Principal Leadership for Family Engagement in High-Needs Elementary Schools: Insights from Teachers

Family engagement is central to student success, yet how principals lead in high-needs schools serving emergent bilingual (EB) students remains underexamined. This qualitative phenomenological study explored principal leadership practices and challenges as perceived by teachers of EBs. Semi-structured interviews with 97 teachers across 91 Texas campuses were thematically analyzed. Teachers described five practices: shared vision, a culture and trust, communication with families, community engagement, and leading by example; and four challenges: capacity gaps, resource and district-support shortfalls, limited involvement, and accountability demands. Findings locate responsibility for engagement in schools rather than families, and in systems rather than with individual principals.