Not every principal has the same pathway to the job. Some hone their leadership skills while still in the classroom, serving as teacher-leaders or heads of departments. Others do a stint as assistant principal, learning how to craft a budget or master schedule. Many educators who become principals are tapped by their own school leaders, who put them on the path to the principalship by unearthing a hidden talent for managing people and spaces.
Then there are educators like Jesus Sandoval, the principal of Burnsville High School in Burnsville, Minn., who needed no prodding at all—he knew, since college, that he wanted to be a leader. The first one in his immigrant Mexican family to attend college, Sandoval credits the Latino Student Union on Bowling Green State University’s campus for igniting the spark in him to think beyond his initial plans to be a math teacher.
“I knew that the classroom wasn’t going to be my end, because I realized that I can only help support a small, fixed number” there, said Sandoval. “Whereas being a principal, I have a larger scope. … I could encourage and enhance a larger group of students.”
Sandoval took charge as principal at Burnsville in 2023, 12 years into his career as an educator. Educators, like Sandoval, say they experienced a substantial leadership growth spurt when they become principals.
And despite the training or coursework they go through before taking on the role, nothing can prepare them for the ultimate realization: “The buck stops with you. You have an inherent responsibility now toward the students, and the staff looks to you for guidance,” said Anthony Peddle, the freshly minted principal of Devonshire Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio.
Peddle was the assistant principal at Devonshire before he was thrust into the top job this school year after the former principal retired early due to health concerns. Even though Peddle had done a principal internship, and had been sharpening his leadership skills as assistant principal, he suddenly found himself playing several new roles as principal.
“Sometimes you have to be the shoulder to cry on, and a counselor for the adults and the students,” he said. “You then also have to make sure your supplies are in order, so students have what they need to learn.”
First-time principals like Sandoval and Peddle have taken on the mantle at a uniquely challenging time for public schools, as the Trump administration threatens cuts to federal funding and the future of the U.S. Department of Education is uncertain.
Principals have to stay focused on meeting students’ needs, no matter what the federal forecast holds, Sandoval said.
Getting ready for the job
Alexandra Miller worked in the luxury industry but switched careers in 2013 to teach because she wanted to do something “really impactful that was grounded in the community.” Miller taught at Ecole Kenwood Elementary, a French immersion school in Columbus, Ohio, and was appointed principal this school year.
Unlike other principals new to a building, Miller was familiar with the staff and students. Her own son had attended Ecole. But the familiarity also brought unique challenges.
“Even if there are pre-existing friendships, ... all that changes when you become an administrator,” Miller said. “For some [relationships], it’s similar. For others, [there’s] kind of this gray space of redefining and reestablishing routines and norms and expectations.”
What’s helping Miller redefine her role is the detour she took between teaching and leading—she spent two years as a district-appointed liaison for schools in the process of adopting a French immersion curriculum.
Miller worked with different principals during that time and noticed how each person led differently. One, Miller said, was a “yes” principal, open to all ideas, another was a “no” principal who was likely to shoot down all suggestions, and a third was a “let me think about it” principal who would mull over and pick ideas that worked for the whole school.
Taking cues from the third leader, Miller has put in a suggestion box outside her office for teachers and students to share ideas. It gives her the chance to encounter opinions that are different from her own, and to assure teachers that she values their experience and perspective.
Other early-career principals prepared for their new role by sharpening one key skill.
Peddle, who has a background in teaching students with disabilities, focused on data literacy and management during his principal internship. He wanted to learn how decisions were made using data, and how these data could be used to improve student outcomes.
Sandoval, who was an assistant principal at a different school before he joined Burnsville, crafted his own DIY apprenticeship by asking his bosses to mentor him in tasks like creating a master schedule, or a school budget.
The training, thorough as it was, couldn’t match up to the real thing.
“I knew school budgeting was a thing because it’s part of our [training] program and our development,” Peddle said. “But when you’re sitting here and you’re like, ‘Wait, what? Which [is the] line to pay for pizza to get families to come out?’ That’s very eye-opening!”
New principals should tread carefully when implementing changes
New principals may be itching to do some things differently from their predecessors or try new ideas they were exposed to in their training. But they need to tread carefully, Miller said, even in familiar settings.
As a teacher, Miller had extensive conversations with her peers about things the school should change or stop doing. But given the demands on an elementary teacher’s time, it was impossible for them to contribute their ideas without a structure in place.
As principal, Miller formed staff committees, which teachers can join to focus on improvements to areas they are passionate about, like math instruction or behavior policies.
Some of Miller’s newly implemented measures—like a more expansive parent night where each teacher was asked to present to parents and show how a language immersion curriculum works—was met with resistance from teachers.
The attitudes shifted quickly, though, when teachers realized that some of those new policies came from their peers, Miller said.
“Initially, it was met with, ‘Here’s a new thing, you’re imposing this.’ And then the perceptions went from a little bit of resistance to, ‘oh, wait, this is from within,’” Miller said.
But getting more veteran staff on board with new initiatives isn’t always easy, even if the teachers already knows the principal. Teachers may resist new changes if they’ve seen a litany of leaders, all with new ideas to implement, rotate in and out in quick succession.
Being a younger principal to veteran teachers, who are set in their ways, can be a barrier, Peddle said.
“You’re leading adults who lead children, and that piece of it is still a struggle for me,” said Peddle. “Some of my more seasoned teachers see me as this young guy coming in, when [what] I really want is to partner with them.”
For instance, Peddle’s veteran teachers were resistant to following a new process to keep track of 3rd grade reading scores. Peddle met with them to understand the underlying issue and realized that some teachers were struggling with the technology required. He organized an optional professional development session that helped the teachers learn how to use the tool, and also understand the role their data inputs is playing in the overall improvement of the school.
It also helps, said Peddle, to have a group of trusted teachers to confide in and run things by. Peddle consults with these informal advisers every time he needs to ask his staff to change something they’re used to.
It’s also crucial, Sandoval said, that new principals literally walk the walk when establishing relationships with teachers.
In his new gig, Sandoval established quickly that he wasn’t going to spend all his time behind his desk.
“Attendance is an issue,” he said. “I’m out there checking hall passes, checking restrooms, just like the other staff.”
Leading in a new environment
Sandoval and other new principals are leading schools that can look starkly different from the schools they attended. A growing number of immigrant families are now part of the school’s community. Sandoval communicates with them at parent nights and through a weekly newsletter.
The consistent communication allows Sandoval to address a problem quickly, he said.
“If you don’t provide information, then it’s very easy for the community to make up their own mind” about the school, he said.
First-time principals will be pulled in a lot of new directions, Peddle said. Two practices help him stay centered.
He relies on other principal friends for advice when he’s stuck with a problem. It helps to ask other principals about their experience with a problem, or vent about a hard day at school.
Peddle’s also trying to get ahead of burnout as a new principal.
“All of the school apps are not on my personal phone. My laptop stays at school,” Peddle said. “Taking [problems] home and burning myself out faster is is not going to help anyone, especially our students. But the balance is still a hard one to figure out.”
