SamTastic Weekly Tip: 8/3/26 - Connect with Your Time Change Coach this Week
- Jim Mercer
- Aug 3
- 3 min read
This week’s Tip: Connect with Your Time Change Coach this Week
The first week of August is the start of weekly support from your Time Coach.
Look for an email from your Time Change Coach this week. Your coach will want to set a day/time to observe a SAM Daily meeting for August. Your coach is also available to help with the items listed below.
Not back at work yet? No problem. If you grayed out on TimeTrack the days you are off for the summer your Time Change Coach will know. Do your coach a favor, though. Email back today a day/time you’d like to have your August meeting.
If you are back, please check that you’ve:
Set a time for your SAM Daily Meeting
Set monthly goals
Have scheduled at/above goal for today and tomorrow
If your SAM isn’t back yet, you can still do these three items so you get off to a great start.
If your SAM is back, please also:
Set contact days for the 2026-27 school year
Updated your associations list
Undated your groups
Set three target descriptors
Set three or more “focus staff” (people you intend to spend more time with than others the first nine weeks)
Updated optional descriptors
Checked/updated who has access to your TimeTrack
It is going to be a great school year. Get off to a great start by connecting with your Time Change Coach today.
You make the difference as a SAM leader.
Best for a SamTastic week,
Mark
Mark Shellinger, Director
National SAM Innovation Project
The NSIP Board is the first to receive the annual SAM Team Performance Report each year compiled from the end of year sessions each SAM team facilitated by their Time Change Coach and TimeTrack data. Use this link to access the comprehensive report: https://bit.ly/44pYH44 Use this link to access comments from SAM teams and their Time Change Coaches concerning outcomes: https://bit.ly/4fX0YKw
Here’s comments from NSIP Board Member Dr. Nathan Roberts:
My name is Nathan Roberts, and I am a Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I also serve as a member and Treasurer for the NSIP Board.
During the NSIP Board’s 2026 summer meeting, we had the pleasure of reviewing the annual data from the Rubric Assessment. I was impressed by how well the time spent by school leaders was tied to enhanced teacher and student performance. The increase in time spent on curriculum leadership activities was also remarkable and exactly what superintendents and school boards are requesting of their school leaders. The transition of time utilization from beginner SAM teams to seasoned teams was remarkable and clearly the product of dedicated time. As a Board, we were amazed and fascinated could not stop pointing out all the incredible work. I was so encouraged by the results that I shared the data with my school district partners and several charter schools within the university region and a few beyond.
It is a pleasure to serve on the Board and witness your extraordinary work on behalf of teachers and students. I want to wish each of you a fabulous school year and I look forward to your continued success.
Note: I’m doing in person SAM process training this week in Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis and San Francisco. Next week, I’ll be doing in-person SAM team training in Kansas City and Columbia.
We are now accepting registration of in-person SAM training in New York City, September 24, for new teams. This training is also open to new SAM principals in cities with easy rail access, including Baltimore, Prince George’s County. New teams from outside NYC are eligible fo complimentary rail reimbursement and hotel room. Use this link to register: https://bit.ly/SAMTrainingNYC
Of course, new SAM teams can schedule online training at any time. We’ll also announce soon in-person training in Atlanta, Tampa and Nashville.
If you are ready to start, click here to arrange for training: https://bit.ly/NSIP_Training
If you would like to schedule an online meeting to discuss, click here. https://bit.ly/NSIP_Meeting
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