The day-to-day demands on principals continued to grow in 2025. They implemented new cellphone policies, introduced reading curriculum, and for the better part of the year, helped their immigrant students navigate the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
All this, in addition to managing teacher morale, overseeing the rollout of new technologies like artificial intelligence, implementing district-level mandates, and brushing up on their skills as instructional leaders.
While principals are expected to wear several hats, they don’t always get the training needed to fulfill all their roles.
Education Week asked five school leaders what skills they would like to improve in the new year, and if given a chance, what kind of professional development they would design for themselves.
Principals largely said they want to get better at helping their teachers succeed, improving their own work-life balance, and learning the skills necessary to climb the career ladder toward a district-level position.
Here are their responses.
Get better at being an instructional leader
“I am looking for more training that provides me with information on instructional leadership for our professional development with our teachers. I want to be able to give my teachers a toolkit of simultaneous scaffolding techniques. The goal would be to move away from the idea that differentiation means planning three separate lessons for one class.
“Instead, I want training that shows teachers how to design a single, robust lesson that makes complex, grade-level content accessible to special education students and English-language learners at the same time.”
—Shauna Haney, principal, Ogden High School, in Ogden, Utah
Get a better handle on AI
“AI continues to be a huge PD need for educators in general and school leaders. There continue to be developments and concerns with how to leverage AI with managerial tasks, how to enhance teaching and learning practices, how to teach students about responsible use, and how to handle discipline incidents that result from inappropriate use—whether that is related to academic dishonesty or even the creation of AI-generated media to harass other students.”
—Eric Fox, assistant principal, Jenks High School, in Jenks, Okla.
Set new teachers up for success
“Teaching is becoming increasingly more demanding on staff, which leads to higher teacher turnover. The increase of teachers without formal teacher training is becoming more prevalent.
“I continually work to improve the experience of conditional teachers, career changers, and/or staff without formal teaching training to ensure that they are successful in their classroom.
“I am always looking for professional learning opportunities around supporting non-traditional teachers to help ensure students have the best person delivering instruction.”
—Anna Orry, assistant principal, Marley Middle School, Glen Burnie, Md.
Manage relationships better
“School leaders like me are seeking professional development that goes beyond instructional leadership to address the full scope of their role. Key areas of interest for me include time management, effective use of AI tools, and practical leadership skills.
“School leaders need support in mastering the social-emotional aspects of leadership, such as managing people, relationships, and stress. Balancing these responsibilities while remaining strong instructional leaders is a growing priority.”
—Rasheem Hollis, assistant principal, Hodgson Vocational Technical High School, Newark, Del.
Meet career goals
“Because of the number of years I’ve spent in administration, I have considered moving up. The one thing I don’t have as a principal is professional learning on human resources or on operations. I don’t have learning opportunities to apply to district-level positions, and confidence levels in seeking these jobs are low because I don’t know what I don’t know.
“I also want to attend more conferences that are geared toward school leaders, and not just teachers. I want to sit in a room with other leaders and learn from their mistakes and about the great things they’re doing.”
—Suzan Harris, principal, Henderson Middle School, Jackson, Ga.
