Beyond the Classroom: Five Career Paths that Can Lead to the Principalship

Not everyone takes the same road to the principalship.

Ask around and you’ll hear it: most people still imagine one version of the journey to school leadership. It starts in the classroom, moves to the assistant principalship, and ends at the principal’s desk. 

It’s a path that works, and it’s shaped many great leaders. But it’s not the only one.

If you’ve worked in a school for any length of time, you’ve seen how many moving parts are required to help a school run well. 

You’ve also seen leadership show up in all kinds of places: in a student support meeting, in a hallway conversation, or in the way someone pulls a team together when something unexpected happens. These quiet moments are often where future principals start developing their voice—well before they get the title.

So if you’re an educator who didn’t follow the “traditional” leadership ladder, know this: the principalship is still very much accessible to you. Here, we highlight five career paths that don’t always show up on leadership development checklists—but should: 

Path #1: Special Education Director or Coordinator

Those of you working in special education have had a front-row seat to how schools really function. You’re juggling IEPs, schedules, staffing gaps, and service minutes, while also sitting in classrooms, checking in with families, and making sure students get what they need. It’s high-stakes work, often happening behind the scenes, and it requires both a systems mindset and a deep sense of care.

It also means you’ve learned how to problem-solve under pressure. Maybe you’ve had to figure out how to support a student whose needs escalated without a clear solution. Or maybe you’ve helped a team revise an IEP mid-year while navigating both family input and compliance requirements. That kind of day-to-day problem-solving—while keeping logistics, relationships, and legal frameworks in balance—is incredibly relevant to school leadership.

And if you’ve done this work, you know: there’s no shortcut around those relationships. You’ve likely been in the room when hard conversations needed to happen. You’ve worked to build trust with families. You’ve found ways to bring general and special education staff together to solve challenges. That blend of empathy and strategy? It’s what the best principals bring to the job every day.

Path #2: Dean of Students

Ask anyone who’s done it: the Dean of Students role is full-on, especially when it comes to shaping school culture. You’re in the mix every day—checking in with students, helping teachers manage classroom challenges, following up with families, and making sure the building runs with some kind of rhythm and care.

This is one of the most hands-on leadership roles in a school. Deans learn how to respond quickly, communicate clearly, and keep students moving forward after moments of disruption. Whether it’s helping a student re-enter school after a suspension or supporting a teacher through a challenging conversation, you get to practice listening, building trust and solving problems in real time.

You also learn to stay steady. There’s something about being at the center of student life that teaches you how to lead with presence—not just policy. If you’ve been a dean, you’ve likely developed an instinct for what’s needed in the moment and how to bring people together toward a shared outcome. That’s a leadership skill schools need more of.

Path #3: School Counselors and Social Workers

If your role has centered around student well-being, emotional development, or mental health, you’ve been leading in ways that are deeply felt, but often go unseen.

Counselors and social workers are experts at helping students navigate what’s going on beneath the surface. Maybe you’ve helped a student regulate big emotions after a major transition. Maybe you’ve worked with a teacher to reframe a child’s behavior through a trauma-informed lens. You know how to tune in, ask good questions that get to the root of what’s really going on, and offer meaningful support.

You’ve also probably been the person who brings people together. These roles often involve partnering with families, collaborating with teachers, coordinating with service providers, and responding to crises and emergency response situations—all while tracking progress and advocating for what students need. If you’ve done this work, you already know how to manage complexity, build trust, and support growth. The leap to school leadership might be closer than you think.

Path #4: MTSS or RTI Coordinator

MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) and RTI (Response to Intervention) coordinators often lead some of the most important systems in a school—the ones designed to catch students before they fall through the cracks.

These roles require you to constantly toggle between big-picture strategy and individual student needs. Perhaps you’ve helped set up schoolwide interventions, worked with teachers to adjust instruction, or facilitated meetings to problem-solve around a student who just isn’t making progress. You’re already thinking about schoolwide improvement—you’re just doing it from a different seat.

You’re also making decisions rooted in data every day. You’ve learned how to create a hypothesis around learning, test new approaches, and make adjustments when something isn’t working. That mindset—curious, responsive, and grounded in what students actually need—is one of the best possible foundations for the principalship.

Path #5: Family Engagement Lead or Community Partnership Manager

You might not hear these roles mentioned often in leadership conversations, but they’re doing essential work. Educators in these positions are often the bridge between what happens inside the school and how families and community members experience it.

You’ve probably helped organize events, coordinated volunteers, fielded concerns, or worked with local organizations to bring in new resources. You’ve translated policies for parents, helped staff understand what families are asking for, and solved more than a few logistical puzzles along the way.

What makes this work such strong preparation for the principalship is how much you learn about relationships, communication, and trust (are you seeing a pattern here?). You see firsthand how school decisions land. You know what helps families feel connected—and what causes them to pull away. That insight, combined with your ability to collaborate and adapt, gives you a strong foundation for leading a school community.

Traditional (But Still Powerful!) Pathways

Of course, many principals still come from more traditional roles. If you’re in one of these positions and working toward the principalship, you’re in great company:

• K-12 Classroom Teacher (K–12)
• Instructional Coach or Teacher Leader
• Assistant Principal
• Department Chair or Grade-Level Lead
• Athletic Director or Activities Coordinator.
• District Instructional Lead

There’s no single way to become a principal

A reminder, in case you need it: leadership isn’t about a specific title or sequence of roles. It's about the skills and values you bring to the work. So whether you’re in a classroom, a counseling office, or a community meeting, your path to the principalship is valid. 

And if you’re already a principal? Think about the people on your team who are showing up in quiet, powerful ways. They might not have “leader” in their title—but they may already be leading. Sometimes, all they need is someone to say, “I see it in you.”

If you see yourself in any of these paths to the principalship, you’re not alone. Our National Aspiring Principals Fellowship was created to support future leaders from across the education landscape. Learn how the Fellowship can help you grow into the principal you’re meant to be.