There are roles in schools that are visible, and then there are roles that make everything else possible.
Assistant principals live in that space.
It wasn’t until I became a principal that I fully understood the weight of that role. When I was an assistant principal at Totten Intermediate School (I.S. 34) on Staten Island, I believed I was simply doing my job, supporting teachers, managing discipline, and responding to whatever came my way. Like so many others in that position, I did not stop to think about the impact of that work. It was just what the job required.
But perspective changes everything. Sitting in the principal’s chair, you quickly realize the responsibility is too great to carry alone. I relied on my assistant principals every day. I leaned on them constantly.
They stepped into the hardest moments without hesitation. They anticipated problems before they surfaced. They made difficult decisions in real time, often without recognition, and always with the best interests of their students and staff at heart.
Assistant principals are often the steady presence when a school is at its most uncertain. They bring calm to difficult situations, provide support to teachers, and offer consistency that students come to depend on.
And yet, so much of what they do is never seen. The crisis that did not escalate. The student who found their way back. The teacher who stayed because someone stood beside them. That is the work of an assistant principal. And right now, that work is under attack.
Across the country, budget cuts are forcing districts to make difficult decisions. Too often, assistant principals are among the first positions eliminated, not because they are unimportant, but because they are easier to cut on paper.
But the impact of those decisions is immediate and real. I hear it often, when an AP is cut, principals feel the loss of time, support, and real-time responsiveness to their school community.
And I hear it from parents as well. They may not always know the title, but they feel the difference. They see it when issues take longer to resolve, when communication slows down, when the presence that once helped keep a school steady is no longer there.
When assistant principal positions are reduced, schools become less safe, supervision decreases, and the ability to respond to student needs weakens. Instructional leadership suffers, teacher support declines, and schools are forced to shift from proactive support to reactive crisis management.
Research has already shown that assistant principals are a critical part of a school’s leadership team, with the potential to improve student outcomes, strengthen school culture, and support teachers in meaningful ways.
We take it for granted because they make it look routine. But there is nothing routine about carrying that level of responsibility every single day.
As a principal, I came to understand a simple truth. No school succeeds because of one person. The strength of a school is built on the people who show up in the most difficult moments, and often, that person is an assistant principal. Their work may not always be visible, but it is always essential.
Because when everything is on the line, when the day becomes unpredictable, when the weight of a school is at its heaviest, assistant principals are the ones who step forward, steady the moment, and make sure everything holds.
