Here’s the picture: principals working hard to balance new modes of instruction, support exhausted teachers, and reassure anxious communities.
It’s what my principals were facing when I was a principal supervisor in 2020 and unfortunately, it still very much describes schools today. AI is changing teaching and learning, burnout is pushing educators out of the profession, and community concerns remain heightened.
It all rolls up to principals.
Leadership by principal supervisors can make all the difference.
The Principal Supervisor Shift That Still Matters
Great principals don’t just happen. They’re cultivated, coached, and supported by those who hold one of the most underappreciated and essential roles in our school systems: principal supervisors.
A decade ago, the Council of Chief State School Officers’ Model Principal Supervisor Professional Standards redefined the role, shifting it from compliance and operations to coaching and instructional leadership.
Those standards helped inform my work as a principal supervisor and helped my central officer leaders approve a decision for me to spend nearly 80% of my time in schools. I even relocated my office from the district office to a school. That sharpened my understanding of principals’ daily realities and built trust as I helped them navigate complex issues. It was a reminder that leadership is most powerful when it’s close to the work.
Too many supervisors lack the resources and capacity to get there, spending too much time on evaluation and too little on what we at The Leadership Academy believe is most critical: actually building principals’ capacity to lead schools.
So, how do we equip principal supervisors with the right tools reflecting the realities of right now?
SHINE as a Roadmap
What’s often missing is a clearer picture of what effective leadership looks like in daily practice.
The Leadership Academy’s SHINE Leadership framework and tools help to fill that gap.
SHINE names the consistent behaviors of effective leaders, including principal supervisors, and our Principal Supervisor Actions That SHINE helps those who manage principals prioritize where to focus and how.
With actions across instruction, culture, and systems, the tool builds on the professional standards, offering practical things supervisors can do to strengthen leadership and improve learning.
For example, here’s an action aligned to the SHINE behavior of Engaged:
“Principal supervisors support instruction by shielding principals for classroom leadership.”
To make that possible, we emphasize delegating operations, aligning district supports, and safeguarding principals’ time, allowing them to concentrate where it matters most: teaching and learning.
As a principal supervisor, I recall one of my principals being torn between putting out fires and leading instruction. Together, we created a system of school-based shared leadership and decision-making while I partnered with central office teams to streamline competing demands. Within weeks, the principal gained nearly two hours a day observing classroom lesson delivery, giving stronger teacher feedback as a result. Teachers responded by experimenting more confidently. By the end of the semester, student outcomes improved.
It’s evidence that true impact requires more than good intentions. Principal supervisors must translate vision into actionable, daily practices.
Principal Supervisor Actions That SHINE is a resource to help those in the role become model principal supervisors, creating a powerful ripple effect that shapes how principals lead, teachers teach, and students learn.
Building What’s Next, Together
Our resources aren’t stopping here. Our upcoming superintendent actions will highlight the critical role of central office support.
But tools alone aren’t enough.
Through our professional learning and coaching, The Leadership Academy helps leaders dive deeper, making these actions real within their districts’ unique contexts. We’ve partnered with more than 15,000 education leaders over the last 22 years, and we stand ready to help even more.
In my work with leaders—and from own experience in the role—I’ve seen how intentional actions, clear expectations, and central office support can help principal supervisors become the steadying force principals need. That’s how we grow stronger principals, who cultivate stronger teachers. And it’s how we improve schools to create truly limitless possibilities for all students.