As the role of the principal evolves, so too does the extent to which they play the role of instructional leader. As a vital part of student outcomes and teacher retention in schools, it’s alarming that new principals often have skill gaps when providing instructional coaching. In the sixth episode of AACTE’s podcast covering the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), we discuss what the research says about instructional leadership, and how one UPPI program, Albany State, addressed the gaps in preparing their principal candidates to be effective at it.