Supporting Overwhelmed Principals: A Guide for District Leaders

Over the last week, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with principals to review their budgets and progress toward their goals. While these conversations have been productive, they have also highlighted a critical concern: our principals are overwhelmed.

Just like teachers, principals are experiencing increasing workloads and responsibilities. On top of managing their schools, they are frequently pulled away from their core duties to attend district-mandated meetings—many of which could have been handled more efficiently through a virtual option or even an email.

The reality is clear: piling on new tasks without removing outdated or inefficient initiatives creates a recipe for burnout. We cannot expect principals to be successful if we continue to add more to their plates without providing support or addressing the barriers that impede their ability to lead effectively.

District Leaders: Are We Truly Listening?

As district office leaders, we must ask ourselves:

• When was the last time we truly listened to our principals?
• What common challenges or themes are we hearing from them?
• What outdated policies or procedures can we revise or eliminate to lighten their workload?

Listening alone is not enough—we must act. Providing real support may be as simple as streamlining processes, removing duplicative tasks, and ensuring that district-level requirements align with principals’ day-to-day realities.

To help district leaders assess how they can better support their principals, I’ve developed the following checklist:

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Checklist of Questions to Ask Principals

1. What are your top three challenges right now?
   • This helps prioritize their immediate needs.
2. What current responsibilities or initiatives feel redundant or outdated?
   • Identifies areas where processes could be streamlined or eliminated.
3. How much time do district meetings and mandated tasks take from your day-to-day duties?
   • Provides insight into whether meetings are helping or hindering.
4. Are there processes or reports that could be simplified, automated, or combined?
   • Helps reduce workload with simple improvements.
5. What district-level support do you feel you need more of?
   • Ensures support matches their actual needs.
6. Do you feel you have enough time to focus on instructional leadership? Why or why not?
   • Determines if operational duties are overshadowing their instructional role.
7. How could district communication be improved to save you time?
   • Explores whether emails, virtual meetings, or newsletters could replace unnecessary gatherings.
8. What resources (human, financial, or technology) would make your job more manageable?
   • Encourages principals to share specific resource gaps.
9. What barriers can I, as a district leader, remove for you today?
   • Positions the district office as problem-solvers and advocates.
10. How are you managing your own well-being and work-life balance? How can we help?
    • Recognizes their personal and professional challenges to avoid burnout.

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Taking Action to Support Principals

By asking these questions—and truly listening to the answers—district leaders can identify patterns, remove unnecessary burdens, and create a healthier, more manageable workload for principals.

We know that strong leadership in schools directly impacts teacher performance and student success. To keep our principals focused on what matters most—supporting teachers and students—we must remove the obstacles that pull them away.

District leaders, let’s commit to evaluating our systems, cutting through inefficiencies, and providing the real support our principals need. A streamlined to-do list and a clear understanding of their challenges can be the difference between burnout and success.

When principals succeed, schools thrive. Let’s ensure we’re giving them every opportunity to do so.