Why Principals Should Teach Every Now and Then
Principal Cohort members, Crystal Tuggle and NaShea' Cobb, participating in PIVOT's Group Learning Days.
One of the core principles of improvement science is simple but powerful: be proximate to the work. If you want to understand a system, improve a system, or lead a system, you have to be close enough to see what is actually happening, not what you assume is happening.
For principals, that means stepping into classrooms not only as observers or coaches, but occasionally as teachers.
Not every day.
Not every week.
But every now and then, intentionally and with purpose.
Teaching periodically is one of the most effective ways for principals to build credibility, deepen their instructional leadership, and stay grounded in the realities of classroom practice.
Proximity sharpens your understanding of the work
Improvement science teaches us that solutions are rarely found far from the problem. When principals teach, even for a single period, they experience firsthand how the curriculum lands, where students struggle, what pacing feels like, how routines support or hinder learning, and what teachers are juggling minute by minute.
This kind of insight is impossible to get from walkthroughs alone. Teaching places you inside the instructional core, and that proximity makes your leadership sharper, more grounded, and more responsive.
My own practice: why I taught when I was a principal
When I was a principal, I made it a point to teach. Not constantly, but consistently enough to stay connected to the work.
I subbed whenever we needed coverage. I taught a reading group, often made up of our most struggling readers, so I could use my expertise in foundational skills and see exactly where students were getting stuck. It kept me close to the heart of our literacy work and helped me understand what our teachers were navigating every day.
Anytime we were focusing on improvement in a particular grade level or content area, I wanted to get in there myself. If we were tightening math instruction in fifth grade, I taught a fifth grade math lesson. If we were strengthening writing in seventh grade, I taught writing. I wanted to feel the pacing, the materials, the student thinking, all of it.
Teaching grounded me. It reminded me how hard the work is. It kept my empathy sharp. And it forced me to prioritize the systems that actually support teachers, because I was using those systems myself.
Teaching builds credibility with teachers
When principals teach, teachers notice. Not because they expect perfection, but because they appreciate leaders who understand the work from the inside.
Stepping into a classroom communicates that you are willing to do the work alongside your team, that you understand the complexity of teaching, and that you are committed to shared ownership of student learning.
Credibility is not built through authority. It is built through shared experience. When teachers see their principal planning a lesson, managing a transition, or adjusting instruction on the fly, trust grows. And trust is the foundation of effective coaching, feedback, and accountability.
Teaching helps principals learn the content more deeply
Strong instructional leadership requires more than knowing what good teaching looks like. It requires understanding the content itself, including the standards, the misconceptions, the scaffolds, and the cognitive load.
When principals teach, they grapple with the same content demands teachers face. They see where students get stuck. They experience the rigor of the curriculum. They understand the instructional decisions teachers must make in real time.
This content knowledge makes feedback more precise, PLC conversations more meaningful, and instructional decisions more aligned to what students actually need.
Teaching keeps leaders connected to the student experience
It is easy for principals to spend their days in meetings, managing crises, or responding to emails. Teaching pulls you back into the heart of the school: students.
When principals teach, they reconnect with student voice, student thinking, student joy, and student challenges. This connection strengthens empathy and sharpens decision-making. It reminds leaders why the work matters and who it is for.
Teaching models the culture you want to build
When principals teach, they model vulnerability, continuous learning, willingness to try and improve, respect for the craft of teaching, and shared ownership of student learning.
This modeling matters. It signals that improvement is everyone’s work, not something principals ask others to do while staying on the sidelines.
You do not have to teach often, just intentionally
This is not about adding more to a principal’s already full plate. It is about choosing moments that matter. Co-teaching a lesson during a new unit. Modeling a strategy you want to see schoolwide. Teaching a class when a teacher is out. Leading a small group during intervention. Taking over a lesson so a teacher can observe a colleague.