More principals are quitting K-12 schools, reports show

An unusually large number of K-12 principals have quit their jobs as schools struggle with teacher burnout, student learning loss and staff shortages.

The most recent estimates from the National Center for Education Statistics show that 1 in 5 principals stepped down between the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years. Besides those who moved to other campuses or administrative roles, 11.2% of public school principals and 9.7% of private school principals left education entirely.

Between the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, 9.8% of public school principals abandoned the industry, according to the center, which is part of the Department of Education. The rate of public school principals quitting education last hit 11% in the federal estimate between the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 academic years.

“Principals have become contract tracers and amateur epidemiologists, led public discussions about masking and hybrid learning, faced controversies at school board meetings and confronted teacher shortages,” David Griffith, an associate executive director at the National Association of Elementary School Principals, told The Washington Times. “Even coming out of the pandemic, the mental health of students and staff who are struggling requires a lot of extra work.”

Another 70% of K-8 principals plan to leave within the next three years, the association said, and rural and urban public schools with significant teacher shortages and limited budgets are expected to take the biggest hits.

Researchers say it’s hard to determine exactly how many have left since 2020 because the Education Department bases its estimates on annual surveys of principals.

Brendan Bartanen, an education policy professor at the University of Virginia, said annual turnover has perhaps increased from 15% to 20% of principals before the pandemic to 18% to 23% since.

“Turnover rates are substantially higher in schools with low achievement levels, schools that serve larger shares of low-income students, and schools that serve larger shares of Black and Latino students,” Mr. Bartanen told The Times.

He noted that research shows principals are more likely to retire or resign during periods of declining academic performance, which has worsened over the past three years. Student scores on standardized math and English exams plunged to historic lows during two years of hybrid learning arrangements.

Another factor in the wave of departures is that some veteran principals deferred their retirements during two years of COVID-19 lockdowns, said Jason A. Grissom, a professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University.

He said teachers are moving into principal jobs earlier in their careers and quitting at younger ages than 25 years ago.

“Turnover rates actually were lower than usual the first couple of [pandemic] years, despite the hard conditions, because of uncertainty in the labor market and commitment of many folks to help their schools weather pandemic-related challenges,” Mr. Grissom said.

No national estimates are available yet for turnover heading into 2022-2023 and the current academic year, but reports show principals are leaving large public school districts.

Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland’s second-largest public school system, has reported 43 principal retirements and departures from the county’s 206 schools over the past three school years.

Monica Goldson resigned as chief executive officer at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. She cited “political infighting” among county school board members and an “inability to work together in the best interest of our students.”

Economist Gema Zamarro, an education market researcher at the University of Arkansas, said educators in Arkansas and North Carolina were more likely to retire from public schools last year after holding out during pandemic lockdowns.

“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators, including principals, have experienced higher levels of job-related burnout and stress even after school closures and health risks diminished,” Ms. Zamarro said.

A public freedom of information request shared with The Times shows that 53 principals have retired from the 222 schools in Fairfax County Public Schools, the largest district in Virginia, since the 2020-2021 school year.

Stewart D. Roberson, an education professor at the University of Virginia, said principals statewide are tired of taking political heat for closing K-12 campuses early in the pandemic. The move is now widely blamed for learning losses, teacher shortages and increases in student anxiety and depression.

“The school leaders didn’t create those policies; they were simply implementing them,” said Mr. Roberson, a former public middle and high school principal in Fredericksburg who also served as superintendent of Falls Church City Public Schools during his 40-year career.

As principal departures accelerate, public officials put more effort into recruiting, retaining and training replacements.

“The [Education] Department remains focused on supporting our teachers and school leaders, so local districts can recruit, develop and retain the great teachers who will become great principals,” an Education Department spokesperson told The Times in an email.

Todd Reid, assistant superintendent of strategic communications at the Virginia Department of Education, said principal shortages could range from zero in one school system to dozens in adjoining systems.

He touted a state program to mentor new principals in “federally identified at-risk schools” starting next year.

“The plan is to pair these new principals in especially challenged circumstances with successful, recently retired principals who can share their professional experience and perspective,” Mr. Reid said. “We’re hopeful that this mentoring will help our newly arrived principals manage some of the issues that they face in the modern educational environment.”

Education watchers see challenges as political tensions over gender, race and social media policies intensify ahead of the 2024 elections.

“Principals are exhausted by the challenges of the past several years, from the terrible pandemic to students’ mental health challenges to chronically absent teachers to the culture wars,” said Michael J. Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative education think tank. “And even if none of that had happened, we would have seen a lot of turnover because of baby boomers reaching retirement age.”