SamTastic Weekly Tip: 8/24/26 - Be the Captain
- Jim Mercer
- Aug 24
- 3 min read
This week’s Tip: Be the Captain
This is the first day of the new school year for many students across the country. SAM principals begin this day In the Green, at/or above their instructional time goal. They know the importance of scheduling work with intentionality to improve teacher practice and student outcomes. They schedule their management work and know its value, too. Most every SAM leader is front and center greeting students as they enter the building today making sure everyone gets off to a great start.
I remember my first day greeting students as a principal. I was 29 years old. I wore a three-piece suit because my superintendent said it would make me look older. I was excited as we opened the doors to our brand-new school, Weller Elementary, named for the city’s first principal, Rosamund Weller. As the first of 15 school buses arrived, I got my first surprise: most of the seats were empty. My second surprise was hundreds of cars following the buses and the ensuing traffic jam as the parking lot was way too small. The parents of our 600 new students elected to drive them to school.
My superintendent was standing next to me. He said: “How can I help? What do you want to do, Mark? I handed him my master key and said: “See the gate at the top of the drive? Unlock it and direct cars to the staging area the contractor used during construction. There’s plenty of room to park. Kids and parents can walk along the sidewalk to the main entry.” He was off like an Olympic runner, smiling and waving at parents and students.
He saved the day. We started classes on time and provided the welcoming, supportive and inclusive experience we wanted. My superintendent taught me a valuable lesson that day. He didn’t tell me what to do. He asked what I wanted to do. He asked how he could help. He expected me to make the call. He made clear that I was the Captain and he was the Admiral, there to do anything to support me. In other words, he built my capacity to be a successful leader.
Ken Burnley was our state’s first African American Superintendent. He went on to become the national Superintendent of the Year later in his career. During my ten years as a principal, ten years as a superintendent, and now, starting my 25th year as founder and executive director of the SAM process, I try to follow Ken’s lead. The SAM process is designed to do just that: build the capacity of others. Be the Captain. Your school deserves no less.
Best for a SamTastic week,
Mark
Mark Shellinger, Director
National SAM Innovation Project
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