Personalized Custom Principal Shirt with Childhood Photo

Some principals clearly ran the building in their heads long before they ran it for real. This personalized custom principal shirt proves it: her childhood picture in black and white beneath PRINCIPAL, with her title and name across the bottom in large white letters.

Staff will be asking for the kid photo backstory all week.

Upload her childhood photo

Making the principal shirt

Choose tee, long sleeve, crewneck or hoodie for the principal, then pick a size.
Select her shirt color, maybe one that matches school spirit days.
Upload the childhood photo and type the name line exactly as it should read. The girl at the big desk in our sample gives way to your photo.
Place the order. Completed example: a third-grade class photo, name line MRS. WASHINGTON.

A tiny boss photo makes the principal shirt

Principal gifts tend to be a framed quote or a gift basket
Staff shirts for spirit day all carry the same mascot and slogan
Nobody on staff has ever seen her as a kid

Every school has a principal who looks like she was born running the building. Her childhood photo, maybe a tiny boss behind a big desk, sits under PRINCIPAL with her name and title printed big across the bottom.

Double-check spelling and punctuation, since titles like DR. or MR. print exactly as typed. That makes it a custom text tshirt and photo shirt in one. For kid pictures, head-and-shoulders or waist-up in everyday clothes works best, and we pass on swim or bath shots.

A tiny boss behind a big desk

The sample girl wears a tiny blazer and sits at an oversized wooden desk next to a desk bell and a tidy pile of paperwork, chin in hand, clearly deciding whether to phone home.

PRINCIPAL sits above in tall white capitals and DR. CARTER fills the line below. An old school portrait works, or any childhood snapshot where she’s obviously the one in charge.

Who’s behind most principal appreciation gifts?

Teachers pooling a few dollars each make up most of these orders, usually in October for Principal Appreciation Month. They want a gift the whole building can laugh about, not another plaque or a box of donuts in the staff lounge.

Teachers pooling for October

Splitting it across the staff keeps it small for everyone, and her kid photo gets a bigger laugh than donuts in the lounge.

The PTA

As a send-off at the last staff meeting of the year, a shirt with her name and title feels personal without a speech.

Student council leaders

Presenting it at the spring assembly works because the whole school gets to see the photo at once.

Staff at a retirement farewell

After years running the building, she leaves with her childhood self and her title on one hoodie, which beats another engraved clock.

The front office team

If everyone orders their own with their own kid photo, the matching shirts still look different on spirit day.

The principal herself

Spirit day is easier to lead when the shirt shows she has a sense of humor about the job.

Start the principal shirt

It works just as well for a male principal; only the photo and name change.

What the shirts are made of

Tee: Comfort Colors 1717, garment-dyed, 6.1 oz, 100% ring-spun cotton, S to 4XL. Crewneck: Comfort Colors 1566 in 80/20 fleece, S to 3XL. Hoodie: Comfort Colors 1567 in preshrunk 80/20 fleece with a jersey-lined hood and pouch pocket, S to 2XL.

All relaxed unisex; take the usual size or size up on fleece for oversized. See our sizing chart for inches. For a principal who likes sleeves, there’s the Comfort Colors 6014 long sleeve in S to 3XL.

Students who want in on the joke for spirit week can wear the 9018 youth tee (XS to XL), and a teacher’s little one the Rabbit Skins 3326 toddler hoodie (2T to 5/6T).

Shipping and production

We print each one by DTF or DTG depending on the garment within 1 to 3 business days. USPS tracked delivery runs 3 to 5 business days. If you’re aiming for an assembly date, check the shipping page first.

Free US shipping on 2 or more items, or on any order of $75 or more.
A single item ships for a flat $5.99.
Misprinted or the wrong item? Send a photo within 15 days of delivery and we replace it or refund you.

Type her name and title

Principal shirt FAQ

Can we print the school name too?

No. The design prints PRINCIPAL and your name line only, and we don’t add school names, district marks or mascots.

How long can the name line be?

A title plus last name fits comfortably. Longer lines still print but the letters shrink to fit.

What pictures can’t be used?

No celebrities, rappers, athletes or public figures, and no logos, brand names, mascots, school marks or characters. Use photos you have permission for; any order including that content is canceled with a full refund.

Find more designs in profession shirts and classroom picks in teacher shirts.