The saying “It’s not hard work, it’s heart work” has always been pretty cliché to me. However, after this first year serving as a high school assistant principal, I now believe in “heart work.” Nothing about this first year was easy, but I loved every second of it. You have to love this job to keep returning to it because at no point will it be easy! That being said, there were so many more highs than lows, and I experienced this because of what I prioritized in my first year. Below are four things that helped propel me to a successful and rewarding first year.
Build Relationships
With Staff: Work on fostering collaboration, trust, and a sense of belonging. You MUST start here. Without this, you have nothing. Building relationships with adults will take much longer than with students because of the authority of your position. Be mindful of how you approach conversations and of your actions when with your teachers. Take the first couple of months to be in classrooms, to be visible in hallways, and to check in with teachers to help establish that rapport. When school leaders and teachers work harmoniously, they can move mountains and create a supportive atmosphere that benefits everyone.
With Students: Positive relationships with administrators are fundamental to their academic and personal development. When students feel respected, understood, and valued by their administrators, they are more likely to engage in learning, exhibit positive behaviors, and achieve higher academic outcomes. Additionally, strong relationships with students allow administrators to better understand their needs, interests, and strengths. Even when you have kids in your office for breaking school policy, it is an opportunity to build a relationship with them. Remind them that their mistake does not define who they are and that you will work together to come back stronger. Additionally, make time to attend events to support your students. It is worth so much to see students’ faces light up when you show them you took the time to attend their band performance, soccer game, or debate tournament.
Be Visible
School administrators’ visibility in their buildings is paramount for fostering a positive and well-functioning educational environment. When assistant principals are regularly present and engaged in daily school activities, they demonstrate their commitment to the school’s mission and the well-being of its students and staff. Here’s how I did this in my first year.
- Block off time in your calendar to visit classrooms for 10-15 minutes at a time. Track who you have visited in a spreadsheet to ensure you have reached everyone. If you can, leave a positive note or type up a quick email to send to the teacher, thanking them for letting you pop in and hang out for a bit. If you do this often, teachers won’t bat an eye at your presence because they will just think that it is your normal routine. This is the goal!
- Make your office mobile. There’s no reason to sit in your office and answer emails if you can do the same thing while standing at your cart out in your building. By doing this, I was able to talk to so many staff members and kids, keep kids in check for their time out of the classroom, and pop into classrooms to watch instruction. I found a utility cart on Amazon, which was enough to accomplish what I needed.
Work-Life Balance
I have to be honest. I was horrible with this at the beginning of the year. I let work consume me, trying to solve every problem rapidly. I bet you can guess what happened next…yep, burnout. I quickly realized that my job as an AP is not to fix every problem. Some things would have to stay broken and be addressed later so that other, more pressing items can be addressed with my full attention.
Additionally, this obsession with work started to take away from my workouts, family, and mental health. I was putting myself second, third, and fourth. I learned to make lists and prioritize what needed my attention now and what could wait. This was hard because a new day brought new problems, and it could sometimes feel like I needed to catch up. I would stay late at work on those days and grind it out for a couple of hours to get caught up. That way I could go home and be present, get my workout in, and walk the dog without work looming on my mind.
Follow Through
This may have been one of the best things I did in my first year. If I said I would do something, I did it and followed up with all necessary parties in a timely manner. By doing this, staff knew they could come to me for whatever they needed and that they would get an answer promptly. It was an easy way to establish rapport and build trust quickly. To ensure I didn’t forget to do things, I used the reminders app on my phone to write down what I needed to do. I referenced this periodically throughout the day and would “check off” my completed tasks. This helped not only to keep me organized but also to follow up on outstanding matters that had been brought to my plate. A good rule of thumb is to have a response (notice I don’t say answer) to someone within 24-48 hours of receipt. I did my best to hold myself to this, and it worked pretty well.
Conclusion
All in all, I love this job. It is rewarding, hard, fun, and challenging, but most of all, it is so worth it. As the summer wraps up, I wish you an outstanding school year. Keep following New School Leader to continue your pursuit of being an excellent administrator!
Looking For More Resources?
Check out these articles for new assistant principals.
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