Principles of Principals

Amid the harsh realities of Federal and local budget cuts, is your school surviving or thriving? Survival can be a brutal contest of resources that bring harsh casualties.  In the current conditions, those casualties can include programs, teachers, community and ultimately your students. Thriving denotes the ability to take what resources exist and nourish the situation to the point of growth.  The same groups that suffer while surviving, see the bounties of thriving. Here are 4.5 indicators of a thriving school and district: Sustainable community partnerships - programs that provide training and development past a 3 year window will have an impact that will outlast leadership changes. Visible community volunteer base - parent coordinators, homeless liaisons and school leaders host parents on a consistent basis.  Those meetings result in greater parent volunteer base or increased tax-credit donations. Web presence - not just a site.  I'm talking...

What do great principals do with their resources on those first days with staff?  The days before the children appear in great masses, eager to learn? As a teacher, I wanted to get into my classroom, set up, organize, dial in everything so that it was perfect. Class lists, supply guidelines, new attendance policies, contacting parents, cleaning, moving, sorting, training on new technology, distributing curriculum, re-connecting with my colleagues...these were all things on my mind as an educator. Making that transition from teacher to administrator can be challenging.  Here are 6.5 principles that will help; Any time you get your staff together, talk about relevant instructional strategies - which means that you should know enough about student performance, parent feedback and district guidelines to cover highly relevant strategies that can be immediately applied. Planning & preparation pay off proportionatley - practice on your mentor, read your notes out loud, ...

Do What You Say You Will Do. If you can't do it, ask for help. If you decide not to ask for help, don't say you will do what you are tempted to say you will do. It's not worth it. Years ago when I was cleaning carpet, I got in the door of a major residential realty house.  They gave me a shot and asked me to remove a red kool-aid stain.  I told them I could and would do it. I didn't check on the origin or nature of the stain.  I just said I would before I knew any more information. I drove to the house and discovered, through several attempts, that not only was the stain staying put - I was out of my league and wrecked the carpet. Alternative path...I should've told them I would check out the stain and report back with a plan of action.  That was something I could've easily done.  Responsible.  Efficient.  Honest.  Sustainable.  Reputable. Instead, I never heard from said realtors again.  DWYSYWD.