Mr. Belding and the Principal as a Trusted Adult

Summary for Educators

Based on “As Mr. Belding on ‘Saved by the Bell,’ Dennis Haskins Made Principals Your Pal”
By Jonathan Abrams | The New York Times | September 29, 2026 Npfldt

Dennis Haskins, who died at 75, spent more than a decade portraying Principal Richard Belding in the Saved by the Bell franchise. But his character may have left a legacy larger than a television catchphrase. The New York Times argues that Belding helped change the way school principals were depicted on television—from distant disciplinarians and authority figures into adults who could be approachable, humorous, caring and genuinely connected with students. Los Angeles Times

THE BIG IDEA

Mr. Belding was funny because students frequently outsmarted him, frustrated him and dragged him into their schemes. Yet the joke rarely depended on making the principal cruel or uncaring. Beneath the exasperation was an adult who liked his students and wanted them to succeed.

That distinction matters.

Jonathan Abrams argues that Haskins helped alter a familiar television dynamic and opened the door for later portrayals of principals as more human and accessible. CEOExpress

Belding could enforce rules while still maintaining relationships. He could be the authority figure without becoming the enemy. He was sometimes corny, sometimes behind the times and frequently bewildered—but students generally knew he was on their side.

For actual school leaders, that may be the most interesting part of his legacy: authority and approachability do not have to be opposites.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Students need to know the principal as a person. Belding wasn't confined to an office. He appeared in hallways, classrooms, activities and student problems.

• Humor can humanize authority. His willingness to be imperfect made him less intimidating without eliminating his position as principal.

• Relationships and accountability can coexist. Belding could correct students while continuing to communicate that he cared about them.

• Visibility matters. The character's effectiveness depended partly on his constant interaction with students rather than simply appearing when someone was in trouble.

• Popular culture shapes expectations. For a generation of viewers, Mr. Belding offered an image of what a principal might be: not merely the school's chief disciplinarian, but a recognizable adult member of the school community.

Haskins played Belding from the late 1980s through 2000 across several versions of the franchise and even returned to the role in a 2015 Tonight Show reunion. Los Angeles Times

WHY IT MATTERS

There is a leadership lesson hidden inside the sitcom.

Principals sometimes believe they must choose between being liked and being respected. The better distinction may be between popularity and relationships.

A principal does not need to become students' friend. But students should believe that the principal knows them, listens to them, enjoys being around them and wants good things for them.

The principal who appears only when there is a suspension, confrontation or crisis gradually becomes associated with punishment. The principal who is also at lunch, concerts, games, classrooms, dismissal and morning arrival becomes something different: a trusted adult who also happens to hold authority.

That was essentially Mr. Belding's television formula.

LEADERSHIP ACTIONS

Be deliberately visible. Build daily time into the schedule for classrooms, hallways, cafeterias and student activities.

Learn students' names. Few leadership practices communicate belonging more efficiently.

Don't make every interaction corrective. Create far more positive contacts with students than disciplinary ones.

Let students see your personality. Appropriate humor, enthusiasm and occasional self-deprecation can reduce unnecessary distance.

Be present after mistakes. The most powerful message may be, “What you did was unacceptable—and I still believe in you.”

Ask yourself what students think your job is. If their answer is primarily “the person who gives suspensions,” there is probably relationship work to do.

LEADER REFLECTION

If television producers created a fictional principal based entirely on the way students experience you each day, what kind of character would they write?

Mr. Belding's enduring appeal suggests that students may want something relatively simple from the person leading their school:

Someone with authority who also clearly enjoys being with them.

For all his comic exasperation, Mr. Belding's message was remarkably consistent:

I may have to stop what you're doing—but I'm still in your corner.

And that isn't a bad description of great school leadership.