We Just Need ONE: Why Not YOU?

One Champion. One Investment. One movement that could change everything.

We don’t need everyone. We just need ONE. One person. One voice. One champion. One organization willing to recognize something that should have been obvious a long time ago.

If we want stronger schools, better outcomes for students, and a brighter future for our communities, we must invest in the people leading those schools.

I’m talking about principals. The people who show up every single day carrying the hopes, dreams, challenges, and futures of students, educators, families, and entire communities. The people responsible for creating the conditions where great teaching happens, where students feel safe and connected, where adults are inspired to do their best work, and where hope becomes something more than a feeling. I’m talking about school leaders. And it’s time we started treating them like the difference-makers they are.

We’ve Been Looking in the Wrong Direction

For decades, we’ve invested billions of dollars in school improvement. New curriculum. New assessments. New technology. New accountability systems. New mandates. New initiatives. And then, just when everyone begins to understand the latest direction, we change directions again.

Don’t misunderstand me. Many of these investments matter. Teachers matter enormously. Resources matter. Systems matter. And students deserve every opportunity we can provide. But here’s the question that continues to keep me up at night:

Who is investing in the people responsible for making all of those investments work?

Who is investing in the principal? Research from organizations like the Wallace Foundation and Learning Policy Institute have consistently demonstrated that school leadership is one of the most important school-based influences on student achievement, second only to classroom instruction. Think about that. And yet, we continue to treat principal leadership development as an optional expense rather than an essential investment.

We ask principals to be instructional leaders, culture builders, systems thinkers, community connectors, talent developers, crisis managers, student advocates, and the chief hope officers of their schools. We expect them to lead adults through extraordinary complexity while simultaneously improving outcomes for every student. And far too often, we send them into that work without the ongoing development, coaching, professional networks, and support they deserve. Then we wonder why talented leaders burn out, walk away, or question whether the job is sustainable.

We don’t have a shortage of people who care about kids. We have a shortage of systems designed to sustain the people leading them.

And that should concern every single one of us.

Leadership Changes Everything

Think about the best leader you’ve ever worked for. The coach who believed in you before you believed in yourself. The supervisor who saw potential you didn’t know you had. The mentor who challenged you, supported you, and pushed you to become something more. The leader who created a culture where people wanted to show up, contribute, take risks, and succeed.

Now imagine that kind of leadership in every school in America. Imagine a principal who knows every student’s name and story. A principal who creates a culture where teachers feel valued, trusted, and inspired. A principal who builds systems that allow great teaching and learning to flourish. A principal who understands that school improvement isn’t about chasing the latest initiative. It’s about creating the conditions where students and adults can thrive.

I’ve spent my professional life watching what happens when great leadership takes hold in a school. I’ve seen struggling schools find their way. I’ve seen discouraged educators rediscover their purpose. I’ve seen students begin believing in themselves because someone created a school culture where hope was possible.

And I’ve seen the opposite. I’ve seen what happens when leaders are isolated, overwhelmed, underprepared, and unsupported. The difference is profound.

Leadership matters. And in schools, leadership changes lives.

So Why Aren’t We Investing in It?

Here’s something I’ve never understood. In professional sports, we invest heavily in coaching and leadership because we know talented players alone don’t guarantee a winning team. In business, we invest in executive development, organizational culture, strategic planning, and leadership coaching because we understand that the success of an organization depends on the effectiveness of its leaders. In the military, leadership development is not an afterthought. It’s fundamental to the mission.

But in education? We continue to expect principals to lead some of the most complex organizations in our society while providing wildly inconsistent opportunities for their own professional growth. We invest in what students learn. We invest in how teachers teach. But we don’t consistently invest in the people responsible for creating the culture, systems, and conditions that make all of that learning for students and adults possible. And then we wonder why school improvement is so difficult to sustain.

What if the missing piece in our approach to school improvement has been hiding in plain sight all along?

What if one of the most powerful investments we could make isn’t another program, another mandate, or another reform? What if it’s the principal?

Imagine What ONE Investment Could Do

Imagine if every aspiring principal entered the profession with the preparation and confidence needed to lead. Imagine if every new principal had a mentor, a coach, and a professional network to lean on during those incredibly challenging first years. Imagine if every experienced principal had opportunities to continue growing, innovating, and mastering the art and science of leadership. Imagine if every school leader had access to high-quality, ongoing professional learning focused on the three leadership domains that drive sustainable school improvement: CULTURE. SYSTEMS. LEARNING. 

Imagine the impact on teacher retention. Imagine the impact on school culture. Imagine the impact on student belonging, engagement, attendance, and achievement. Imagine the impact on communities. And imagine the ripple effect across generations.

Because when we invest in one principal, we’re not simply investing in one person. We’re investing in every teacher that principal supports. Every student that principal serves. Every family that principal connects with. Every future leader that principal inspires.

One principal can influence hundreds of lives every single year. Over the course of a career, that influence can reach thousands.

Now imagine multiplying that impact across every school in America. That’s not just an education investment. That’s an investment in our collective future.

We Just Need ONE.

And this is where my challenge begins. I’m looking for ONE.

• One policymaker who understands that leadership development should be a priority in education policy.
• One state leader willing to champion a different approach to supporting principals.
• One national leader who recognizes that strengthening school leadership is essential to strengthening public education.
• One elected official willing to ask a different question when education budgets are being developed: What are we doing to invest in the people responsible for leading our schools?
• One CEO who understands that organizational culture, talent development, strategic vision, and execution begin with leadership.
• One professional athlete or high-level coach who knows that even the most talented team in the world needs great leadership to reach its potential.
• One philanthropic foundation willing to make school leadership development a signature investment.
• One corporation willing to step forward and say, We believe in the power of principals, and we’re ready to help.
• One influential voice willing to open a door, make a connection, challenge conventional thinking, or help tell this story to a much larger audience.

Just ONE. Because one person can start a conversation. One conversation can create a partnership. One partnership can transform a school. One school can transform a community. And one movement can transform the future. We just need ONE.

This Is Bigger Than Washington

I’m incredibly proud of the work we’re doing at the Association of Washington School Principals and our Foundation (Washington School Principals Education Foundation). Every day, our team works to grow, support, sustain, and advocate for school leaders across our state. We believe stronger leaders create stronger schools, and stronger schools create stronger outcomes for students.

But this isn’t just a Washington issue. This is a national issue. It’s a challenge facing schools in rural communities, urban centers, and suburban neighborhoods across the country. It’s a challenge facing principals who lead schools with tremendous resources and principals who lead schools with far too few. And it’s a challenge that reaches far beyond the walls of our schools.

AWSP, along with our association partners across the country, especially those engaged through the National School Leader Collaborative, have made this topic the north star of our collective work. To save the principalship, we must save our principals. From coast to coast, the concern is the same – reducing the harmful effects of compounding leadership turnover by providing robust support for all school leaders.

Because the future employees, entrepreneurs, scientists, healthcare professionals, first responders, teachers, innovators, and community leaders of tomorrow are sitting in classrooms today. Their futures are being shaped by the cultures, systems, relationships, and learning opportunities that exist in their schools. And those conditions are profoundly influenced by school leadership.

If you’re concerned about the future of our workforce, our economy, our communities, or our country, then you should be concerned about the future of school leadership.

It’s that simple.

Here’s My Why.

I believe every student deserves a great school. I believe every educator deserves to work in a culture where they feel valued, supported, inspired, and empowered. I believe every family deserves confidence that their children are learning in an environment where they are known, loved, challenged, and supported.

And I believe every principal deserves the preparation, development, encouragement, and professional support necessary to make those things possible. I believe hope is not simply something we wish for. Hope is something we create. We create it through relationships. We create it through intentional leadership. We create it through cultures where people belong. We create it through systems that support success. And we create it through a relentless commitment to learning and improving.

But here’s what I believe most:

We cannot continue asking principals to be the source of hope for everyone else while failing to invest in their own hope, growth, and sustainability.

That’s my why. That’s why I do this work. And that’s why I’m not interested in quietly accepting that this is simply the way things have always been.

Who’s Our ONE?

Maybe it’s you. Maybe you’re reading this from a corporate office, a foundation boardroom, a university, a state capitol, or a professional sports organization. Maybe you’ve never thought about principals as an investment opportunity. Maybe you’ve spent your career building successful teams and organizations and understand better than most that leadership changes everything. Or maybe you know someone who does.

I’m not asking you to solve every challenge facing public education. I’m asking you to recognize one extraordinary opportunity hiding in plain sight.

Invest in the people who lead our schools.

Let’s create partnerships that cross sectors. Let’s connect education with business, philanthropy, athletics, government, and community leadership. Let’s elevate the principalship to the level of national importance it deserves. Let’s stop talking about the importance of leadership everywhere except where it matters most for the next generation. And let’s turn hope into action.

We don’t need a thousand people to get started. We don’t need another decade of discussion. We don’t need another report telling us what we already know.

We need ONE person willing to step forward.

One person willing to make the call. One person willing to open the door. One person willing to make the investment. One person willing to say, This matters, and I’m going to do something about it. Because here’s what I know after a career of working with school leaders:

One principal can change a school. One school can change a community. And one champion can help change the future of school leadership.

So I’m putting the challenge out there. To business leaders. To philanthropists. To policymakers. To professional athletes and coaches. To foundations. To corporations. To anyone who understands the extraordinary power of leadership. I’m looking for ONE.

And if you’re that person—or you know that person—let’s talk. Because 1.1 million students in our state are counting on the leaders we choose to invest in today. And somewhere out there is the ONE person who can help us turn this vision into a movement.

Why not you?

WE JUST NEED ONE.