GREAT PRINCIPALS TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO HIRE AND RETAIN THE VERY BEST TEACHERS

Introduction

Great schools are built by great teachers, and great teachers are often attracted, supported, and retained by great principals. While school buildings, curriculum materials, digital tools, and policies all matter, the quality of teaching remains one of the most powerful school-based factors influencing student learning. For this reason, effective principals understand that one of their most important responsibilities is to hire, develop, support, and retain the very best teachers.

A principal is not only an administrator who manages schedules, budgets, and discipline. A principal is also an instructional leader, culture builder, talent developer, and guardian of the school’s mission. Every hiring decision has a long-term effect on students, colleagues, families, and the reputation of the school. Likewise, every decision that influences teacher morale, workload, recognition, and professional growth affects whether excellent teachers choose to stay.

The statement “great principals take every opportunity to hire and retain the very best teachers”captures a central truth of educational leadership: strong schools do not happen by accident. They are created through careful recruitment, wise selection, meaningful support, and a school culture where talented teachers can thrive.

1. Why Teacher Quality Matters

Research consistently shows that teachers have a major influence on student achievement and development. Although family background, community conditions, curriculum, and resources all affect learning, the teacher remains one of the most significant in-school factors.

John Hattie’s synthesis of educational research highlights that factors such as teacher clarity, feedback, classroom discussion, and teacher-student relationships have strong effects on learning outcomes (Hattie, 2009). Similarly, Darling-Hammond (2000) argues that teacher quality is strongly connected to student achievement, particularly when teachers possess strong subject knowledge, pedagogical skill, and the ability to respond to diverse learners.

Because teachers matter so much, principals must treat teacher hiring and retention as strategic priorities. A weak hiring process can damage a school for years, while a strong hiring decision can benefit generations of students. Hiring the right teacher means more than filling a vacancy; it means strengthening the instructional life of the school.

2. The Principal as a Talent Leader

A great principal sees human talent as the school’s most valuable asset. This means the principal must be constantly attentive to the quality of the teaching team. Effective principals do not wait passively for vacancies to appear. They build networks, identify potential candidates, support current teachers, and create a professional environment that attracts committed educators.

Grissom, Egalite, and Lindsay (2021) emphasize that effective principals influence student achievement through their work with teachers, including hiring, evaluation, coaching, and creating a productive school climate. In other words, principals improve schools not only through direct decisions but also by shaping the people and conditions that affect classroom teaching.

A principal who is a talent leader asks important questions:

• What kind of teachers do our students need?
• What qualities do we value in our staff?
• How can we attract teachers who share our mission?
• How can we help good teachers become excellent?
• Why do strong teachers stay in our school?
• Why might good teachers leave?

These questions help principals move from reactive management to strategic leadership.

3. Hiring the Best Teachers Begins Before Recruitment

Hiring excellent teachers begins long before an interview takes place. It begins with a clear vision of teaching and learning. If a school does not know what effective teaching looks like, it will struggle to identify the best candidates.

Great principals develop a clear profile of the kind of teachers they want to hire. This profile may include:

• Strong knowledge of the subject area
• Skill in lesson planning and assessment
• Commitment to student learning and well-being
• Ability to manage classrooms respectfully
• Willingness to collaborate with colleagues
• Openness to feedback and professional growth
• Ethical conduct and professionalism
• Cultural awareness and respect for diversity
• Strong communication with students, parents, and staff

However, principals must also avoid a narrow definition of “best.” The best teacher is not always the person with the longest résumé or the most confident interview performance. Excellent teachers may come from different backgrounds and may demonstrate strength in different ways. A wise principal looks for evidence of both current ability and future growth.

4. Building a Strong Recruitment System

Great principals do not rely only on last-minute advertisements. They build a recruitment system that continuously attracts qualified and mission-aligned candidates.

This may include:

4.1 Developing the School’s Reputation

Talented teachers are more likely to apply to schools known for fairness, professional respect, strong leadership, and student-centered values. When current teachers speak positively about their school, they become ambassadors for recruitment.

A school’s reputation is shaped by:

• How teachers are treated
• Whether leaders keep promises
• Whether professional development is meaningful
• Whether workload is reasonable
• Whether student discipline is handled fairly
• Whether teachers feel respected

A principal who wants to recruit excellent teachers must first build a school worth joining.

4.2 Creating Partnerships

Principals can build relationships with:

• Teacher education institutions
• Universities and colleges
• Professional teaching associations
• Educational networks
• Former student teachers
• Alumni who have entered education
• Community organizations

These partnerships help schools identify promising candidates early and create a pipeline of future teachers.

4.3 Writing Clear Job Announcements

A job announcement should communicate more than basic qualifications. It should express the school’s mission, expectations, values, and support systems. Honest recruitment is important. If the school faces challenges, such as high student needs or curriculum change, candidates should know this. Strong teachers are often willing to face challenges when they believe leadership is supportive and the mission is meaningful.

5. Selecting Teachers Carefully and Fairly

Hiring should be systematic, fair, and evidence-based. Poor hiring decisions often occur when principals rely too heavily on first impressions, personal connections, or vague feelings. Great principals use structured processes that reduce bias and focus on the qualities that matter most.

A strong selection process may include:

• Screening applications using clear criteria
• Structured interviews with common questions
• Teaching demonstrations or sample lessons
• Review of lesson plans or student assessment tasks
• Scenario-based questions about classroom challenges
• Reference checks
• Panel interviews including teacher leaders

For example, instead of asking only, “Tell us about yourself,” a principal might ask:

• How do you know when students have understood a lesson?
• Describe how you support students who are struggling.
• How do you manage classroom behavior while maintaining respect?
• Give an example of how you used assessment results to improve instruction.
• How do you work with colleagues to improve teaching?

These questions reveal a candidate’s thinking, values, and practical knowledge.

Fairness also matters. Hiring must be free from discrimination and favoritism. The goal is to select teachers who will best serve students, not merely candidates who are personally familiar or socially connected to the school leadership.

6. Hiring for Mission and Culture, Not Just Credentials

Credentials are important, but they are not enough. A teacher may have strong qualifications but still struggle if their beliefs and practices conflict with the school’s mission. Great principals look for alignment between the candidate and the school’s educational values.

For example, if a school values inclusive education, the principal should seek teachers who believe all students can learn and who are willing to adapt instruction. If a school emphasizes collaboration, the principal should avoid hiring teachers who prefer isolation and resist teamwork. If a school prioritizes student well-being, the principal should look for teachers who build positive relationships and communicate with empathy.

However, “culture fit” should not mean hiring people who all think alike. A strong school benefits from diversity of experience, teaching style, language, culture, and perspective. The better idea is “mission fit”: teachers may be different, but they should share commitment to student learning, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

7. Supporting New Teachers from the Beginning

Hiring excellent teachers is only the first step. Retention begins on the first day of employment. Many teachers leave the profession or change schools because they feel unsupported, overwhelmed, or disconnected. Great principals understand that induction and mentoring are essential.

Ingersoll and Strong (2011) found that induction and mentoring programs can improve teacher commitment, retention, classroom practice, and student achievement. This means schools should not expect new teachers to “sink or swim.” They need structured support.

Effective induction may include:

• Orientation to school policies and culture
• Assignment of a trained mentor teacher
• Regular meetings with department heads or coordinators
• Classroom observations with constructive feedback
• Reduced workload where possible
• Support with lesson planning and assessment
• Guidance on parent communication
• Emotional encouragement during the first months

New teachers should feel that asking for help is a sign of professionalism, not weakness.

8. Retaining Excellent Teachers Through Trust and Respect

Teachers are more likely to remain in schools where they feel trusted, respected, and valued. Salary and benefits matter, but they are not the only reasons teachers stay or leave. Working conditions, leadership quality, professional autonomy, and relationships strongly influence retention.

The Learning Policy Institute has reported that teacher turnover is often connected to inadequate preparation, lack of support, poor working conditions, and limited career opportunities (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Principals can influence many of these conditions directly.

Teachers feel respected when principals:

• Listen to their ideas
• Communicate clearly
• Apply rules fairly
• Protect instructional time
• Recognize good work
• Provide useful feedback
• Avoid unnecessary paperwork
• Support teachers with student discipline
• Include teachers in decision-making

Trust does not mean absence of accountability. Rather, it means that accountability is handled professionally, consistently, and constructively.

9. Creating a Positive School Culture

Retention is strongly connected to school culture. A positive school culture is one where teachers feel a sense of belonging, purpose, and shared responsibility. Great principals intentionally build this culture.

A healthy professional culture includes:

• Collaboration rather than isolation
• Respectful communication
• Shared goals
• Celebration of progress
• Fair conflict resolution
• Support during difficulties
• High expectations for adults and students
• Commitment to continuous learning

Bryk and Schneider (2002) emphasize the importance of relational trust in schools. When trust exists among teachers, leaders, students, and families, schools are more likely to improve. Principals play a key role in developing this trust through consistency, honesty, competence, and care.

When teachers work in a culture of fear, blame, or confusion, even talented educators may leave. But when they work in a culture of respect and shared mission, they are more likely to invest their energy and remain committed.

10. Providing Meaningful Professional Development

Excellent teachers want to keep growing. Great principals retain strong teachers by offering meaningful professional development rather than one-time workshops that have little connection to classroom needs.

Effective professional learning is:

• Connected to school goals
• Based on student learning needs
• Practical and classroom-focused
• Ongoing rather than occasional
• Collaborative
• Supported by coaching and feedback
• Evaluated for impact

Darling-Hammond, Hyler, and Gardner (2017) explain that effective professional development is sustained, content-focused, collaborative, and supported by coaching. This means principals should create time and structures for teachers to learn together, observe one another, analyze student work, and improve instruction.

Professional development also communicates value. When principals invest in teachers’ growth, teachers feel that the school believes in them.

11. Giving Teachers Voice and Leadership Opportunities

One reason excellent teachers leave schools is the lack of opportunity for growth. Not every strong teacher wants to become a principal, but many want leadership roles that allow them to contribute beyond their own classroom.

Great principals retain excellent teachers by creating pathways for teacher leadership, such as:

• Mentor teacher
• Department head
• Curriculum leader
• Assessment coordinator
• Professional learning facilitator
• Grade-level leader
• Instructional coach
• Committee chair
• Peer observation leader

Teacher leadership benefits both the individual and the school. It allows experienced teachers to share expertise, supports new teachers, and strengthens collective responsibility.

Leithwood, Harris, and Hopkins (2020) note that successful school leadership often involves distributing leadership and building the capacity of others. Principals who share leadership do not become weaker; they create stronger schools.

12. Recognizing and Appreciating Teachers

Recognition is a powerful retention tool when it is sincere and specific. Teachers often work long hours, manage emotional demands, and carry responsibility for many students. When their work goes unnoticed, they may feel discouraged.

Great principals recognize teachers by:

• Thanking them personally
• Highlighting effective practices in meetings
• Sharing positive parent or student feedback
• Celebrating improvement, not only perfection
• Writing notes of appreciation
• Supporting nominations for awards
• Providing opportunities to present their work
• Acknowledging extra effort during difficult times

Recognition should be fair and inclusive. If only a few teachers are repeatedly praised, others may feel invisible. The principal must notice different forms of contribution: excellent classroom instruction, quiet mentoring, teamwork, creativity, care for students, and reliability.

13. Managing Workload and Preventing Burnout

Teacher burnout is a major threat to retention. Even excellent teachers may leave if the workload becomes unsustainable. Principals cannot remove every pressure, but they can reduce unnecessary burdens.

They can support workload balance by:

• Limiting unnecessary meetings
• Streamlining paperwork
• Coordinating assessment schedules
• Protecting planning time
• Providing clear priorities
• Avoiding constant last-minute changes
• Ensuring fair distribution of duties
• Supporting teachers with difficult student behavior
• Encouraging reasonable communication boundaries

Burnout is not simply an individual weakness; it is often a workplace issue. A principal who cares about retention must pay attention to teacher well-being.

14. Using Evaluation to Improve, Not Merely Judge

Teacher evaluation can either support retention or damage it. If evaluation is used mainly to criticize or control, teachers may become fearful and defensive. If it is used to support growth, it can improve instruction and strengthen professional trust.

A constructive evaluation system includes:

• Clear standards
• Pre-observation conversations
• Classroom observation
• Specific evidence
• Timely feedback
• Teacher reflection
• Goal setting
• Follow-up support

Great principals distinguish between teachers who need development, teachers who are already strong, and teachers whose performance is persistently ineffective. They support improvement but also protect students by addressing serious performance concerns.

Retaining the best teachers does not mean keeping everyone regardless of quality. It means creating conditions where strong teachers stay and all teachers are expected to grow.

15. Addressing Ineffective Teaching Responsibly

A commitment to hiring and retaining the best teachers also requires courage. Principals must be willing to address ineffective teaching. Avoiding difficult conversations may feel easier in the short term, but it harms students and frustrates high-performing teachers.

Excellent teachers often lose motivation when they see poor performance ignored. They may feel that standards are unfair or that professionalism does not matter. Therefore, principals must provide support, documentation, coaching, and clear expectations. If improvement does not occur, further action may be necessary according to school policy and labor regulations.

This process should be fair, humane, and evidence-based. The goal is not punishment; the goal is to ensure that every student has access to quality teaching.

16. Retention Begins with Listening

Principals who want to retain great teachers must listen carefully. Teachers often know what is working and what is not working in the school. Regular listening helps principals identify problems before they become reasons for resignation.

Listening strategies include:

• Individual check-ins
• Staff surveys
• Open-door conversations
• Focus groups
• Exit interviews
• Stay interviews
• Department meetings
• Anonymous feedback systems

A stay interview is especially useful. Instead of waiting until a teacher resigns, the principal asks questions such as:

• What makes you want to stay at this school?
• What might cause you to leave?
• What support would help you do your best work?
• What professional goals do you have?
• How can leadership better support you?

Listening must be followed by action. If teachers repeatedly share concerns and nothing changes, trust will decline.

17. The Link Between Teacher Retention and Student Success

When excellent teachers stay, students benefit. Teacher retention supports continuity, stronger relationships, curriculum consistency, and a more stable school culture. High turnover, by contrast, disrupts learning and places stress on remaining staff.

Ronfeldt, Loeb, and Wyckoff (2013) found that teacher turnover can negatively affect student achievement, especially in schools with high concentrations of low-performing and minority students. This shows that retention is not only a staffing issue; it is an equity issue.

Schools serving vulnerable communities often face the greatest difficulty attracting and retaining experienced teachers. Great principals in these schools must be especially intentional about support, recognition, collaboration, and working conditions.

18. Practical Strategies for Principals

To hire and retain the best teachers, principals can apply the following practical strategies:

Hiring Strategies

1. Create a clear teacher profile based on the school’s mission and student needs.
2. Recruit continuously, not only when vacancies occur.
3. Build partnerships with universities and teacher preparation programs.
4. Use structured interviews with consistent questions.
5. Include teacher leaders in the hiring process.
6. Ask for evidence of instructional skill, not only general statements.
7. Check references carefully.
8. Avoid bias and favoritism.
9. Be honest about the school’s strengths and challenges.
10. Hire for growth mindset, professionalism, and student commitment.

Retention Strategies

1. Provide strong induction and mentoring.
2. Create a respectful and trusting school culture.
3. Recognize teacher contributions regularly.
4. Protect teachers from unnecessary workload.
5. Offer meaningful professional development.
6. Give teachers leadership opportunities.
7. Support teachers with student discipline and parent concerns.
8. Listen through stay interviews and surveys.
9. Use evaluation for growth.
10. Address ineffective teaching fairly and courageously.

19. Challenges Principals May Face

Even great principals face barriers when hiring and retaining teachers. These may include:

• Teacher shortages
• Limited salary budgets
• Competition from other schools
• Heavy administrative demands
• Difficult working conditions
• Policy restrictions
• High student needs
• Limited professional development resources

However, effective principals focus on what they can influence. They may not control national salary scales, but they can control respect, communication, fairness, support, recognition, and school culture. These factors often make a major difference in whether teachers choose to stay.

20. Conclusion

Great principals understand that the success of a school depends largely on the quality and commitment of its teachers. Therefore, they take every opportunity to hire and retain the very best teachers. They recruit strategically, select carefully, support new teachers, develop professional growth, build trust, recognize excellence, manage workload, and create a culture where teachers feel valued and students can succeed.

Hiring and retention are not separate tasks. They are connected parts of the same leadership responsibility. A principal who hires well but fails to support teachers will lose talent. A principal who supports teachers but hires carelessly will struggle to build excellence. The strongest school leaders do both.

In the end, great principals know that every teacher matters because every student matters. When principals invest in excellent teachers, they invest in the future of their students, their schools, and their communities.

References

1. Bryk, A. S., & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. Russell Sage Foundation.
2. Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Teacher turnover: Why it matters and what we can do about it. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/teacher-turnover-report
3. Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v8n1.2000
4. Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/effective-teacher-professional-development-report
5. Grissom, J. A., Egalite, A. J., & Lindsay, C. A. (2021). How principals affect students and schools: A systematic synthesis of two decades of research. The Wallace Foundation. https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/pages/how-principals-affect-students-and-schools-a-systematic-synthesis-of-two-decades-of-research.aspx
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