Research Report

Trends in Principal Supervisor Leadership and Support: Results from Two Surveys of Principal Supervisors in America’s Great City Schools

Amanda Cochran, Ray Hart, and Michael Casserly
April 2020 | The Wallace Foundation and the Council of the Great City Schools

This report from the Wallace Foundation and the Council of the Great City Schools discusses findings from two surveys, administered in 2012 and 2018, showing that large school districts nationwide are redesigning the principal supervisor role to focus on principal support. Results show that the principal supervisor position has become more stable over time and that supervisors guiding urban principals were more experienced in the later survey. The mean number of principals supervised was 16, which was down from a mean of 24 in 2012, and between 98% and 99% reported that they discuss instruction and teacher performance, and visit classrooms. The authors note that results from the most recent survey strongly suggest that activities related to enhanced instruction dominated the work of principal supervisors.