
In the late fall of 2021, principals across the state participated in the inaugural Minnesota Principals Survey (MnPS). The goal of the survey, generously funded by The Minneapolis and Joyce Foundations, is to elevate principal voice.
Main Reports
The extensive findings of the MnPS are available in the full report, executive summary, and 1-page summary linked at right.
2023 Breakdown Reports
In March 2023, we released a series of reports summarizing notable differences in the MnPS data among respondents by key characteristics: gender identity, race/ethnicity, and years of job experience. Learn more and access the reports here.
In the Media
- What Principals Tell Us They Need
Katie Pekel and Amy LaDue. MSBA Journal, July 2022. - Survey: Principals' Biggest Concern is Lack of Mental Health Support for Staff, Students
KARE 11, April 2022. - U of M Principals Survey Reveals Challenges, Optimism, and the Need for Support Among Public Schools Leaders
UMN Twin Cities News, April 2022
Key Findings
Encouragingly, school leaders reported high general job satisfaction with 83% of respondents somewhat agreeing or agreeing that they were generally satisfied with being a leader in their school. Contributing most to this satisfaction were relationships with students and staff, and seeing students grow—socially, emotionally, and academically. Finally, 93% of leaders reported that they felt their work is valued by the staff at their school. Principals also reported that they have faced a number of challenges, and could use additional support, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health resources rose to the top of the list of needed supports:


One theme that emerged across the data was a need for more professional development, specifically in the area of Culturally Responsive School Leadership. Principals reported self-efficacy on 49 leadership tasks in 4 broad areas. While 80% of leaders agree that instructional leadership is their primary role, they also report it as the area they feel least confident and the area they wish they could spend more time.

In the coming months, we will be conducting focus groups to better understand the data from the perspective of principals across the state. Additionally, over the next year, we will be releasing policy and practice briefs on topics that survey points to as potentially worthy of further guidance and support. Finally, we intend to administer the next iteration of this survey in the fall of 2023.
Contact
Direct questions to Dr. Katie Pekel, Project Lead, at [email protected].
Individual Service Cooperative Reports
Regional Reports
Due to a technical issue within the Qualtrics survey platform, auto-generated bar charts for five multiple-selection survey questions in the original service-coop breakdown reports, and state comparison report, were not accurate. While Qualtrics’ investigation into this issue is ongoing, the MnPS survey team has identified the process leading to the inaccurate reports and has taken steps to ensure the accuracy of future survey reports. Updated reports providing the corrected charts in an addendum are linked below. Please contact Katie Pekel ([email protected]) or Sara Kemper ([email protected]) with questions.
Updated (Corrected) Reports, posted February 2023:
- Statewide Qualtrics Report (for comparison with regional reports)
- Lakes Country Service Cooperative Report
- Metro ECSU Report
- Northeast Service Cooperative Report
- Northwest Service Cooperative Report
- Resource Training and Solutions Report
- Sourcewell Service Cooperative Report
- South Central Service Cooperative Report
- Southeast Service Cooperative Report
- SWWC Service Cooperative Report