The leadership approach for Title I urban school principals has historically varied between models emphasizing compliance oversight and those emphasizing instruction-focused coaching supervision. The existing literature documents a shift in the role of principal supervisors from compliance-focused evaluators to instructional leadership coaches. However, there is limited empirical research examining how principal supervisors themselves perceive and enact coaching-based supervision practices in urban school districts, particularly those serving large numbers of Title I schools. Understanding how principal supervisors experienced their roles, professional learning, and competency expectations was essential as school systems increasingly prioritized data-informed decision-making and educational equity.

The purpose of this study was to explore how principal supervisors in urban school districts perceive and enact coaching-based supervision practices that support principals’ instructional leadership. This qualitative case study, using purposive sampling, explored how eight principal supervisors in urban school districts across the nation perceived supervision models, particularly those emphasizing coaching and feedback related to instructional leadership. The study also examined the key competencies and strategies supervisors identified as essential for supporting principals in data analysis and curriculum improvement. Purposive sampling was used to select participants with varied levels of experience in instructional leadership development and coaching-based supervision. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis with the support of qualitative analysis software. The study integrated Instructional Leadership Theory and Coaching Leadership Theory as the conceptual framework to examine how principal supervisors described their learning, supervisory practices, and the distribution of instructional leadership knowledge in their support of school principals. Findings revealed nine themes across two research questions, including relationship-centered coaching, high-frequency instructional support, data-driven supervision practices, and the importance of professional learning networks for principal supervisors.