Five Ways Principals Drive Student Outcomes
Principals collaborating at PIVOT’s Leader Summer Institute
One of the most frequent questions we get here at PIVOT is, “Why principals?” What does a school get by developing its leadership that it can’t get from investing in other areas? While interventions at every level have their place in schools, we’ve chosen to work with principals because of our own experience. When principals have the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and support to drive change, they impact a range of levers that drive student success.
That said, even though schools across the U.S. are led by exceptional individuals, they don’t always have the support and training to be as effective as possible. There simply aren’t many options for school leaders who want effective support and training that fits into their already-packed schedules.
PIVOT exists to be that resource, because we know from our on-the-ground work and from academic research that when principals have the support they crave, students benefit. Here are five ways that happens:
1. Principals impact teacher retention.
Teachers regularly name principal support as one of the most important factors in their decisions to stay or leave a school, according to the Learning Policy Institute. When a principal leaves a high-need school, nearly 41% of its teachers do, too. When teachers leave, it disrupts the transfer of institutional knowledge and siphons expertise out of the school. It’s also expensive - in a large urban district, each teacher who leaves can cost nearly $20,000. The role of more experienced principals has even more benefits in low-income schools because they are more effective at identifying and retaining the best-quality teachers.
Principals play a significant role in assuring teachers have what they need to do their job. To name just a few of their duties that can vastly improve teacher experience, and therefore retention: School leaders establish the culture of the school community; allocate time for teacher planning, collaboration, and professional development; create mentorship programs for new educators; and encourage innovation and offer time-tested approaches to curriculum.
2. Principals impact family engagement.
Principals are often the face of a school, and their attitudes toward family engagement set the tone for what parents and other caregivers expect. A 2021 study showed that when principals are perceived as strong leaders, families at their schools are more engaged. When families are welcomed as partners, teachers are encouraged and given time to connect with families, and the overall culture of a school is positive, family engagement improves. In a report from the University of Delaware’s Partnership for Public Education, “a few pivots on the part of principals may transform the ways that parents and families participate in and engage with their students’ schooling.
3. Principals impact the quality of instruction.
It’s a misconception that principals don’t have much influence on teaching and learning at the classroom level. The most effective principals are instructional leaders of their schools. They offer specific instructional support by coaching teachers, helping them identify areas to grow, and working with them to use data to guide curricular decisions and interventions, according to a report from the Wallace Foundation.
4. Principals impact student attendance.
Relationship-building is the pillar upon which great principals engage families and support their teachers. Similarly, their commitment to creating a positive, personable environment affects how students feel at school. A principal’s role in creating systems and structures that keep a school running also influence how students who are chronically absent are identified and offered support.
A study in Education Researcher that followed school principals in Tennessee for a decade found that an increase in principal quality reduced the likelihood of chronic absenteeism by four percent. This effect is even greater in lower income schools, which tend to have the highest rates of absenteeism.
5. Principals impact student academic achievement.
Teacher retention, family engagement, quality of instruction, and student attendance are well-known predictors of academic success. Given the four previous points, it follows that great principals are necessary for student academic achievement. Research supports this, showing a direct connection between student performance and principal quality. In fact, a study published in Education Next found:
“Our results indicate that highly effective principals raise the achievement of a typical student in their schools by between two and seven months of learning in a single school year; ineffective principals lower achievement by the same amount.”
We’re proud that principals who have participated in PIVOT’s leadership development cohorts have achieved similar outcomes. They’ve had significant improvements in rates of teacher retention and chronic absenteeism. Ultimately, their efforts have increased student academic success on their campuses. About 9,500 students have benefited from their commitment to developing their practice through PIVOT.
If you think you or your team members might be a good fit for PIVOT’s programming, learn more here.