Public Schools in the Twin Cities: Principals Not Needed to Run School Sites
For roughly twenty-five years, Twin Cities public schools have rotated principals, launched initiatives, renamed improvement plans, and held strategic retreats, while the core student achievement data has barely flinched. Reading gaps remain. Math proficiency drifts sideways. Graduation disparities persist. Apparently, what we needed all along was just one more principal with a fresh slogan. This OpEd argues that the traditional principal-centered model has not produced transformational results and likely will not. Instead of recycling leadership titles, it proposes transferring instructional authority to high-performing teacher-leaders supported by real-time data systems and algorithmic accountability. If the numbers haven’t changed in a quarter century, perhaps the org chart should. By Don Allen, Journal of A Black Teacher (2026) Editorial Opinion Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN…Straight talk: In many public schools in the Twin Cities, the role of the principal as the instructional leader n...