SamTastic Weekly Tip: 6/29/26 - The Last Day…and the First.
- Jim Mercer
- Jun 29
- 2 min read
This week’s Tip: The last day…and the first.
As the school year ends tomorrow, and another begins Wednesday, focus on your wins.
School leaders dealt with enormous pressure in the year just ending: decreased funding, staffing shortages, and unprecedented political turmoil impacting policy and curriculum. Pundits suggested leaders would be forced to move away from instructional leadership. Many have been interested to see if instructional time decreased for SAM principals, when compared to past years.
The 2026 SAM team performance assessment provides the answer. Annual instructional time achieved by SAM principals matched the prior year. Instructional time for SAM leaders nationally has been remarkably steady for the last three years. Leaders who advanced to the highest rubric level in the SAM Process spent 72% of their time instructionally engaged. SAM teams overall averaged an impressive 57% of the year doing work with the specific intent to improve teacher practice and student performance. This is four times more than school leaders who do not do the SAM process.
Remarkable.
The entire report will be presented to the NSIP Board at its Summer meeting, July 7. We’ll send the report to all recipients of the SamTastic Weekly Tip the same day.
SAM teams, take a well-deserved bow. You are remarkable. Your dedication to your students, staff and families is admirable.
I hope you can take some time off in July. In any case, I encourage you to enjoy your success and recharge for the upcoming school year.
It is budget time in most schools and districts. Be sure to include your SAM services for the 2026-27 school year. You can request an early invoice now by using this link: https://bit.ly/40GtA33
Consider budgeting for the 20th Annual National SAM Conference, too. The conference provides an opportunity to learn from SAM teams across the US and an amazing array of national and international speakers, authors and thought leaders in leadership, education, and psychology.
20th Annual National SAM Conference announcement video: https://www.wevideo.com/view/4003300281
What does a SAM conference look like? https://bit.ly/4cxGEw7
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