Principal Supervision
Partnering for principals' success as instructional leaders
DL2's research shows principal supervisors are essential supports for principals' growth as instructional leaders, but not all forms of principal supervision help realize those results. In districts ranging in size from a few thousand to over a hundred thousand students, findings show that principal supervisors help principals grow as instructional leaders when they:
- Operate with a clear conception of their role as a dedicated support for principals’ growth as instructional leaders.
- Support principals to lead their own learning as instructional leaders.
- Supplement principals’ leadership of their own learning with one-on-one coaching and facilitation of principal learning communities from a teaching-and-learning stance.
- Receive support for their growth from their own supervisor from a teaching-and-learning approach.
Resources
Research
From tinkering to transformation: How school district central offices drive equitable teaching and learning (2023)
In this book, available from Harvard Education Press, we share our latest findings on the work of Principal Supervision (Chapter 4) as well as Teaching & Learning, Human Resources, Operations, and Cabinet.
Order From tinkering to transformationBook Here
Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach (2020)
In this book, available from Harvard Education Press, we detail our research findings on what principal supervisors do when they help principals grow as instructional leaders and conditions that support principal supervisors' success.
Order Supervising Principals for Instructional LeadershipBook Here
A teaching-and-learning approach to principal supervision (2020)
In this Phi Delta Kappan article, we discuss our research findings about principal supervision.
Read A Teaching-and-Learning Approach to Principal SupervisionArticle Here
Supporting principal supervisors: What really matters (2019)
In this Emerald Insight article, we share our research findings about conditions that help principal supervisors shift their roles from supervision to support.
Read Supporting Principal SupervisorsArticle Here
Research use as learning: The case of fundamental change in school district central offices (2017)
In this American Educational Research Journal article, we share research findings about how central office administrators use research (including the central office transformation research) to fundamentally shift their work to support districtwide teaching and learning improvement.
Read Research Use as LearningArticle Here
Central office leadership in principal professional learning communities: The practice beneath the policy (2014)
In this Teachers College Record article, we share our initial research findings about how principal supervisors lead principal professional learning communities in ways that help principals grow as instructional leaders.
Read Central Office Leadership in Principal Professional Learning CommunitiesArticle Here
District central office leadership as teaching: How central office administrators support principals’ development as instructional leaders (2012)
In this Educational Administrative Quarterly article, we share our initial research findings about how principal supervisors work with principals one-on-one to support principals' growth as instructional leaders.
Read District Central Office Leadership as TeachingArticle HereTools
AASA Podcast: From Principal Supervision to Support (2024)
This episode of AASA's Principal Supervisor Podcast Series focuses on DL2's research on how principal supervisors help principals grow as instructional leaders and how two former principal supervisors have used those ideas in their own practice.
Listen to From principal supervision to supportPodcast Here
Central Office Transformation for Equitable Teaching & Learning Self-Study Guide 2.0 (2025)
Part 4 of this tool helps principal supervision central office leaders and their staff self-assess how they work in relation to the central office transformation research findings and develop action plans.
Download Central office transformation for equitable teaching & learning self-studyGuide Here
Principal Supervisor Performance Standards (PSPS) Version 3.0
These research-based performance standards focus principal supervisors and others on key practices that help principals grow as instructional leaders.
Download Principal Supervisor Performance StandardsTool Here
Professional Growth Planning (PGP) Tool
This research-based tool guides central office leaders, principals, teachers, and other educators in using performance standards to lead their own learning in ways essential to their professional growth.
Download Professional Growth PlanningTool HereMedia
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Podcasts.
Listen to these two AASA podcasts on the research in Honig & Rainey's (2020) book, "Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach.
Remote Support of Principal Supervisors "Not Different" from Pre-Covid Times (2020)
Read this interview with Meredith Honig and Nancy Gutierrez of The Leadership Academy about the importance of principal supervisors supporting principals through and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read Remote Support of Principal Supervisors "Not Different" from Pre-Covid Times Interview Here
Book Review: Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach (2020)
In this review for Teachers College Record, Kimberly D. Clarida & David Edward DeMatthews discuss Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach.
Read Supervising Principals for Instructional LeadershipReview Here
Interview: Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach (2020)
Listen to this Principal Center Radio interview with Meredith Honig and Lydia Rainey about their 2020 book.
Listen to Supervising Principals for Instructional Leadership Interview HereSpotlight
Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach
“Supervising principals for instructional leadership is a brilliant, inspiring, clear book that nails what it means to supervise school leaders for growth and helps the reader reimagine the role of the central office. Read this book, and use it immediately!”
—Michael Fullan, professor emeritus, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
“What does it look and sound like to support principals to lead learning? Honig and Rainey share their research-and-practice-tested wisdom, which combines the imagination to break free of conventional supervision with clear examples of what to do and what not to do, and a bundle of tools to make it happen.”
—Elizabeth A. City, senior lecturer on education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
"DL2’s research and tools helped me get back to why I became a principal supervisor in the first place. To be their partner and coach. To be in it with them together."
-Principal supervisor