Happy Monday!
What you do tells people what you value.
Principals have tremendous impact on others, and, like most things, actions speak louder than words.
Make a point to schedule time each morning talking with students about their schoolwork. Some principals elect to do this as kids are entering the building. These short conversations can be a powerful tool in communicating the importance you see in their schoolwork. It gives insight on what is happening in the classroom and ideas on how to help the teacher improve.
Some SAM principals enter a room before the bell and sit with a student and have the same conversation. These principals know the power of their presence and may elect to stay in the classroom as the teacher gets things started. This is a favorite kind of “seeing instruction” for many SAM leaders as they get to work with a student, or group, while watching the teacher work.
Some SAM principals carry tickets when they do morning classroom visits. They look for students exhibiting good learning behavior. The tickets say: “My table, lunch, today.” Or “Please stop and see me as you are leaving today.” What happens? The principal praises the student for their learning behavior. Principals who plan these kinds of interactions with students report teachers love it. Why? They know when the principal enters a room the focus is not only on teaching behavior…it is also on student learning behavior. They also like it because the principal is modeling what educators value…not just talking about it.
Effective principals look for teachable moments with teachers and students… A principal who stops and helps a teacher complete a bulletin board, cut out letters, grade a set of papers or prepare materials, teaches a lesson that won’t soon be forgotten: the leader values, respects and appreciates the work of teachers.
What you do, regardless of your title, speaks volumes. Make sure what you do moves your staff in the direction you seek.
Great SAMs help their principals schedule these teachable moments in every SAM Daily Meeting. It is not too late to schedule one this week on your TimeTrack.
Reminder: The deadline to submit conference flight information is December 1. Buying airline ticket now makes sense—you will get a much better price than waiting until the deadline. Please make your reservation today and send flight information to: Travel@SamsConnect.com
Online SAM training this week: Denver, Colorado, Atlanta, Georgia, Rochester, New York
In-person SAM Training next week: New York City
In case you missed it, NSIP Director Mark Shellinger was the guest September 18 on William Parker’s podcast, Principal Matters. Here’s a link:
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