Olina Banerji

It’s not easy for school leaders to plan the perfect professional development for their teachers. Teachers often find sit-and-get PD boring, repetitive, or untethered to the skills they need. There’s also a sizeable gap in how principals and teachers view... See more

When the pandemic hit, James Allrich, principal of Argyle Middle School in Silver Spring, Md., decided to pursue some interests he’d long put off. One was rearing chickens. The other was learning how to DJ. It turns out, it’s easier to mix songs these day... See more

The day-to-day demands on principals continued to grow in 2025. They implemented new cellphone policies , introduced reading curriculum , and for the better part of the year, helped their immigrant students navigate the Trump administration’s crackdown on... See more

When Ballard High School in Louisville, Ky., restricted the use of cellphones, principal Jason Neuss expected student interaction to improve. He also hoped students would engage more with their teachers and the material. What he couldn’t have predicted, t... See more

When Jehibert Valderrama Hidalgo moved from Venezuela to the United States in 2024, he thought his new high school would look much like those he saw in Hollywood movies, with the jocks, the nerds, and the popular kids banding together. He, a foreigner wit... See more