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October 11th, 2019

The Fund releases its sixth annual Principal Engagement Survey

CHICAGO –  Today, The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund), in conjunction with The Chicago Principal Partnership, released results from the 2019 Principal Engagement Survey, which measures the engagement of Chicago’s public school principals annually.  According to the survey, principal satisfaction remains high in Chicago, with 75% of principals reporting that they are satisfied or very satisfied in their roles, and support for the district’s vision has remained consistent with last year’s results. This year, 505 principals responded to our survey, representing 78% of all district and charter school principals who lead in schools across Chicago. Some key findings from the survey include:
  • Overall satisfaction remains stable and higher than two years ago. In 2019, 75% of principals said they are satisfied or extremely satisfied in their roles, compared with 76% in 2018 and 64% in 2017.  
  • Principals maintain a clear priority on developing their own leadership and are eager for additional opportunities to do so.
  • Principals continue to build the leadership of others. Three out of four respondents report spending time cultivating others in their buildings as leaders.
  • As in previous years, access to quality professional development, school funding and compliance burdens remain the top concerns for Chicago’s principals. 
 The Fund shared an overview of the results with Chicago public school principals and committed to supporting them in the following ways:
  • Budgets: The Fund will develop a series of case studies and tools based on the budgeting practices of successful principals. We will also advocate for continued reforms in the school funding process, including the recommendations made by our 2018-19 Educator Advisory Committee (EAC) on additional supports for principals during the budgeting window.  
  • Professional Development: The Fund has expanded opportunities for the 2019-20 school year to support nearly 300 principals through our programs, all of which are informed by principal feedback, including from this survey. In addition, we are serving 82 assistant principals (APs), including 18 AP and principal pairs, to provide additional formal opportunities to develop the leadership of other educators. 
  • Principal Satisfaction: For the first time, charter and district principals did not report similar rates of satisfaction. The Fund will work with our many partners — including charter leaders — to explore what is driving charter leaders’ concerns. We will continue to respond through the school year. 
This year’s Principal Engagement Survey was conducted over an 11-week period from May through July 2019. Over the coming weeks, The Fund will conduct a series of focus groups to gain deeper insight into the survey results and identify priorities for improving the principal experience in Chicago. Additional results can be found at www.ChicagoPrincipals.org.    About The Fund The Fund is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in Chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them. We are a catalyst for accelerating student learning and a long-standing leader in identifying and scaling what works for not only teachers and principals, but also their students. To learn more about the principals we serve and the work we do, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
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