At least eight veteran D.C. Public Schools principals have announced that they are leaving their jobs, reviving what has become an annual debate about turnover among the system’s school leaders.

The departing principals include two key figures in arts education: Patrick Pope, who used a heavy emphasis on dance, music, theater and visual arts to spur a turnaround at high-poverty Savoy Elementary in Anacostia; and Rory Pullens, the highly regarded principal of Duke Ellington School of the Arts since 2006.