitfalls. This overlaps with PSEL Standard 8.
• Operational management: Operational management is how to organize a school with systems and structures. This includes budget and financial management, schedules, school safety, and human resources management, including hiring and evaluations.
• Leadership philosophy: Developing a leadership philosophy and defining your core values are introspective and thoughtful processes. Doing so guides your decisions and sets a professional-growth path. Some steps in developing a leadership philosophy include self-reflecting, identifying core values, understanding how to make decisions that align with your principles and professional goals, and creating a growth plan consisting of skill development and leadership opportunities.
Along with leadership standards and relevant topics, case scenarios can also be infused to develop the necessary skills and knowledge for their roles. Here is a list of example case study questions that principal supervisors can use for an aspiringprincipal program.
• Educational leadership: You’re the principal of a high-performing high school. Teachers and students are highly driven, and it’s an academically competitive school. There’s a concern in the community about stress levels and burnout for both students and staff. How would you apply your leadership to maintain excellence while promoting a healthier school culture?
• Education ethics and law: Some teachers express concerns about including a specific teacher in their collaborative team who has a history of negative comments and behavior. How should the principal navigate the ethical considerations of promoting collaboration while addressing concerns from the team about a toxic work environment?
• Curriculum and assessment: A collaborative team is reviewing student assessment data and identifies a gap among students of different subgroups. How should the collaborative team use data-driven decisionmaking processes to develop intervention strategies that address this gap while ensuring fairness in assessment?
• Instructional leadership: You’re the principal of a diverse K–6 elementary school. Over the past year, you’ve noticed a need for improvement in mathematics scores across multiple grade levels. After analyzing data and engaging in discussions with your teachers, it
becomes evident that there’s a need to address and enhance instructional practices. How will you handle this at the school? In your response, please include how you will communicate, incorporate professional development, share best practices, monitor progress, address resistance, contact stakeholders, and determine your criteria for success.
• Culture and climate: Reflect on your past experiences with fostering a positive learning environment. Identify common challenges that you have faced in building a positive culture and climate. What did you learn about your leadership, and what strategies can you implement to prevent or address these pitfalls in the future?
• Safety and security operations: In the wake of increased security threats in schools, what steps would you take to enhance safety and security measures without creating a culture of fear and anxiety among students, staff, and families?
Planning for Succession
It’s important to be proactive and plan for future principal vacancies. What skills and knowledge are needed for the future of your district? Designing succession plans so that the talent supply is available when demand calls is an important part of building an aspiring-principal program. Start by identifying the leadership roles that are likely to become vacant in the next few years. For example, if several principals are nearing retirement, focus on preparing for those upcoming vacancies. Next, assess what skills and knowledge will be crucial for future principals in the district. If the research shows a need for stronger data-driven decision making or improved community engagement, make sure to include these in the development focus.
Create a talent pipeline by identifying promising educators—perhaps a standout teacher who has shown leadership potential or a department head who excels in curriculum development. Offer them targeted development opportunities like mentorship programs, leadership workshops, or advanced certification courses that align with the district’s goals, such as improving student outcomes or integrating new technology into classrooms.
Finally, make sure the principal succession plan includes clear criteria for these key leadership roles. For instance, outline specific qualifications, such as experience in schoolwide initiatives, communication and community relations, or expertise in managing diverse teams. Provide a step-by-step pathway for career advancement, such as a structured series of leadership roles or projects that build necessary skills, so that potential leaders know how to progress and are well prepared to step into principal positions when the time comes.
Determining Participant Success Using Metrics
There are methods for measuring the principal pipeline’s effectiveness, and using these will ensure the program is on the right track. The Wallace Foundation funded and assisted six districts as part of its Principal Pipeline Initiative from 2011 to 2016 to examine whether a comprehensive principal pipeline would be more effective than traditional methods (Gates et al., 2019). The resulting report, Principal Pipelines: A Feasible, Affordable, and Effective Way for Districts to Improve Schools, discusses a Leader Tracking System (LTS) that was mandatory for all districts participating in the Principal Pipeline Initiative. Developing an LTS required each district to (a) identify all relevant data sources regarding current and aspiring principals (typically housed in different offices across the district), (b) address issues with data quality, (c) compile data into a usable and longitudinal format, and (d) develop user-friendly systems that district personnel could access and use to meet most-pressing needs (Anderson, Turnbull, & Arcaira, 2017).
The LTS provides a structured approach to the pipeline and accomplishes that three ways. First, it helps identify and track talent through various stages of leadership development. Second, it helps ensure consistency by providing a standardized framework that guarantees all aspiring leaders have access to similar opportunities and support, providing fairness in the development process. Third, it helps align development with district needs, ensuring future principals are well prepared for the challenges they will face.
Creating an LTS of data not only helps ensure proper preparation, but also helps measure the success of the district’s principal pipeline program and ensures its continued success. Tracking information on current and aspiring principals’ educational background, employment history within and outside of the district, ratings from teachers and supervisors, specialized skills of interest to the district, test scores of students at current and previous schools, and other pertinent information to the district can all be tracked for metrics of success (Gates et al., 2019).
The single most important measure of a program’s success is the degree to which it fulfills the original goal: hiring highly effective principals who positively impact student achievement. Therefore, programmatic success criteria must be defined in advance and tracked. See figure 2.2 (page 50) for an example of an effective tracking template.
Directions: This template works in a variety of formats for data collection, such as a spreadsheet with columns; a fillable PDF or Word document; or a database, where each aspiring principal’s information can be tracked and managed systematically.
Data Collection on Candidate
Aspiring principal’s name Roberta King
Current role Fourth-grade teacher
Start date of aspiringprincipal program January 29, 2027 District Aspiring Leaders Program
Leadership experience Team leader and master’s degree in education administration
Estimated date of program completion June 2028
Outcome and brief summary of performance of key learnings
Feedback Log
Acquired skills in strategic planning and stakeholder communication
Feedback session date May 17, 2027
Reviewer or coach Mark Adams
Feedback summary She excelled in curriculum development and facilitating gradelevel team meetings using data to drive instruction during the past semester. She is encouraged to practice and use conflict-resolution skills, as well as give feedback. This summer she should practice developing a high-impact professional development plan aligned with school priorities and student learning data.
Action plan:
• Action item 1:
Deadline: September 2027
Attend a workshop on conflict-resolution strategies and/or how to provide feedback
Develop a school PD plan with the following steps: (1) Meet with leadership team to review current school improvement plan (SIP), (2) analyze schoolwide data, (3) select 3 key professional development strands that align directly to SIP goals and data, (4) present a year-long professional development calendar and plan with key sessions, topics, and intended outcomes, including opportunities for follow-up support and a mixture of delivery methods.
Accomplishments and Required Experiences
Experiences:
• Required experience 1
• Required experience 2
• Required experience 3
• Required experience 4
• Required experience 5
Accomplishments:
• Accomplishment 1
• Accomplishment 2
* Experience 1: Lead a school initiative (attendance campaign, math curriculum night, family engagement event, quarterly data dialogue, etc.).
* Experience 2: Participate in budget planning meetings with a school principal.
* Experience 3: Conduct a classroom observation pre- and postconference with feedback.
* Experience 4: Help develop a school’s master schedule.
* Experience 5: Attend 2 school board meetings.
* Accomplishment 1: Successfully implemented and evaluated a schoolwide initiative, with documented improvements
* Accomplishment 2: Received positive evaluations from mentors
Estimated completion date December 2027
Alignment With District Goals
District goal
Relevant development activities:
• Activity 1
• Activity 2
• Activity 3
Summary
Improve student achievement in reading.
* Activity 1: Training on data-driven instructional strategies
* Activity 2: Participation in literacy-focused committees
* Activity 3: Development and implementation of a STEM enrichment program for underperforming students
Current strengths: curriculum development and leading data-driven grade-level meetings. Areas of opportunity: conflict resolution, giving feedback, and managing diverse team dynamics. She should continue to build a leadership portfolio that includes a résumé, leadership philosophy, and evidence of impact. On track to experience a variety of leadership opportunities to complete program in June 2028.
Criteria, Modules, and Review Frequency
Criteria for selection:
• Criteria 1
• Criteria 2
Standard-development modules:
• Module 1
• Module 2
Review frequency
* Criteria 1: Minimum of five years of teaching experience
* Criteria 2: Demonstrated leadership potential
* Module 1: Leadership basics
* Module 2: Strategies for school improvement
Quarterly reviews
FIGURE 2.2: Leader Tracking System template.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership for a free reproducible version of this figure.
Vetting the Interview Process:
Questions, Considerations, and Tips
Hiring an outstanding principal is one of the most important tasks of a principal supervisor. It’s much easier to coach, mentor, reflect, and support a good new hire than a bad one. Hiring poorly leads to spending more time directing, correcting, and having difficult conversations with the new principal. Therefore, spend significant time on and pay attention to the process to ensure you hire an outstanding principal.
Hiring a principal involves a multistep process, which might include a job advertisement, application process, application review, several rounds of interviews and potential tasks, reference checks, possible school visits, school board approval, and finally, the public announcement of a new principal (Solomon, 2018). While internally cultivated principals have numerous advantages, both internal and external principal candidates should be considered based on their qualifications, skills, and alignment with the school’s needs and goals and should go through a rigorous interview process. Let’s break down the potential steps for hiring a principal. Each district modifies these according to their needs (Educator FI, 2022).
1. Staff and community input: When human resources advertises a principal vacancy, it’s important to ask stakeholders about qualities, characteristics, and skills they’re looking for in their next principal to ensure all voices and perspectives are heard. This can be done through anonymous input as the vacancy announcement is made. Anonymous surveys are a way “to answer questions and provide feedback without fear of retribution” (Mischke, 2024). Input should be sought from both the staff and community. Students at the secondary level representing various leadership groups can also be engaged in the inclusive process.
2. Application and résumé review and screening: Human resources, along with a hiring committee of stakeholders, typically reviews the applications and résumés of applicants to ensure candidates meet the basic qualifications. Often, the criteria for screening include elements such as licensure requirements, professional leadership experience, professional development background, communication with community relations, knowledge and experience with school administration, strategic planning and data analysis, and school-improvement experience. Applications can also include an essay submission about a priority of the district or school.
3. Screening interview: Some school districts conduct a preliminary interview to assess a candidate’s interest, background, and general fit for the position. This can be done via telephone, virtual meeting, or in person. Some school districts have a principal pool process, in which they screen candidates before they’re eligible to apply for the principal vacancy.
4. Panel interview: Create a panel of stakeholders that represents all aspects of the school. Consider all programs and grade levels represented by teachers, families, community members, and possibly, secondary students. Candidates may be invited to interview with the panel members. The interview questions should reflect the skill set that is most important to the district. Inquiries can include a range of situational and behavioral questions.
5. Presentation or task: Candidates might be asked to prepare and deliver a presentation or complete a task related to school leadership. This helps evaluate their communication skills, problem-solving abilities, approachability, and leadership style. If this is part of the interview process, candidates are often given a set of data and asked to review, summarize, and report their conclusion or next steps based on the data.
6. Follow-up interview with district administration: Some candidates may be invited for a second interview with top decision makers, such as the principal supervisor. Not all hiring processes will have this step; it depends on the size of the district and how they supervise schools. This interview may delve deeper into the candidate’s vision and alignment with district goals. Candidates may be asked questions that require professional and leadership knowledge and dig into how they might handle a challenging situation.
7. Final interview with the superintendent: During the final interview in this process, both the candidate’s capability for the position and their commitment to the necessary work are evaluated.
8. Reference checks: References the candidate provided are contacted to verify information and gather insights into the candidate’s work ethic, leadership, interpersonal skills, and background. References usually include previous supervisors, colleagues, and other relevant individuals. References not listed on the résumé are equally important.
Understanding the comprehensive nature of the principal interview process is important for both the candidates and those conducting the selection. The various phases ensure that the most qualified and suitable individuals advance to the next
level, ultimately leading to the best possible leadership for a school. To effectively navigate this process as a principal supervisor, let’s delve into some components of the process. These key subtopics to consider include preparing and conducting interviews with well-crafted questions, understanding the role of different stakeholders in the selection process, and developing and using a scoring rubric. Each element plays a role in ensuring a fair, thorough, and effective evaluation of potential principals. Let’s explore these subtopics in detail to understand how they contribute to selecting the right leaders for a school.
Interviews
An interview is one of many steps of the principal hiring process. It’s about finding not only the candidate with the most experience but also someone who is passionate about student learning, can create a positive and collaborative environment, and is committed to driving positive change and results in the school community. The interview process offers the school and district an opportunity and platform to communicate district priorities and assess a principal candidate’s fit and match. In the fourth edition of Learning by Doing, the authors explain that determining the fit of a candidate requires more than asking generic questions that reveal little about the person: “The goal of the hiring process in a PLC is not to quickly complete the process but to ensure that the candidate will be an asset to the school because they are a good fit for the culture” (DuFour et al., 2024, p. 225). Effective questions help probe and provide insights about a candidate to ascertain whether they can move student learning forward. Some example interview questions a principal supervisor can use with principal candidates are listed here.
• How do you define a collaborative culture? How would you foster a collaborative environment in this school?
• What would you expect to see and hear in a classroom to indicate students are engaged in meaningful learning experiences?
• We are a results-oriented school. How will you convey testing data to teachers? What will teachers need from you to help them make diagnostic and prescriptive use of data?
• Please provide an example of a successful collaboration initiative you led in a previous role and explain why it was successful.
• Schools require a strong focus on continuous improvement. How will you motivate and empower teachers to engage in ongoing professional growth and development?
• As principal, how do you promote a culture of trust, openness, and mutual respect among the school’s staff?
• How do you plan to create and sustain a positive and collaborative climate for students and staff?
• Highlight your experience implementing multitiered systems of support (MTSS) for students, particularly for students identified as English learners and students with disabilities. In what specific ways have you created an instructional framework that guarantees a rigorous curriculum is accessible for all students?
• In every school, there are students who don’t want to work but aren’t disruptive to the learning environment. What actions would you take for a student who struggles to learn? What actions would you take for a student who refuses to work?
• One of your teachers stated that there’s little they can do to help a student who isn’t interested in learning. How would you respond?
• At the end of the first quarter, you discover that 60 percent of your students are failing to demonstrate proficiency. How would you feel, and what specific actions would you take?
• If asked at the end of your first year as principal to provide evidence of your effectiveness, what would you present?
• Please share the most challenging situation you’ve handled as a leader. How did you handle the challenge, and what did you learn?
• Tell us about your communication plan for staff, students, and parents. Please include ways you intend to receive feedback from all stakeholders.
• Essential to student growth and progress is our ability to hire, develop, and retain the most highly qualified staff. How will you balance assisting teachers with instructional practices and evaluating their performance to achieve high levels of teacher efficacy?
Rubric for Stakeholder Panel Interviews
Multiple stakeholders are involved in hiring a new principal. Most often, a panel interview takes place during part of the interview process. Having the perspectives of students, parents, staff, and school supervisors is important. A rubric with scoring criteria keeps the interview process and what’s most important at the forefront of the interviewer’s mind. Figure 2.3 (page 56) is a sample rubric that can be modified to take notes or enhanced with your school district’s leadership standards.
Directions: Use this rubric while conducting interviews to take notes to keep the interview process and what’s most important at the forefront of the interviewer’s mind.
Candidate name:
Evidence of: Extensive Strong o r Some Limited Lacking or None
Experience and vision
Instructional leadership and datadriven decision making
Communication and collaboration
Professional development and growth
Community engagement
Alignment with mission, vision, and values
Adaptability and resilience
FIGURE 2.3: Sample interview rubric for principal interviews. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership for a free reproducible version of this figure.
Every interview panel member can use this sample rubric to guide their assessment of each candidate’s responses for the principal position. Panel members can use the following questions to guide their candidate assessment.
• Experience and vision: Does the candidate have experience in leading and articulating a clear and compelling vision for implementing and sustaining practices?
• Instructional leadership and data-driven decision making: Is there a strong commitment to instructional leadership and student learning? Does the candidate demonstrate a proven track record of effectively using data to inform decision making and improving teaching and learning outcomes?
• Communication and collaboration: Does the candidate excel in communication and collaboration, fostering open and transparent interactions among students, staff, and the community? Does the
candidate have a history of building strong collaborative teams and relationships? How are their presentation skills?
• Professional development and growth: Does the candidate have experience and a vision to support professional development opportunities for staff to enhance their instructional practices and foster continuous improvement of teaching and learning?
• Community engagement: Does the candidate have experience and a vision for involving parents, community members, and external partners? Does the candidate demonstrate the ability to build community relationships and leverage community resources to support student learning?
• Alignment with mission, vision, and values: Does the candidate align with the district’s and school’s mission, vision, and values?
• Adaptability and resilience: Does the candidate have the capacity to adapt to changing circumstances and navigate challenges that may arise throughout the school year? Does the candidate demonstrate a strong resilience when faced with setbacks and maintain relentless focus on continuous improvement? Did the candidate provide examples of handling conflicts constructively and effectively and promoting a collaborative team culture?
Scenario Interview Questions
Incorporating scenario-based questions and assessments into the principal interview process provides a dynamic way to evaluate candidates. These questions present real-life situations that principals are likely to encounter, allowing interviewers to gain a deeper understanding of how candidates would apply their skills and knowledge in practical contexts. Scenario questions are designed to assess a candidate’s ability to handle complex issues, make sound decisions, and effectively communicate with stakeholders. By presenting candidates with challenging, realistic scenarios, interviewers can observe how they approach problem solving, manage conflicts, and implement strategies to improve school performance.
The following list provides examples of scenario questions that can offer valuable insights into a principal’s judgment, decision-making process, and dedication to creating a supportive environment. These scenarios help interviewers envision the candidate as the leader of the school, ensuring they have not only the right qualifications on paper but also the practical skills and mindset needed for successful school leadership.
• Addressing a parent’s concern about a teacher: You receive a complaint from a concerned parent about a teacher’s behavior toward their child.
The teacher in question is an experienced educator, well liked in the school community, and is facing some personal challenges. The parent demands immediate action. As principal, how would you approach this situation?
This scenario assesses the principal’s ability to handle a challenge with personnel while maintaining a positive parent relationship and ultimately making a decision in the best interest of the student. It sheds light on their understanding of how to support teachers in a collaborative environment while ensuring students are learning at the highest levels in a safe and supportive environment.
• Demonstrating academic improvement: Your school has been faced with declining standardized test scores for the past two years. As principal, you’re under pressure to demonstrate academic improvement. You have a limited budget and teachers who are feeling overwhelmed with additional testing and preparation. How would you approach this challenge while keeping student learning at the forefront?
This scenario sheds light on the principal’s capacity to make datadriven decisions and take into account the well-being of teachers and students. It also reviews their understanding and leveraging of collaborative learning teams to collectively address and tackle schoolimprovement challenges.
• Addressing student behavior and academic performance: As principal, you notice a group of students consistently displaying disruptive behavior in class and during transitions at lunch. You investigate this and recognize several of the students have a decline in academic performance. How will you address this situation, taking into account the students’ behavior and your commitment to student learning?
This scenario evaluates the principal’s ability to address behavioral challenges with students, staff, and parents. It also illuminates their thinking about how to address students’ academic performance collectively as a team.
• Handling a parent-teacher conflict about grading and communication: You receive a complaint from a parent who is unhappy with a teacher’s grading practices and communication. The teacher feels they have been fair and communicative throughout the semester. How would you mediate this conflict, demonstrating a commitment to student learning and transparent communication?
This scenario demonstrates the principal’s conflict-resolution skills and ability to mediate conflict among stakeholders as well as enhance communication and transparency within the school community.
• Planning professional development for staff: At the end of the school year, you need to start planning professional development opportunities for the upcoming school year. How will you involve teachers in the decision-making process and align professional development to school and district goals, ensuring it’s designed for individual teachers’ needs? This scenario highlights a principal’s approach to involving teachers in the decision-making process, demonstrating how they value teachers’ input and emphasizing their commitment to teacher growth and development.
Enhancing the Principal-Induction Program
Congratulations! You hired a new principal. What are your next steps to help the new principal be successful in the school, community, and district? Schools present a complex, high-pressure environment that’s not easily mastered. When new principals are appointed, members of the school community, including students, staff, parents, and the central office, often experience a variety of emotions: They may feel happiness, anxiety, curiosity, relief, and unease about the change. The new principal, also, has a wide range of emotions: They may feel hopeful, eager, impatient to get started, uncertain, and nervous (Villani, 2006). Principals are most successful with the myriad challenges they face when they have the support and resources that are available through a principal-induction program.
Induction may include coaching, coursework, and support from senior leaders. When well implemented, these induction programs have been associated with increased principal and teacher retention as well as increased student achievement (Darling-Hammond, Wechsler, Levin, Leung-Gagné, & Tozer, 2023). A school district’s principal-induction program is a structured program to support newly appointed school principals as they transition into their new leadership role. There are several categories of newly placed principals, as referred to in the Principal Pipelines report (Gates et al., 2019).
• Reassigned principals: Individuals with experience in the district who are assigned to a new school
• Novice principals: Individuals with no prior experience as a principal
• Experienced out-of-district principals: Individuals who served as principal in a different district
Each of these categories of principals need support through a principal-induction program. While specific components of a principal-induction program may vary based on the district, there are some elements that should be essential.
• Onboarding and orientation
• Mentoring
• Ongoing professional learning workshops
• School visits
• Supervisor communication and support
These core elements build the backbone of your principal-induction program. Though they sound simple, each of them (described in the following pages) includes complex but necessary subtasks that guarantee a smooth transition for your new principal.
Onboarding and Orientation
Onboarding and orientation refer to the processes by which the school district and principal supervisors welcome new principals and provide them with essential information about the district’s mission, vision, goals, strategic plan, and culture. This includes familiarizing new principals with administrative policies, procedures, and organizational structures as well as integrating them into the district’s leadership team.
The purpose of onboarding and orientation is to prepare and support new principals as they transition into their roles. By providing comprehensive background information and establishing clear expectations, the district helps principals understand their responsibilities and align their efforts with the district’s strategic objective. This process also creates space to develop professional relationships and support networks with the cohort of new principals, which is part of their overall blueprint for ongoing success and collaboration.
The onboarding and orientation process typically begins with meetings between new principals and key district personnel, such as central-office staff and the superintendent. During these meetings, new principals receive detailed information to set them up for success.
To further support new principals, the district schedules regular meetings throughout the school year that focus on relevant topics. These sessions serve multiple purposes. They build the capacity of new administrators by providing them with the necessary information and leadership skills and helping form professional relationships and connections. This process ensures the new principals are equipped to lead effectively and contribute to the district’s success.
Mentoring
Mentors are essential for new principals, providing guidance, support, and a trusted source of advice. Typically, mentors are successful principals in similar roles
who meet and converse regularly with their mentees throughout the school year. This mentoring relationship helps new principals navigate practical school issues, set priorities, and anticipate future challenges.
The role of principal can be isolating and stressful, with numerous daily tasks that leave little time for reflection. New principals—especially those in elementary schools, who may be the sole administrator—often face situations they’re unprepared for, regardless of their training. Mentors provide a nonevaluative, supportive presence that helps new principals feel understood and capable without the fear of being judged. The mentorship helps mitigate the isolation and stress of the role by offering a “balcony view of their work and context,” facilitating better decision making and problem solving (Villani, 2006, p. 10).
Mentors need training too. School districts will often ask a successful principal to mentor a new principal without having provided specific guidance about what effective mentors and mentees do in this relationship. A principal mentor provides individualized guidance and support to a novice principal or a principal new to the district, typically focusing on relevant and timely challenges and problem solving. Mentors offer practical, experience-based advice and often work informally together.
A principal supervisor has a more formalized leadership role within the district, overseeing multiple principals. A principal supervisor ensures alignment with district goals, provides instructional leadership, and holds principals accountable. The principal supervisor role expands beyond coaching to include performance evaluation, strategic planning, and systemwide leadership. While mentoring is an important aspect of principal supervision, a mentor doesn’t automatically become a principal supervisor.
Successful mentorship takes time and involves regular communication, which should be scheduled and consistent. Clarifying expectations at the outset ensures both the mentor and mentee understand the scope of their relationship and prevents any misunderstandings about the support provided. Mentors play a role in accountability by ensuring new principals adhere to deadlines, maintain commitments, and engage in open and honest dialogue. Their conversations are kept confidential to build trust and encourage candid discussions (Chopra & Saint, 2017).
Additionally, it’s important to distinguish between mentoring and coaching. While mentoring is an ongoing, open-ended relationship that can last for years, coaching typically addresses specific issues over a shorter period. Both play important roles. Kelli Richards (2015) mentions in her Forbes article that often, the mentor and mentee relationship spans decades. Typically, a coaching relationship is used to address a specific issue; however, “a hybrid scenario sometimes develops in which the coach/mentor role blurs” (Richards, 2015). Effective mentorship requires
time and dedication, and is ultimately a component that promotes the professional growth and success of new principals.
Ongoing Professional Learning Workshops
Once a principal has been onboarded, has participated in a new-principal orientation, and has been assigned a mentor, it’s essential that ongoing professional learning opportunities be provided throughout the first year and beyond. This is a time to plan both leadership workshops and technical trainings. Some important elements principal supervisors can highlight for their principals include the following.
• Interpersonal skills and communication best practices
• School culture and climate
• Instructional leadership practices
• Technical and operational trainings
The following sections detail each one.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AND COMMUNICATION BEST PRACTICES
Interpersonal skills and communication best practices are essential for effective leadership because they foster positive relationships, build trust, and create a collaborative environment. These skills include listening actively, practicing empathy, resolving conflict, understanding body language, knowing your audience, and communicating clearly—all of which help leaders connect with staff, students, and the community. By using these skills, leaders can boost morale, enhance collaboration, and create a supportive environment for all stakeholders. Strong interpersonal skills enable leaders to manage conflicts constructively, promote teamwork, and ensure everyone feels heard and valued. Working in a school district is fundamentally a people-centered profession, where effective communication is not just important but essential. Principals must navigate complex interactions daily, from engaging parents and students to collaborating with school board members, community partners, and other stakeholders. Ultimately, interpersonal skills and effective communication shape a positive, productive, and safe learning environment where both students and staff can thrive. Education Week contributor Alex Sponheim (2023) asserts, “Effective communication is vital for any organization, and schools are no exception. In fact, communication is arguably more critical in schools because it affects the well-being and academic success of students.” Excellent communication skills are critical for principals. The absence of communication and interpersonal skills causes great frustration for all stakeholders. Here are some sample topics to consider for this workshop.
• Weekly staff newsletters: What’s included and meaningful to staff?
• Weekly community newsletters: Is a personal principal’s message to families included? What content and pictures are included and relevant to families and the community?
• Writing quality: Is the message meaningful, professional, and grammatically correct? Oftentimes, written communication is the first and only interaction families have with a principal, so impressions are lasting.
• Social media: What are school social media accounts highlighting to tell the school’s story? If the administration doesn’t tell the story online themselves, unauthorized sources will tell their own versions.
• Visibility and accessibility: How do you manage your time to ensure you’re visible and present throughout the day? People want to see and have access to the principal to interact and communicate with them.
• Expectations for teacher communication: What directions have you provided for teachers about communication with parents? Clarity about expectations is important.
• Difficult conversations: How do you practice active listening without providing immediate solutions? This is a skill that takes practice.
• Compromise: How can you partner with staff and parents and come to mutually agreeable outcomes?
SCHOOL CULTURE AND CLIMATE
School culture is how people behave in school. In their book, Shaping School Culture, longtime educational experts Terrence E. Deal and Kent D. Peterson (2016) describe a school’s culture as its “unwritten rules and traditions, customs, and expectations” (p. 7). School culture is the way things are done in a school, while school climate is how people feel in the school (Muhammad, 2018). School culture and climate are different. Positive and healthy school climates and cultures create the conditions for effective teaching and learning to occur.
A principal should be keenly aware if the school has a positive or toxic school culture because school culture impacts relationships within the school, behaviors in the classroom, and ultimately, student success. A positive school culture cultivates an environment where trust, collaboration, and mutual respect drive success for both staff and students. In contrast, a toxic school culture fosters negativity, distrust, and disengagement, leading to low morale and a lack of collective progress. According to an article in Harvard Business Review, “A toxic workplace culture was the number-three reason workers gave for wanting to quit” (Mallick, 2024). The health of a school’s culture directly affects the well-being and success of everyone in the community, making it an important area of focus for school leaders.
To assess whether a school has a positive or toxic school culture, one can observe indicators related to relationships, communication, and overall environment. A positive culture has thriving student relationships, values staff and stakeholders, and shows respect and trust through an openness of communication. The school encourages collaboration, builds a strong sense of community, prioritizes professional development, and actively celebrates staff contributions.
In contrast, a toxic culture contains isolation, distrust, and frequent conflicts. Communication is strained, and criticism overshadows constructive feedback. Staff feel unsupported. In these environments, morale is often low, professional growth is neglected, and students appear disengaged.
Leaders can assess the school culture through observations, surveys, and open dialogue to determine whether a school fosters a positive or toxic culture. The Institute for Education Policy (n.d.) at Johns Hopkins School of Education uses their School Culture 360™ Survey to measure school culture. Elements measured include school climate, academic environment, viewpoint diversity, and commitment to mission and vision (Institute for Education Policy, n.d.).
Because school culture is so important, this session would focus on fostering a positive and inclusive culture and a safe and respectful environment. Topics for this workshop could include the following.
• Family and community partnerships: Build strong connections with families and the wider community to support student success.
• Staff morale and needs: Address staff well-being and needs to foster a positive work environment.
• Educator wellness needs: Recognize and support staff’s social and emotional needs, which are key components of a healthy school culture. Improving focus on wellness dimensions “can have an exponential impact on the quality of your work and life” (Kanold & Boogren, 2021, p. 3).
• Celebrations: Create opportunities to celebrate school and staff achievements. Acknowledge milestones to build community and boost morale.
• School rituals, community events, and your predecessor’s work: Acknowledge, respect, and uphold existing school traditions and community relationships as part of building a strong culture, making room to adjust or leave behind practices that no longer serve the best interests of the community.
• Partnership with your parent-teacher association or parent-teacher organization: Collaborate effectively with parent-teacher organizations to create a sense of shared ownership and support.
Content knowledge from professional learning workshops builds on itself. Once your trainees have developed their interpersonal skills, learned how to communicate effectively to ensure best practices, and come to understand and facilitate a healthy school culture and climate, they can deepen their knowledge of best instructional leadership practices and participate in the cycle of continuous improvement.
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
The fundamental purpose of school is student learning. Ultimately, a principal is the lead learner in the building and creates the mission, vision, and structures to ensure all students learn at high levels. Instructional leadership practices are vital for ongoing professional learning workshops because they ensure the focus remains on teaching and learning. Understanding effective strategies that enhance student outcomes while creating a culture of continuous growth is part of the ongoing cycle of improvement. Principal supervisors guide principals in implementing effective teaching and learning strategies while supporting their development as leaders. Instructional leaders actively model effective teaching methods and provide feedback. Supervisors can use these workshops to model best practices in the following areas.
• Instructional leadership skills focused on student learning
• Observations and effective feedback
• Curriculum development
• Assessment strategies
• Data analysis and school-improvement planning
• Interventions and MTSS
• Support for students with disabilities and English learners
• Master-schedule generation
• High-performing teams management
• Assistant principal and administrative team supervision
• Professional development plans
Leading these professional learning workshops on a scheduled and regular cadence will help facilitate a culture of continuous improvement. Best practices workshops aren’t to be confused with technical and operational trainings, which prepare principals to handle much more granular or single-use technologies as part of their duties.
TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL TRAININGS
New principals require various technical trainings during their first year to effectively manage their responsibilities. These training courses encompass essential
areas such as students’ information systems and data dashboards, which are crucial for monitoring student progress and supporting individualized education programs (IEPs). Additionally, understanding performance evaluation structures and human resources staff programs ensures that principals can effectively evaluate and support their staff. Knowledge of financial systems and resource management is vital for budget planning and resource allocation. Training in disciplinary tracking systems, legal updates, and safety and security management is necessary to maintain a safe and compliant school environment. Familiarizing new principals with hearing office procedures and systems unique to the school district ensures they’re well prepared to handle specific administrative tasks. Providing comprehensive training in these areas equips principals with the technical expertise they need to lead their schools effectively.
Conducting School Visits
Visiting other schools with a supervisor or mentor is an informative practice to see and understand what’s happening in other surrounding schools and to debrief and calibrate specifically what was observed. Visiting a school with a specific focus will enhance a new principal’s learning by exposing them to ideas they can apply in their own school. For example, perhaps a principal is looking for exemplars for learning targets, Tier 1 instruction, positive culture and climate, rigor, highlevel questioning, MTSS models, or high-functioning collaborative team models (DuFour et al., 2024). School walkthroughs can be valuable on-the-job learning experiences.
One year, Eric Cardwell, former president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, went on a 4,800-mile road trip to observe principals in their schools throughout the United States. He wanted to hear about principals’ successes and challenges and to observe their work in action. Education Week highlighted several of his discoveries and takeaways, including “Relationships matter a whole lot” and “Each school had something very unique to offer their students, but the one thing that they all shared was that passion for kids” (Superville, 2018). Like teachers who only see what’s happening within their own classrooms throughout the day, principals often only see what occurs in their own buildings. Sharing common knowledge, skills, and experiences enhance a principal’s learning.
Communicating With and Supporting Principals
A principal supervisor should schedule frequent school visits and phone-call check-ins with new principals several times a month to observe classroom instruction, problem-solve issues, preview upcoming events, prioritize competing demands for time management, discuss hot topics, review schedules, and proactively address
any concerns or considerations for the near future. Being a visible partner and scheduling time in schools and classrooms with principals help both parties understand the needs of the school. By coaching principals and being an active participant as they work with teachers in classrooms and collaborative learning teams, principal supervisors can assist new principals in strengthening their ability to observe instruction, provide feedback, build a culture of reflection, and ultimately impact teaching and learning. During these visits, a principal supervisor may go over the latest assessment data and ask questions focused on student engagement, physical environment, and the overall atmosphere; or, when visiting schools, a principal supervisor should walk classrooms with the principal and ask what the latter observed to confirm whether both saw the same things.
Here are some sample questions to ask during a school visit, organized into seven categories. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership for a free downloadable version of these questions.
1. Classroom Observations
+ How would you describe the instructional practices happening in the classrooms we just observed?
+ What feedback would you give this teacher (for example, on lesson design, learning targets, level of questions, rigor of the activity and applied learning, connection to standards, and classroom management)?
+ What evidence of student engagement did you notice?
+ What makes students successful in this classroom? What does this classroom assessment data look like?
+ What did you notice about how the teacher provided differentiated support for student learning within their lesson structure?
+ How did this teacher provide timely and meaningful feedback to students on their progress?
+ How do the students track their own student learning in this classroom? Schoolwide?
+ Are there any specific examples of innovative teaching methods we observed?
2. Collaborative Teams
+ How are teachers collaborating within their grade-level or content-area teams?
+ What evidence do you have of teachers engaging in data analysis and using that data to inform instruction?
+ How do collaborative teams use data to measure progress toward team goals?
+ How do teacher teams build shared knowledge around state standards and ensure that the curriculum is aligned with the outcomes of the state standards?
+ What process do you have in place for teachers to develop curriculum maps for each course or grade-level prioritized standards?
+ What processes and protocols are in place to support teacher teams in unpacking standards?
+ How do teacher teams use evidence of student learning to develop lesson plans, implement reteaching strategies, and strengthen curricular resources?
+ How is student progress monitored? What systems and structures are used to ensure students make progress, and who is responsible? How do students exit intervention once learning gaps are closed?
3. Feedback
+ How do you engage teachers in individual conversations about student progress to improve teachers’ instructional practice?
+ What structures have you created to receive feedback?
4.
Professional Development
+ What’s your school’s professional development plan this school year?
+ What structures and processes are in place to support teachers’ professional growth?
+ What do you need to move this work forward?
5. School Culture
+ What strategies are in place to promote a positive and inclusive school culture?
+ How are you fostering strong relationships with students and families?
+ What student-led initiatives or projects are taking place this school year that stand out?
+ In what ways are students given opportunities to take on leadership roles or voice their opinions?
+ How is student feedback incorporated into school initiatives?
+ What evidence is displayed in your hallways to create a safe, warm, and welcoming environment?
+ What evidence outside of school grounds helps promote a safe and welcoming environment?
6. Interventions and Differentiated Instruction
+ How are teachers differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of students?
+ What does scaffolded instruction look like in your school?
+ What strategies are in place to ensure all students are receiving targeted support and interventions? Where is this documented?
7. Celebrations
+ What was a recent school celebration?
+ How do you celebrate students?
+ How do you celebrate staff?
These questions will help form a solid content base for providing school-visitbased feedback to direct-report principals. We provide further detail on feedback processes for school visits in chapter 5 (page 125).
Retaining Principals
The widespread challenge of educators leaving the profession also affects school principals, who play a critical role in shaping school culture and climate. Retaining principals and keeping them motivated are essential for maintaining stability within schools. A study published in the Journal of Educational Administration (Guthery & Bailes, 2022) reports that teacher retention and principal experience are key predictors of school stability. The authors found that the longer a principal stayed in a school, the more effective they were at hiring teachers, which is the single most important classroom factor in a student’s learning experience.
Principals have a strong influence on student learning and achievement, school climate, teacher working conditions, professional development, and the consistency of teaching staff (Donley, Detrich, States, & Keyworth, 2020). Therefore, efforts to minimize principal turnover are necessary. In an article for Education Week, Denisa R. Superville (2023) explains, “Consecutive surveys of principals by the NASSP, released in 2021 and 2022, showed that nearly 40 percent of school leaders planned to leave their jobs in the next few years.” Research indicates that stable school leadership is a critical factor in sustaining school-improvement efforts. When principals leave their positions, the effects ripple throughout the school community, impacting teachers, students, and overall academic progress. As Stephanie
Levin and Kathryn Bradley (n.d.) highlight in their report Understanding and Addressing Principal Turnover, “Principal turnover can be disruptive to school progress, often resulting in higher teacher turnover and, ultimately, lower gains in student achievement” (p. 3), especially in high-poverty and low-achieving schools.
Understanding and being intentional about retaining principals is crucial. Levin and Bradley (n.d.) outline several strategies to sustain principal retention.
• Providing varied and exceptional professional learning opportunities
• Creating a positive work environment and ensuring principal well-being
• Ensuring appropriate and sustained compensation
• Empowering leaders’ decision-making power
• Reforming productive accountability systems
• Conducting stay interviews
Implementing these strategies helps create an environment where principals feel valued, supported, and empowered to lead effectively. This, in turn, fosters a stable and positive school culture, ultimately benefiting students, teachers, and the entire school community.
Exceptional Professional Learning
Retaining principals begins with ensuring they feel confident and prepared for their roles. Principals who receive high-quality professional learning are less likely to leave than those who feel unprepared. Mentoring and coaching programs have generally received positive feedback from principals, especially as the educational environment continuously changes and presents new challenges (DeWitt, 2021).
Evidence shows that better-prepared principals, including those who have had internships and mentors, experience less stress and stay longer, even in high-need schools. Levin and Bradley (n.d.) highlight that effective professional learning opportunities include “high-quality preparation programs, ongoing training, peer networks, and coaching support” (p. 19).
Some states have taken proactive steps to enhance future leaders’ resilience by developing practical on-the-job training programs. For instance, North Dakota has established apprenticeships and programs that provide practical experience for principals before they officially start their roles. Missouri created a leadership development system, which offers professional mentoring and microcredentials to new and incoming school leaders (Blad, 2023). These initiatives help ensure that principals are well equipped to handle the demands of their positions, fostering a sense of competence and stability for long-term retention.
Positive Work Environment and Principal Well-Being
Working conditions influence principals’ decisions to stay or leave their positions. High principal turnover often stems from work environments that lack support and strong interpersonal relationships. Levin and Bradley (n.d.) note that working conditions include “workload (the number of school-related work hours inside and outside of the school), job complexity (having multiple roles and responsibilities), and disciplinary environment (student behavior, and student and teacher absenteeism)” (p. 12). District leaders can address these elements by ensuring the availability of adequate instructional resources and actively working to enhance the school climate.
Levin and Bradley (n.d.) assert that “principal turnover is highest in the first three years on the job” (p. 19). Work-related stress and burnout are major factors contributing to new principals’ loss of motivation and physical or emotional exhaustion. Educational researchers Roger A. Federici and Einar M. Skaalvik (2012) published a study “to explore relations between principals’ self-efficacy, burnout, job satisfaction and principals’ motivation to quit” (p. 295). They state that “burnout was the strongest predictor of motivation to leave” (p. 309). To mitigate burnout and support principal well-being, it’s crucial to distribute responsibilities among team members. Effective principals are “highly visible in their schools and spend a significant amount of time in the classroom monitoring new instructional practices” (Donley et al., 2020, p. 23). Creating a supportive work environment where principals feel valued and connected can help retain them and ensure the stability and success of the school.
Compensation
A survey published in 2021 by NASSP reveals that 35 percent of principals would leave the education field if they were to receive an offer for a higher-paying job. Ensuring fair pay for principals is a factor in their retention, and it extends beyond just their salaries. In some districts, salaries for experienced teachers can be higher than principals, which diminishes the incentive for individuals to pursue or remain in principal positions (Levin & Bradley, n.d.).
To address this issue, districts can consider several action steps. First, conduct a comprehensive salary review to ensure principal compensation is competitive with similar roles in other fields and commensurate with the responsibilities and challenges of the position. Implementing salary scales that reflect experience and performance can provide a more attractive financial incentive. Offering benefits beyond salary—such as professional development stipends, tuition reimbursement, and additional leave time—could make principal positions more appealing. Creating a clear career advancement pathway and recognizing the vital role of the principal
could also reinforce the value of the principalship. Ensuring compensation and support is another key to retaining talented principals and fostering long-term stability in schools.
Decision-Making Authority
Enhancing principal retention can be achieved by granting greater autonomy in school-level decision making, particularly in areas such as budget, staffing, and curriculum (Donley et al., 2020). Principals who feel empowered to make decisions related to student discipline, teacher hiring and evaluation, and budget allocation are more likely to remain in their positions (Levin & Bradley, n.d.).
Promoting a collaborative decision-making model can further support this autonomy. Involving school leaders, teachers, community members, and students in the decision-making process ensures that diverse perspectives are considered and that decisions reflect the needs and values of the entire school community. This collaborative approach not only enhances the relevance and effectiveness of decisions but also fosters a shared sense of ownership and commitment among stakeholders. By empowering principals with more input on decisions that are best for the school, supervisors create a more supportive environment, which contributes to principal retention and overall success.
Accountability Policies
High-stakes accountability systems that threaten schools with sanctions can discourage principals from staying in low-performing schools and impact their mobility decisions. Research indicates that some schools struggling with poor performance and high poverty rates have higher principal turnover, and it’s harder to recruit new school leaders (Levin & Bradley, n.d.). To address this challenge, principal supervisors can provide resources such as targeted professional development and instructional coaching. This will help principals build teacher capacity and promote the use of evidence-based instructional strategies, ultimately improving student achievement outcomes. Additionally, establishing support networks for principals, especially in challenging schools, can reduce isolation and foster a sense of community.
Stay Interviews
Stay interviews are the opposite of exit interviews, which are conducted when an employee has already made a decision to leave an organization. Richard P. Finnegan (2023), CEO of C-Suite Analytics and author of The Power of Stay Interviews for Engagement and Retention, defines a stay interview as “a structured discussion a leader conducts with an individual employee to learn specific actions the leader can
take to strengthen the employee’s engagement and retention with the organization.” During a stay interview in an educational context, principal supervisors ask current talented principals questions to understand how to keep them engaged. A stay interview is designed to understand factors that contribute to employee satisfaction and retention. In other words, it helps districts understand what principals want, what they dislike, what causes them frustration and tempts them to leave, and what might keep them engaged in the organization. This process provides feedback to the school district. Stay interviews aim to open up a dialogue about the principal’s experiences, aspirations, and any potential areas of improvement in their working environment. They’re conducted to help managers understand why employees stay and what might cause them to leave. In an effective stay interview, managers ask standard, structured questions in a casual and conversational manner, without judgment or repercussions. Most stay interviews take less than half an hour. See the following list for some example questions posed in a stay interview.
• What do you enjoy about your role? What aspects are most fulfilling and enjoyable?
• What challenges and obstacles have you encountered that could be addressed to enhance your job satisfaction?
• What professional development opportunities do you feel would contribute to your growth in this role?
• Are there specific aspects of the school’s culture that you appreciate, and are there areas for improvement?
• Do you find your workload manageable, or can adjustments be made? If so, what suggestions could you provide?
• How would you describe the level of support you receive from your team and district colleagues?
• How do you envision your career progressing, and are there particular goals you would like to achieve?
• Is there anything in your current principal role that could significantly impact your job satisfaction and commitment to staying at the school?
• What additional information would you like to share?
There are numerous articles about the benefits of stay interviews. Here are some overarching reasons.
• Fosters stronger relationships and builds trust: Stay interviews can help employees feel heard, valued, and as though their supervisors want them to stay (Miles, 2023).
• Gathers patterns for areas of improvement: When employees provide genuine feedback on the strengths and areas for growth of an organization, it reinforces that the organization wants to become better (Kurter, 2022).
• Identifies key factors that contribute to employee retention: Instead of guessing, supervisors can gain a clear understanding of what motivates employees and what’s in their control to help retention (Finnegan, 2023).
There is a wealth of benefits to conducting stay interviews to help retain the best and brightest employees. Second only to a high-quality teacher, principals are a powerful resource for improving student learning, and stability in the principalship is critical. So, why wouldn’t we invest time and resources into retention strategies?
Conclusion
In this chapter, we highlighted the critical need to build and sustain a robust leadership talent pool for filling school principal vacancies. As the principal has one of the most pivotal roles in a school, time and attention must be paid to identifying, developing, hiring, and retaining highly effective principals. With numerous principal positions expected to open in the coming years, investing in new and aspiring school leaders is a top priority and a key ingredient for successful schools and the enhancement of student learning. The role of principal has become more complex over time. Establishing a strong principal pipeline and nurturing future leaders within a district are more vital now than ever to ensure long-term school success and stability. Once we’ve created a principal pipeline and have a better understanding of how to build and sustain a leadership talent pool, we can focus on professional development for principals.
CULTIVATING EXCEPTIONAL PRINCIPALS
“Effective principal leadership is essential to student achievement. Cultivating Exceptional Principals provides superintendents and principal supervisors with a clear and strategic framework to align their leadership and vision with the development of high-performing principals. Grounded in foundational research and practical resources, this book equips district leaders with the knowledge and tools to create intentional professional development that ensures principals have the skills to build collective efficacy and drive academic excellence for all students.”
Phillip Page
Former Superintendent, Bartow County Schools, Georgia
“This book offers practical guidance to principals wishing to strengthen how they lead and collaborate with their peers, as well as highlights and explains the important and complex role of principal supervisors. The reflection prompts and other practical tools are particularly helpful for the reader.”
Kate Thornton Associate Professor, Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
“The timing of this book couldn’t be better. As the challenges facing school leaders grow more complex by the day, the need to support principals has never been more urgent. Kullar, Fraser, and Reddel offer a thoughtful and practical guide that provides essential focus areas for those who supervise principals.”
Robert Edwards Superintendent, Cortland Enlarged City School District, New York
A Guide for Principal Supervisors to Hire , Develop , and Retain School Leaders
Principals play a vital part in supporting teachers and curriculum, but who supports principals? In Cultivating Exceptional Principals: A Guide for Principal Supervisors to Hire, Develop, and Retain School Leaders, Jasmine K. Kullar, Bruce Fraser, and Lisa M. Reddel discuss the crucial role of principal supervisors, who bolster principals’ efforts to create high-performing schools with effective, innovative leadership. The authors review integral tenets of support—including professional development, collaborative communities, and constructive feedback—and offer numerous actionable strategies. Through this book’s in-depth guidance, principal supervisors will understand how to build reliable networks of future school leaders and equip current principals with valuable skills and resources.
Readers will:
• Better mentor and coach fellow administrators in their capacities as instructional leaders
• Build principal pipelines to sustain effective leadership with capable future administrators
• Encourage principals’ professional development to adapt to new challenges and needs
• Promote collaborative principal networks to facilitate professional support and learning
• Provide actionable feedback to guide principals’ continued growth