This week’s tip: Use TimeTrack on your first day back.
Be sure to start your first week back on track—meaning that you have a plan before you arrive. Schedule now so you are in the Green and have a plan for the day. Let your coach know now if you need help now.
It is fine to set your goal for instructional time lower to start. Just be sure you have a goal and have scheduled the management tasks you need to do your first week and some instructional work, too. Doing a bit each day will make it easier to move forward. This work is not predicated on whether you will have remote learning, in-person or a combination. It is work that needs to be done, regardless.
Schedule your SAM Daily Meeting for your first day. Conduct your SAM Daily Meeting so you are ready for the next day. Celebrate your work from last year and pat each other on the back. You have a plan, your TimeTrack, and you are proactive, positive, enthused and determined. In other words, you are a terrific school leader.
Don’t allow your uncertainty to keep you from setting monthly goals now. You can still do some instructional work but doing so will require planning for it. It is fine to start your first work week with a lower instructional time goal than you did last year. Set the goal and select slightly higher goals each month. You can always change your goals if you’d like later.
Don’t be afraid to schedule instructional work with teachers. You set the tone, and show what you value, by what you do. Working with teachers on their work with students is necessary no matter what school looks like. Start by scheduling a meeting with each teacher or group of teachers. Focus on how the teacher is feeling and be supportive. Ask about the remote teaching that worked well—what were their wins? What are they looking forward to trying? How can you help?