Dear first-year principals and assistant principals,
Congratulations on your new role! I鈥檝e seen your Facebook posts, tweets, and Instagram pics in the last few weeks announcing your appointments.
You鈥檝e accepted a job that demands a lot from you and your skills: instructional leader, chief of morale, astute politician, parent whisperer, student advocate, master communicator (the list goes on and on). And that鈥檚 in a 鈥渘ormal鈥� year.
But you鈥檙e starting this gig in a global pandemic, in a divisive political climate, and in an economic collapse. You may have teachers afraid for their health and lives. Parents despondent over indefinite periods of remote learning or upset that their kids have to wear masks in school. Students who have lost ground academically and will need support to catch up.
Finding your footing in your new role鈥攁nd for many of you, an entirely new school community鈥攚ill be extraordinarily challenging.
Here are some key pieces of advice (with links to dive in deeper) that are essential for any first-year principal, but are critical for those of you starting the job now.
1. Lean on your boss. Your supervisor鈥攚e鈥檙e assuming that鈥檚 your boss鈥檚 title, but it could be assistant superintendent or director鈥攅xists to support you. Their job is to onboard you into the role, answer your questions, translate decisions coming down from central office, and more than anything, coach you on how to be an instructional leader. Getting help from this person is so crucial for rookie principals, said Michele Shannon, a former principal and administrator who is an executive with the , which trains school leaders and school system leaders around the country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 likely that the supervisor had a big role in selecting you and believing you are ready to take this on,鈥� Shannon said. 鈥淵ou should have that person on speed-dial and speed-Zoom.鈥�
Scheduling regular check-ins with your supervisor not only provides you with an outlet for getting your questions answered, it helps build a relationship with the person who should have a vested interest in your success, Shannon said.
You鈥檒l also want to ask your boss: What are your expectations for me? Document those and partner with your supervisor on how to reach those goals. Principal Ben Rodriguez
2. Use your principal coach (and if your district didn鈥檛 give you one, find someone to fill the role). This person, who has more experience as a school leader and who presumably knows the ins and outs of the district you鈥檙e working in, is another regular contact you need.
Granted, their experience doesn鈥檛 include leading schools in a pandemic, but as Shannon said, 鈥渢hey will learn alongside you and be a person to help you think through the issues and help you problem solve.鈥�
Even if you have an assigned coach, you can reap big benefits from having a mentor, too. This can be someone you choose because you admire their leadership and share their values. Principal Sue Park explains in her early years on the job.
3. Reach out to your fellow principals. Seriously, the role can be lonely in a typical year. Don鈥檛 dismiss the value and need to have a posse of colleagues who are struggling with the same issues you are. This can be your safe space to blow off some steam and to steal good ideas from one another, Shannon said.
Finding this community of peers can help immeasurably with things like writing a welcome back letter or learning from how they plan to do professional development for teachers.
鈥淭he bottom line is that you don鈥檛 need to recreate the wheel,鈥� Shannon said. 鈥淭ry to rely on some of the resources around you as you develop your vision and your plan.鈥�
4. Ask your school leadership team for help. This may be your assistant principal (if you have one), teacher leaders, and other staff members who are respected in the building. They can give you the historical context of the school, including what life was like before COVID-19, Shannon said.
Listen to what they tell you and whose stories they tell (or don鈥檛 tell), Shannon said. 鈥淵ou want to keep your equity hat on... and really listen for the students who are talked about and the students who aren鈥檛. Then you can home in on those missing voices.鈥�
Principal Melissa Hensley explains that too many principals think they can鈥檛 show their more emotional side, but she and showing vulnerability is essential to building trust.
5. Do a listening tour, regardless of what school looks like. You want to talk to students, to families, to teachers, and to staff. That still needs to happen, regardless of the circumstances, Shannon said.
鈥淭aking the time to do this is so important,鈥� Shannon said. 鈥淭his is how you鈥檙e going to get to understand the different constituency groups, their needs and their wants.鈥�
You will inevitably face tough decisions and make choices that people don鈥檛 like. Principal Kevin Armstrong said establishing an authentic listening ear, working to really understand your community, and can make those decisions more palatable for those who may disagree.
6. Don鈥檛 forget to take care of yourselves. The job can burn you out fast, especially now when the lines between work and home are so blurred. So turn the job off and take time to do things you enjoy. I know that鈥檚 easier said than done, so follow these tips from Principal Bill Zimmer on how he managed to do it.
Good luck!
Image: Getty
For even more advice and lessons learned from experienced principals, we have a whole series for you:
Also, if you鈥檝e got questions that could use some expert perspective, you can send them to The Principal Is In, bi-monthly advice column written by two seasoned school leaders. Send it to AskAPrincipal@educationweek.org, and check back to see if it appears in an upcoming column.
You can also sign up for EdWeek鈥檚 weekly newsletter for school leaders, .