Special Report
School & District Management

Principals, Here’s How Teachers View You

October 15, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

An exclusive Education Week Research Center survey reveals striking gaps between how principals rate the impact of their leadership and how teachers do.

Special Report: Inside the Principal-Teacher Relationship



69% of principals completely agree that teachers at their school feel empowered to bring problems to them.

25% of teachers completely agree they feel empowered to bring problems to their principal.

“That’s been the biggest frustration in the districts I have been at, teachers have questioned the consequences that a student received, that they weren’t harsh enough.”

Russell McDaniel, principal, Celina, Texas



45% of teachers completely agree their principal supports teachers who start innovative work or new initiatives.

86% of principals completely agree they support teachers who start innovative work or new initiatives.

"All too often, principals are in classrooms ... taking copious notes ... [T]hey rattle off all of the notes ... and it doesn’t help the teacher improve anything."

Kimberly Grayson, principal, Denver

87% of principals say it is very important for teachers to have a positive working relationship with them.

81% of teachers say it is very important for them to have a positive working relationship with their principal.

“Using evaluation tools as punitive assessments really doesn’t do anybody any good.”

Keith Brayman, social studies teacher, Lexington, S.C.

“There’s a fine line between being a leader and being a boss.”

David Bosso, social studies teacher, Berlin, Conn.

A version of this article appeared in the October 16, 2019 edition of Education Week as How Teachers View Their Principals & How Principals See Themselves

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Opinion A Good Principal Knows When It's Time to Leave
I didn’t leave my job because of burnout; I stepped away from being a school leader because it was in everybody’s best interest.
Matthew Ebert
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of someone handing off a baton to someone else over a completed puzzle.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Principals Tell Politicians on Capitol Hill: We’re Burning Out
Students' mental health top principals' growing list of concerns.
6 min read
People walk outside the U.S Capitol building in Washington, June 9, 2022.
Visitors walk outside the U.S Capitol building in Washington on June 9, 2022.
Patrick Semansky/AP
School & District Management Women Superintendents Experience Bias on the Climb to Leadership
Interpersonal slights and inequities make it hard for women to land the job and stay in it.
3 min read
Woman stands in front of a staircase in different colors. She is about to walk up the stairs. Concept of standing in front of a challenge and finding the right solution and courage to move on.
mikkelwilliam/E+
School & District Management Fewer of Today's Superintendents Are at Retirement Age
A new survey of superintendents adds to what we know about the people who lead the nation's school districts.
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of money, salaries and data.
iStock/Getty