NAESP and the NAESP Foundation today released the second brief in the Leaders We Need Now (LWNN) research series titled Evolution of the Principalship: Leaders Explain How the Profession Is Changing Through a Most Difficult Year. The brief reveals that in 2020–2021, principals’ work priorities shifted in response to the new challenges caused by the pandemic, and principals took on new responsibilities such as community-wide crisis management and social media communications—without formal training in these areas.

Utilizing the Professional Standards for Education Leaders (PSEL), researchers learned that certain priorities demanded more of principals’ time (front burner priorities) while others were put on the backburner.

Front Burner PSEL Priorities in 2020-2021

• Community of Care and Support for Students
• Professional Community for Teachers and Staff
• Meaningful Engagement of Families and Communities
• Operations Management

Backburner PSEL Priorities in 2020-2021

• Mission, Vision, and Core Values
• Ethics and Professional Norms
• Equity and Cultural Responsiveness
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
• Professional Capacity of School Personnel
• School Improvement

The findings highlight principal burnout and concerns about an increasing number of principals considering leaving the profession. The research has implications for the profession and the support school leaders will need going forward, including potentially reconfiguring the role and more specialization.

Download the second brief, Evolution of the Principalship. The first brief, Leaders in the Tumult, was released in November. The third brief, which looks at what schools need from policymakers as they continue to grapple with the effects and aftershocks of the events of 2020 and early 2021, will be released in early 2022.