Concerns around finding highly-qualified teachers and principals plague today’s district superintendents, according to a new Gallup poll.
Two-thirds of district superintendents in a new survey said the quantity of new teacher candidates is decreasing, and 43 percent said new principal candidates are decreasing.
Participating district superintendents tended to rate their districts as less effective at recruiting talented teachers and principals than they are at selecting, developing and retaining them, according to the poll.
Forty-two percent of superintendents report that they are engaged with their job–higher than U.S. workers nationally. District superintendents in city, suburban and larger districts tend to display higher levels of job engagement, according to the study.
(Next page: What are superintendents’ greatest challenges?)
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland's prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Latest posts by Laura Ascione (see all) - Children learn best on paper: We need better technology, not less of it - July 13, 2026
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- Children learn best on paper: We need better technology, not less of it - July 13, 2026
- In districts, reaching readiness, retention, and success - March 5, 2026
- AI use is on the rise, but is guidance keeping pace? - January 2, 2026