How Large and Small Districts Develop Their Principals

Hiring, developing, and retaining highly effective principals is a high priority for any school district. Research tells us that aligned, comprehensive principal pipelines can help districts find and support principals who make a positive impact on students, teachers, and schools. Developing pipelines, or systems for developing a steady stream of school leaders, requires investment and commitment from districts.

While a strong evidence base exists around the key components of principal pipelines, the prevalence of those practices remains less understood. This report uses data from a Spring 2025 survey of member districts of the American School District Panel to better illuminate the types of professional development (PD) districts offer and to whom. The survey asked school districts about six types of talent development, ranging from less resource-intensive offerings (paid time for conferences; professional learning communities; trainings and workshops) to more resource-heavy offerings (principal supervisors, principal mentors, and professional coaching).

The findings in the report show that large school districts (those serving more than 10,000 students) differ from small (those serving fewer than 3,000 students) districts when it comes to professional development offerings in a number of key ways:

• The report found that large school districts were more likely to hire from within the district, while small and medium districts were more likely to hire from outside the district.
• Large school districts were more likely than small districts to offer most of the six PD types addressed in the survey.
• Small districts were more likely to offer PD to sitting principals than assistant principals. The researchers hypothesize that this is because small districts primarily hire new principals from outside the district and would rather use their limited resources on sitting principals.
• Small districts also offered more lower-cost PD opportunities to their principals.
• Large school districts offered lower-cost PD to both principals and assistant principals, but concentrated higher-cost PD to sitting principals only.
• Principals and assistant principals in small districts were more likely to choose their own PD than those in medium and large districts.

The researchers note that some schools in small districts do not have assistant principals, thus making this a less-established position for districts to invest in. 

The findings in this report have implications for state policymakers who are grappling with school leadership shortages by highlighting where districts typically find new principals and how they are developing their school leaders. Universities with pre-service leadership training programs may also apply these findings by addressing gaps in PD offered by districts through their program offerings.