Principal Pipeline

Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
School & District Management Opinion Not Every Teacher Should Be an Administrator. Here’s How to Decide
Four educators talk about what it takes to make the transition.
Larry Ferlazzo, June 1, 2026
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13 min read
Principal pointing out a teacher on a board with a classroom drawn on it. When we prepare principals, we often focus on the instructional side of the job at the expense of the people-management side.
Dan Page for Education Week
School & District Management Opinion We’re Not Preparing Principals for the Real Job of School Leadership
A shocking amount of school leadership is not about students. It is about adults.
Meagan Booth, March 27, 2026
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4 min read
Image of a male and female silhouette standing near an illustrated ladder going.
Afry Harvy/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Many Assistant Principals Aren’t Seeking Promotion. Here’s Why
The assistant principalship isn’t just a stepping stone to the top job in a school.
Olina Banerji, March 2, 2026
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6 min read
Photo of school officials having conversation.
iStock
School & District Management How Principals Are Coaching the Next Generation of School Leaders
Mentors give aspiring school leaders an unvarnished view of the principalship.
Olina Banerji, January 21, 2026
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6 min read
Principal and apprentice having a conversation in school courtyard.
E+
School & District Management How These 3 States Are Building a Principal Pipeline
Principal apprenticeship programs aim to remove barriers to school leadership.
Olina Banerji, January 14, 2026
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5 min read
Illustration of one man speaking into a speech bubbles which shows the letters "DEI" and another man on a ladder painting over the speech bubble as a way to erase it.
Gina Tomko/Education Week + DigitalVision Vectors
Teacher Preparation A Teacher-Prep Conference Warned Against Mentioning DEI. Presenters Pulled Out
Presenters at a national symposium for teacher residencies were asked to affirm they wouldn't violate recent executive orders. Some refused.
Sarah Schwartz, March 4, 2025
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6 min read
Photograph of two multiracial educators walking and talking in a school hallway. The woman on the left is mixed race Hispanic and African-American, in her 30s. Her coworker is a Filipino woman in her 40s.
E+
School & District Management 'Pre-Apprenticeships' Give Teachers a Taste of What It's Like to Be a Principal
Western Kentucky University is piloting a model to develop future school leaders.
Olina Banerji, February 28, 2025
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7 min read
Photo of principals walking in school hallway.
E+/Getty
School & District Management New Principals Have a Steep Learning Curve. Could Apprenticeships Help?
North Dakota's leaders share what they've learned about creating a principal apprenticeship in a playbook aimed at other states
Olina Banerji, July 2, 2024
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5 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School & District Management Letter to the Editor We Need a Coordinated Effort to Attract and Support Principals
The path to school leadership is not linear or one-size-fits-all, writes this letter to the editor.
October 31, 2023
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1 min read
Screen Shot 2023 09 08 at 7.35.11 AM
Canva
School & District Management Opinion The Answer to the Leadership Crisis Is Not a Principal Pipeline
School leaders are departing. There are many ideas for how to retain them and train those who aspire to the role.
Vince Bustamante & Tim Cusack, September 11, 2023
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6 min read
Image shows a hand arranging wood block stacking as step stair on paper.
Getty
School & District Management What's Next for Principal Apprenticeships? 3 Things to Know
A new federal approval will allow principal candidates to train on the job with the help of federal funding. Here's what comes next.
Evie Blad, July 25, 2023
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2 min read
Photo of school staff walking in hallway.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
School & District Management Could Principal Apprenticeships Expand the Pipeline of School Leaders?
Principal is now an approved occupation for federal apprenticeships.
Evie Blad, July 17, 2023
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4 min read
Business like setting, with Black man on a laptop in a corporate conference room or office collaborating with a Black woman
E+/Getty
School & District Management Online Training Program to Boost Number of Principals of Color Expands
A New York City education college is the latest to join an online principal training program for educators of color and equity-minded leaders.
Denisa R. Superville, May 24, 2023
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4 min read
Photo of Asian principal walking school hallway.
E+ / Getty
Recruitment & Retention Why Aren't There More Asian American School Leaders? Here's What We Heard
Ideas for making the profession more appealing.
Denisa R. Superville, February 28, 2023
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5 min read