This week’s tip: “A title is only a word. It is your actions that matter.”
Your actions are what people remember. Being a leader, rather than a manager, requires planning and forethought. It is why the SAM process, the SAM Daily Meeting and your TimeTrack data are so powerful together.
A good SAM asks the leader if the walkthrough, or another of the four kinds of seeing instruction, was completed. The SAM is very good if the next question is about follow-up... even better if the question is:
“What did you see in the classroom that impressed you? What did the teacher do that shows improvement?”
“Did you see a student who impressed you? What ‘good learning behavior’ did you notice?”
“What did you see that tells you what you should do at the next staff meeting? Grade level or department meeting? PLC?”
When a school community sees the person with the title “principal” become actively involved in learning, the principal becomes the leader.. .not just the manager.
Good SAMs always ask one question from the TimeTrack dashboard during the Daily Meeting. Any question can work as it helps the leader think about next steps with each teacher.