Chicago’s School Leaders: 2022 Overview

Chicago principals’ unique level of autonomy empowers them to make strategic decisions for successful school management. This includes hiring teachers and staff, developing operating budgets, and establishing school-wide goals that meet communities’ needs and ensure strong student outcomes.

To inform our work and the work of our partners in supporting these critical leaders, The Fund compiles and shares basic statistics about Chicago’s principals and assistant principals yearly. This report, Chicago’s School Leaders: 2022 Overview, provides a brief snapshot of key information about the talented educators who lead Chicago’s public schools. This report contains data on demographics and tenure of principals and assistant principals, as well as on principal turnover and the prior roles of new principals.

Further reading:

For additional context on school leadership in Chicago, we strongly recommend reading two recent reports from researchers at NORC, the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For additional context on school leadership in Illinois, we also strongly recommend reading a recent policy brief from the Illinois Principals Association.