About

Suzanne “Sue” Forbes is the principal of Kihei Elementary School on Maui, the founder of PrincipalForbes.com, and the author of The Guiding Principal: When Teachers Succeed, Students Succeed and The Seven Levels of Teacher Growth: A Practical Guide to the Hierarchy of Teacher Professional Development for Instructional Coaches.

A former National Board Certified Teacher, Sue helps schools and districts turn good intentions into workable systems. Her work focuses on the connection between content, capacity, and culture. She supports leaders in clarifying what students need to learn, strengthening the professional capacity of teachers, and creating the conditions that allow strong instruction and collaboration to take root.

Sue created the Hierarchy of Teacher Professional Development, a framework that helps schools make teacher support more focused, practical, and aligned to student learning. Through PrincipalForbes.com, she partners with elementary and secondary schools to strengthen coaching structures, professional learning communities, teacher leadership, and school improvement systems that fit the real conditions of the school.

Sue’s impact is in helping leaders move from disconnected initiatives to coherent systems of support. By aligning content priorities, teacher growth, leadership routines, and school culture, she helps educators build schools where teachers are supported with purpose and students benefit from stronger, more consistent learning experiences.

Whether she’s leading a school, coaching another principal, or writing her next article, Sue is guided by one core belief:

When teachers succeed, students succeed.