As a Special Education Director, I’ve sat in countless IEP meetings where families ask a simple, heartfelt question: “Will my child be supported here?” The answer is never just about one service, one therapist, or one classroom. It’s about the systems that surround a student—systems that are built, protected, and improved by school leadership.
A major research synthesis commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, How Principals Affect Students and Schools (Grissom, Egalite, & Lindsay, 2021), pulls together two decades of evidence and makes something very clear: principals matter—often more than we’ve been willing to say out loud.
For districts navigating special education compliance, MTSS implementation, chronic absenteeism, and therapist staffing shortages, this matters. When leadership is strong, schools become places where services are coordinated, staff stay longer, and students—especially those with disabilities and other marginalized identities—have a better chance to thrive.
What the research says: Principal impact is real and measurable
The report highlights six rigorous studies using longitudinal “panel data” methods—strong designs that track schools and principals over time and help isolate the principal’s contribution. Across more than 22,000 principals, the findings show that a 1 standard deviation increase in principal effectiveness is associated with:
0.13 standard deviations higher math achievement
0.09 standard deviations higher reading achievement
Those numbers can sound abstract. The authors translate them into something educators can picture: replacing a principal at the 25th percentile of effectiveness with one at the 75th percentile could yield roughly:
2.9 additional months of math learning per year
2.7 additional months of reading learning per year
That is a substantial schoolwide gain—especially because a principal’s influence touches every classroom, not just one roster of students.
Principals influence more than test scores
In special education, we know outcomes are broader than academics alone. The synthesis reinforces that principals have meaningful effects across multiple domains, including:
Teacher satisfaction and retention, including retention of high-performing teachers
Student attendance and reductions in chronic absenteeism
Exclusionary discipline (suspensions/expulsions), with implications for long-term student outcomes
School climate, including trust and collaboration
From a compliance and service-delivery standpoint, these are not “extra” outcomes. Attendance affects service minutes. Discipline affects access to instruction and can trigger manifestation determinations. Teacher turnover disrupts IEP implementation and continuity of interventions. Leadership sits at the center of all of it.
Four leadership practices linked to better outcomes
The report identifies four categories of principal behaviors associated with positive school outcomes. I find these especially useful because they move us from “principals matter” to “what effective principals do.”
1) Instructionally focused interactions with teachers
Effective principals don’t just “support instruction” in a vague sense. They engage in high-leverage actions like:
Observation and evaluation that differentiates instructional quality
Actionable feedback and coaching
Building a data-driven instructional program
In special education, this is where inclusive practices rise or fall. When principals are in classrooms and know what to look for—specially designed instruction, accommodations, co-teaching structures, and evidence-based interventions—students with disabilities are more likely to receive what their IEPs actually require.
2) Building a productive school climate
School climate is not a poster on the wall. It’s the daily lived experience of students and staff. The synthesis links effective leadership to climates characterized by:
Trust and psychological safety
Collective efficacy
Teamwork and continuous improvement
When climate is strong, service delivery improves. Related service providers are more likely to be integrated into problem-solving teams. Teachers are more likely to ask for help early. Families are more likely to feel welcomed rather than “managed.”
3) Facilitating collaboration and professional learning communities (PLCs)
The report distinguishes authentic collaboration from simple cooperation. Principals who create time, structures, and expectations for meaningful collaboration support:
Shared responsibility for student learning
Instructional teaming and data conversations
Professional learning communities that improve practice
For special education teams, this is where we see the difference between compliance-based meetings and true instructional planning. Collaboration is also where general education and special education align on accommodations, progress monitoring, and behavior supports.
4) Strategic management of personnel and resources
Effective principals manage scarce resources strategically—time, staffing, schedules, and budgets. The synthesis highlights the importance of:
Strategic hiring and retention
Thoughtful teacher placement
Allocating resources to support teaching and learning goals
This is where districts are feeling pressure right now. Many of us are operating with shortages in speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, mental health services, and specialized instructional support. When principals manage schedules strategically and partner effectively with special education leadership, we can reduce missed services, improve coordination, and protect instructional time.
Equity is not optional—and principals are leverage points
The report places equity at the center, noting that principals can influence outcomes for low-income students, students of color, and other historically marginalized groups through both direct and indirect channels.
Two equity findings stand out for district leaders:
Representation gaps are growing. Students are increasingly diverse, but principal diversity has not kept pace—especially for Hispanic students. This matters because leadership representation can affect teacher diversity, school culture, and student opportunities.
Principal turnover is higher in high-need schools. Turnover tends to be more frequent in schools serving more low-income students, more students of color, and lower-achieving student populations—often reinforcing inequities.
From my vantage point, principal turnover also destabilizes special education systems: staffing plans reset, initiatives restart, and relationships with families fracture. Even when a new leader is talented, the transition period can create real service-delivery risk.
Where TinyEYE fits: Supporting principals by stabilizing service delivery
One of the most practical implications of this research is that principals need systems that help them lead—especially in high-need schools. When related services staffing is inconsistent, principals spend time triaging vacancies, responding to parent concerns, and managing compliance risk. That is time taken away from the four high-impact leadership practices described above.
This is where TinyEYE’s online therapy model can be a meaningful support to school leadership and special education teams. By providing access to qualified clinicians virtually, districts can:
Reduce service gaps caused by vacancies or leaves
Increase consistency of IEP service minutes and documentation
Support collaboration between therapists, teachers, and families across buildings
Help principals maintain stable systems while they focus on instruction, climate, and staffing strategy
Online therapy is not a “quick fix” for leadership challenges. But it can remove a persistent operational barrier—especially in rural areas or hard-to-staff regions—so principals and special education leaders can stay focused on improving teaching and learning conditions for students.
What district leaders can do next
If we accept the evidence that principals are high-impact levers, then we need to act like it. A few leadership actions I recommend districts consider:
Prioritize principal stability in high-need schools by strengthening onboarding, coaching, and workload supports.
Invest in leadership development that builds skill in instruction, people, and organizational management—especially for inclusive practices and equity.
Use data beyond test scores (attendance, discipline, teacher retention, IEP compliance indicators) to understand leadership impact and support needs.
Stabilize related services staffing through creative staffing models, including teletherapy partnerships, to reduce compliance risk and improve continuity for students.
Strong principals don’t create results alone—they create the conditions where teachers, therapists, and students can succeed. That’s the heart of the research, and it matches what many of us see every day in schools.
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