The 12-Week Action Plan for Starting the School Year

Instructional Leadership When Stakes Are High

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

I recently came across the following situation posted by a principal in an online group:

“I am a first year principal in a new district. Prior knowledge as well as veteran principals tell me I should not be making any major changes in Year 1, just observing and building relationships. However, my superintendent upon hiring me says he demands student growth or I will not be brought back. Yes, he used the term demand. He claims he turned a high school around in one year. Also, they have no suggestions or recommendations. I have a good track record of growth as an AP but that took three years.

Have any of you experienced anything similar? Have any of you had success in standardized testing growth in year one? What would you do in this situation?”

My first internal response was to be thankful that I never, in my 16 years as a building leader, had a district leader make that kind of demand on me.

There’s nothing wrong with having high expectations, as long as a) they are attainable, and b) there is an equal amount of support.

As I shared in my response to this leader, this demand "feels like a red flag. Sustainable change takes 5-7 years. You can do lots of test prep but it's a short term win, long term loss in terms of student/teacher engagement.”

But leaving my comment at that wasn’t helpful. What would I do if I were in that situation? I’m assuming this principal was committed to the district and wasn’t looking to leave.

Here is a play-by-play approach I might take in that situation. (The following ideas come from my book and a 50-page guide on leading more like a coach. Full subscribers can download this guide for free at the end of this post.)

Weeks 1 and 2: Try to get the superintendent on your side

Or, at the very least, ensure that he/she is aware of your improvement strategy and is tacitly supportive of it.

I might start by being curious. For example, if the superintendent has expressed his past successes in quick improvement, I would ask about his experience in this area. How did he/she achieve these results in such a short amount of time? Have they observed other principals realize similar outcomes?

My superintendent has assigned a district-based administrator as my direct supervisor. He has asked me to direct any questions to that person.

If the superintendent is unresponsive to offering ideas, then offer some ideas you and your instructional leadership team plan to implement via email. Invite him to offer feedback. Transparency around the process = co-ownership in the outcomes.

Weeks 3 through 4: Begin documenting your learning journey publicly

Whether the superintendent offers suggestions or does not, document your efforts. For example, you can begin writing and publishing a weekly staff newsletter that highlights your school’s efforts, challenges, and successes. Include multiple images of students and teachers in action, as well as relevant quotes from kids and families.

Be sure to add your school board members' email addresses to your subscription list, as well other district leaders. Make sure they see what you're doing along with the superintendent and staff.

This seems like a lot of work. I don’t know if I have time.

You are keeping a running record of your journey, highlighting the strategies your school is using to achieve better student outcomes. This, of course, means getting into classrooms on a daily basis to know how implementation is going. (See my book and guide for more information on instructional walks.)

Weeks 5 - 12: Communicate monthly with a request for feedback

As a systems coach, I reach out at least once a month to all partner schools within my project. For clients I am currently in a coaching cycle with, this is taken care of through regularly scheduled meetings. For clients who are not as engaged, my communication might be a simple email check-in, see how things are going. I’ve also shown up in person - bearing small gifts such as stationery or a professional resource. The goal is to keep the conversation going, including requests for any feedback they can provide for me.

You can think of your relationship with your superintendent in a similar way. Your ongoing conversation can be thought of as coaching up. You are reframing the power differential as a less hierarchical relationship. Every interaction is an attempt to:

• Build trust through frequent contact, confidence, and humility.

• Educate your leader on the current happenings in the school.

• Seek to learn - ask for their thoughts on what you have shared in your newsletter.

What if they don’t know what’s going on, even with the newsletter?

Send a print copy to them via intraschool mail. Make it difficult for them to ignore, in the most positive sense. You are seeking dialogue and mutual understanding of the purpose of the work.

This dialogue doesn’t have to be in person or even in real time. I know of teachers who maintain a Google Doc as an interactive dialogue journal with their students. Make it easy for them to access you and your work.

I am still getting nothing but crickets. I feel like I am being set up to fail.

This is why it’s important to keep good records of all your efforts.

• Document every communication and interaction you have with the superintendent: email, in-person, online.

• Organize your professional files, especially your newsletters and any data analysis processes around student outcomes.

• Keep a running list of positive comments overheard by students, staff, families, and community members about your collective efforts. Post these comments on your school’s website if possible.

If he still isn’t happy with your outcomes and actually follows through on nonrenewal, you have a body of evidence that speaks otherwise to your results and your efforts when it gets to the board level. A differentiated collection of inputs and outputs can help protect you and your school from unfair evaluations.

No matter what happens, keep things professional and calm. Be the leader you know you are regardless of how others perceive you.