Principal perspectives

For my annual back‐to‐school column, I spoke to a few principals I've been consulting with over the past few years. They work at the high‐ and elementary‐school level, each with about 20 years of experience as principal or in other leadership roles. Together, they told a complex story about challenges for students and teachers these days. Rather than fact‐check their assertions, I supplemented their narratives with a national survey of educators (NCES, n.d.), employing data from as recently as 2024.