The First Year...

The first three posts of our NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series have offered excellent advice for school leaders, especially those who are just starting their first principalship. The post below once again offers practical advice for principals and assistant principals, written by a good friend of mine who has "walked the walk" at several different administrative levels. Leigh Jones is currently the School Support Officer for Learning Area 11 in the Guilford County Schools system. Leigh has also worked as a high school principal in Rockingham County and middle school principal in Asheboro. She was named the 2013 NC Region 5 Principal of the Year while she was the principal at McMichael High School. As Leigh mentions in her post, the advice she has to offer is great for a principal in her first year or 10th year! What I like most about this post is that Leigh's second and third points--asking for help and being willing to apologize--are often viewed as weaknesses when someone is a school leader. But Leigh is exactly right... asking for help when you need it and apologizing when you make a mistake are actually signs of strength and self-confidence. I hope you enjoy Leigh's post, the fourth in our NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series!

Boy, do I remember my first year as a principal. It was, indeed, as hard as everyone told me it would be. But, I was lucky enough to have a mentor who prepared me well for the challenges I would face. I’ve been so fortunate to work with great principals in their first year as a principal or even in their first year at a school. The first year can not only be overwhelming at times but also extremely rewarding. The first two posts on this blog were about the lessons of a first-year principal and the lessons learned from an assistant principal going into his first year as a principal. I highly recommend reading those posts as they discuss some of the most important aspects of being a first-year principal: collaboration, visibility, building relationships, being fearless, etc. These are so important when thinking about your first year as a principal or your 10th year as a principal. I want to discuss three more attributes that I believe are critical in your first year or in your 10th year; these attributes contribute tremendously to building those quality relationships, building successful collaborative teams, and being fearless.

1. Be Consistent

Consistency can be the hardest attribute to learn and implement during your first year as a principal, but it’s one of the most important things you can do for the culture of your school for both students and staff.

• Be consistently visible. Visibility is critical for building the culture of your school. Be visible in classrooms, in the hallways during transitions, at community events, and at school sponsored events. Most first year principals struggle with being visible during the school day. Let’s face it, school happens and principals can sometimes get caught behind their desks during the school day. Being mindful of the time you spend in your office is important and make sure you are in classrooms daily and in the hallways. Being visible will build a positive culture in your school.
• If you say it, do it. This is one of the simplest things yet something first year principals can sometimes forget. Trust me, your staff and students will remember just about everything you say. If you say you are going to do it, then go out and do it. If you require it, monitor it. All too often principals require teachers to do lots of things and monitor only a few of those things. If you are going to require it, make sure you monitor it.
• Communicate consistently. Communicate, communicate, communicate. And just when you think you’ve communicated enough, communicate more. Often times we think teachers should just know things, but they don’t know it unless we tell them. Principals have to over communicate their expectations, school/district information, and procedures/policies.

2. Ask for help

Too often principals, whether they are first-year principals or experienced principals, sometimes see asking for help as a weakness or they view asking for help as an admittance that they aren’t good principals. Well, asking for help shows your strength and your confidence in yourself. Guess what, you can’t know everything! The job of the principal is too big to do alone and the accountability is at such high stakes that support and help from others are critical. As a principal, I always made it a point to know my central office staff and to know who I should/could go to for help and support. Central office staff are there to support you and make sure you have what you need. Make sure you not only ask your colleagues for help but that you also access your central office staff.

3. Apologize

At times, you will make mistakes. You will miscommunicate and at times you will make the wrong decision. It’s imperative that when this happens that you acknowledge your mistake(s) and apologize. Apologizing will demonstrate to your staff and your students that you aren’t perfect and mistakes can be made.

Being consistent, asking for help, and apologizing are all lessons I learned during my first year as a principal. Making sure I demonstrate these attributes daily has helped me throughout my career not only as a principal but also as a principal supervisor while working in central office. I have always tried to make sure my sense of humor is bigger than my ego. When things go wrong, I look in the mirror, but when things go well, I look out the window.

Leigh Jones is a School Support Officer for Guilford County Schools.