Why Some Public Schools Succeed

a guest post from an experienced educator

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This guest post comes from “Mrs. Mathison,” who is both one of my favorite subscribers and a retired mathematics teacher. I’m honored that she agreed to share her insights on what she believes is the most crucial factor for success in public schools. Her perspective is thoughtful, informed, and eye-opening. I learned so much from this piece. I hope you find it as inspiring and enlightening as I did. —Holly MathNerd

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Our public schools face significant challenges, and the gap between struggling and successful ones often comes down to leadership. This post explores the crucial role principals play in shaping a school’s culture and outcomes, highlighting what separates the ineffective from the exceptional.

Perspective Shaped By Experience

Education runs deeply in my family; it’s our blood and bone marrow. Together, my mother, sister, and I have dedicated nearly 120 years to the field of teaching.

After 45 years of classroom teaching—mostly in Title I schools where over 80% of students met the federal definition of living in poverty—I retired with a lifetime of experiences to reflect upon.

My experience also shaped a strong opinion about the primary difference between public schools that succeed and public schools that don’t. That’s what I’m writing about today, but it’s important to give readers an understanding of my perspective and what shaped it.

The most powerful factor that shaped my classroom experience is that I truly loved teaching. This was true of my mother and sister, too.

Teaching was a calling for our family—we adored our “kids.” My sister and I worked primarily with high school students and moonlighted at community colleges, while my mother taught across grades 1 through 8.

Despite the challenges of teaching in Title I schools, which were massive—everything you can think of and then some—I can honestly claim that I never dreaded going to school. I loved my job that much.

I cherished my work, my students, and every chance to make a difference in the lives of those who were open to learning and growth.

That love didn’t give me rose-colored glasses, but it did give me a high degree of resilience and determination to face the challenges of teaching.

It is a lot easier to face challenges and endure bureaucratic nonsense when you truly love your work, and I did.

Education Is Not a Business

Several years ago, the idea that education should follow a business model gained a lot of cultural traction. While some business concepts might benefit schools, the analogy largely fails. Teachers don’t control the “raw materials.” Students arrive shaped by their parents and communities. Unlike businesses, who can require vendors to provide quality raw materials, schools can’t return students who face challenges like poverty, unstable families, chaotic communities, dyslexia, learning disabilities, or emotional disturbances.

I recall a speaker at a teacher convocation who claimed that the business model applied entirely to education. He seemed to be suggesting that if a student wasn’t “ready to learn,” they should be sent home until they were. This unrealistic mindset ignores the complexities of modern education, especially as family structures disintegrate and students face greater challenges at home than past generations did.

Unlike most businesses, education deals with unique individuals who each come from their own complex scenario, making it impossible for any one-size-fits-all approach to succeed.

Unfortunately, Schools of Education — where teachers are educated and trained — often fall short in preparing future teachers for this reality. While they excel at labeling and explaining different methods, they fail to adequately teach how to apply these methods effectively in classroom settings — which are full of dynamic challenges.

The challenges in education, however, are not limited to classroom instruction alone. If they were, the challenges would be much easier to overcome.

Teachers matter, but in my experience it is the role of principals—who bridge the gap between local school boards and their administrative policies and the realities of teaching and learning—that makes all the difference.

Pruning the Administrative Branch

If I could make just one change—go for the biggest payoff by changing just one aspect of our public schools—it would be a complete overhaul of the administrative branch of public education. A pruning, if you will.

There are too many administrators, especially ineffective ones. Those are easy to differentiate from the good ones: the ineffective are the ones who spend the majority of their time in an office.

Throughout my near-half-century of teaching, the pattern was consistent: these office dwellers can, in total fairness, be compared to ostriches with their heads buried in the sand. Or, to use a more colorful analogy, they’re like Sgt. Schulz from the old Hogan’s Heroes television show (“I know nothing, nuh-thing!”).

By contrast, administrators rarely found in their offices during school hours were consistently much more successful.

When I say that educational administration needs a major overhaul, I mean the entire system: superintendents, assistant superintendents, and many of the plethora of support staff residing at the district offices.

For one thing, there are generally too many people working in district offices with little impact on actual student progress. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve had the opportunity to work with some wonderful people at the district level who were very helpful in the day-to-day instructional process—but they are the exception, not the rule.

One administrator’s salary could fund two to three assistants in lower-grade classrooms, where the impact would be tremendous.

The school principal, however, has the most significant impact on student achievement. While I’ve worked under weak and middle-of-the-road principals, I’ve also had the privilege of working with some outstanding ones.

Characteristics of Successful Principals

The most effective principals shared several key traits that directly impacted the success of their schools.

1. Visibility and Engagement

First and foremost, these principals didn’t live in their offices. They were present where the students were: classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, and bus loading areas. Their constant presence allowed them to observe, engage, and address issues in real time.

2. Regular Classroom Visits

They were familiar with what was happening in classrooms because they visited regularly. While they didn’t camp out in classrooms, astute principals only need 5-10 minutes to assess the situation and understand the dynamics of a classroom. This awareness ensured they were in touch with both student and teacher performance.

3. Understanding of Evaluation and Goal Setting

Effective principals had a deep understanding of how students were evaluated—both through classroom assessments and standardized testing. They set high expectations not only for students and teachers but for themselves and their staff. I saw these principals achieve remarkable results, such as raising overall student performance by 40 proficiency points, which gained recognition even at the state level. Leadership of this caliber is transformative. In my experience, it’s the only thing that is transformative on the radical level our schools need.

4. No Room for Defeatist Attitudes

These principals never allowed an “I can’t” attitude to take hold. They encouraged teachers to develop instructional materials leveraging their unique skill sets. Additionally, they ensured every dollar allocated for instructional supplies was maximized, a critical factor in the low-wealth schools where I spent my career.

5. Innovative Incentive Programs

Outstanding principals often found creative ways to motivate students. This was an overwhelming challenge in the schools where I taught, as the students were often dealing with the many issues that correlate to poverty — neglect, broken homes, and community chaos. Many of my students had never experienced educational success and didn’t have the imaginative capacity to think they could. Others just didn’t care and were biding their time until compulsory education was no longer compulsory. Most wanted to succeed, but lacked role models and encouragement.

That’s where external motivation, as a principal can help institute, can prove helpful: students need to learn to be intrinsically motivated, of course, and that’s something that students from families where their physical needs are met often get help and role modeling in developing. In turn, their success helps provide them with intrinsic motivation — a chicken-or-egg puzzle.

One principal, with the help of a grant, implemented a program offering cash prizes for various achievements. This external motivation helped enormously, as the students got a chance to experience the kind of success and positive benefits that helps them have the tools to develop intrinsic motivation. The categories were quite varied, which is an important factor: they rewarded effort and improvement and included behavior as well as academic results, which also helped create positive peer pressure.

• Honor roll recognition

• No discipline referrals, which also required students to attend school and arrive at class on time

• Improving three subject grades by three points over a nine-week grading period

• Perfect attendance during a six-week period

• Proficient or better scores on end-of-course tests

• SAT scores of 1000 (math/verbal) or ACT scores of 30

• Gold Cards: all A’s, no absences, and no discipline referrals during a six-week period

• Blue Cards: all A’s and B’s, no absences, and no discipline referrals during a six-week period

• Year-long perfect attendance

• No discipline referrals for the entire year

These rewards included privileges like early lunch for Gold and Blue Card holders and the chance to win $100 in a drawing. The excitement these incentives generated was contagious and inspired students to engage more deeply with their education.

At another school, a grant allowed the creation of an honor roll room in partnership with the community. This room included computers, TVs with cable, cozy reading corners, and snacks. Students worked hard to earn access to this space, and it proved to be a highly effective motivator.

6. Meaningful Student Interactions

The most impactful principals were those who made students feel seen and valued. Calling a student by name, complimenting their achievements, or sitting down with them before state testing to provide encouragement sent a powerful message. Those words meant so much to so many students.

Likewise, when that principal is also able to say “you were really focused when I was in your whatever class the other day” or “really nice answer you gave to the question on…,” it sends a clear and focused message to the student that the principal is actually paying attention to the work being done.

7. Supporting and Motivating Teachers

Principals also played a crucial role in inspiring teachers. A five-minute classroom visit, where the principal highlighted specific positives, could uplift a teacher’s morale. On the flip side, principals who were aware of deviations from lesson plans due to disruptions like fire drills showed an understanding of the realities teachers faced. This balance of support and accountability was invaluable.

8. Feedback and Collaboration on Lesson Plans

Effective principals addressed the quality of lesson plans, identifying when teachers were rushing or borrowing plans without collaboration. They fostered honest discussions about planning, presentation, and evaluation, ensuring accountability and promoting teamwork among staff.

9. A Culture of Excellence

I was fortunate to work with more great principals than poor ones. Over time, excellence in administration became the norm I expected, and this standard elevated not only my performance but that of every teacher. These leaders made me a better teacher, giving me both the freedom and responsibility to grow as an educator and a leader.

What These Principals Had In Common

Readers of Holly’s Substack are in no way unfamiliar with the dire situation of American public schools, and particularly how seriously the brand of leftist politics she colloquially calls “Wokism” has overtaken public education.

Looking at what the best principals I worked with had in common, then, provides an interesting angle for analysis. They very much belied that stereotype, and their results were correspondingly excellent.

They emphasized and modeled high standards, personal responsibility, and—most importantly—human connection. They were in the halls and classrooms, dealing with the material reality of education. Not theories, not grand narratives for why some kids from some groups succeeded more or less than other kids from other groups — reality.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the three best principals I worked with were all former mathematics teachers who had earned mathematics degrees. As a former mathematics teacher writing a guest post for “Holly MathNerd,” I have an obvious bias, which readers can evaluate for themselves. But I do think it matters.

Mathematics requires logic and rigor, and it doesn’t let you lie to yourself. Answers are right or wrong. Equations balance, or they do not. Mathematics cultivates a mindset where problems are approached systematically, errors are acknowledged and corrected, and clarity is always the goal. These traits naturally translate to effective leadership, particularly in a field as complex and demanding as education.

The impact of a principal cannot be overstated. Their leadership sets the tone for the entire school, shaping a culture of achievement and support. Great principals elevate students, teachers, and the school as a whole, proving that leadership at the school level is the cornerstone of success. The specifics of their approaches, from personalized interactions to innovative incentives, illustrate how a hands-on, engaged principal can transform an educational environment.

Where We Go From Here

The path to improvement begins with a renewed focus on the leadership that drives our schools. By prioritizing the development and selection of principals who are visible, engaged, and committed to fostering a culture of excellence, we can address many of the systemic issues facing public education. Supporting these leaders with adequate resources and holding them accountable for meaningful interactions with students and teachers alike will set the foundation for lasting change.

If we invest in cultivating the right kind of leadership, our schools can become environments where every student and teacher has the opportunity to thrive. Mathematics provides a compelling metaphor here: Just as a strong foundation in mathematical reasoning allows students to solve complex problems and build on their knowledge, so does strong leadership in schools enable the resolution of systemic challenges.

While not every principal needs to be a former math teacher, there’s a case—and in my opinion, a strong case—to be made for requiring all principals to demonstrate a high level of math literacy. Math teaches clarity, precision, and problem-solving—qualities essential for navigating the complexities of running a school. Principals with strong math literacy are better equipped to make data-driven decisions, evaluate performance metrics, and approach systemic challenges with a methodical mindset. By embedding this expectation into leadership development, we could ensure that school leaders are better prepared to balance the equation of education, bringing fairness, logic, and rigor to the forefront of their decision-making.

Our schools are in trouble, but with principled leadership grounded in clarity, accountability, and the problem-solving rigor that math exemplifies, we can turn the tide and create environments where every student has the chance to succeed.

I know this is true because I’ve seen it happen, and I’ve seen what’s possible when leadership rises to meet the challenge.

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