“Congratulations! You have been selected as the next School Principal of YES Prep Gulfton.” This news was incredible; I had dreamt about becoming a principal for years. I felt a rush of emotions as I thought about what this would mean. I would start transitioning into a first-year school principal in a few months.
As much as I would like to say that all the emotions were positive, that was far from true. I knew I was ready for the challenge, but that didn’t stop fear and anxiety from setting in. I was going to be responsible for an entire campus of 1000+ students and 100 staff members. I didn’t want to let them down. What did I need to know first?
Be Vulnerable as a School Principal
- You will make mistakes. Holding the title of a school principal doesn’t mean you are expected to be perfect. Perfection is a standard that people usually place on themselves. Don’t fall into this trap! My staff appreciated my vulnerability when I owned my mistakes and committed to improving.
- It’s ok to ask for help. You don’t need to have 100% mastery of all the skills required to be an effective principal. You must know where and when to ask for help. Ironically, I improved my relationships with staff members by asking them for help. They saw that as a sign of my trust in them.
- You must be willing to let go of control for teachers to take ownership of their classrooms and students’ learning experiences. Teachers are the only ones who spend 100% of their time in their classrooms. You need to aim for a place where you can relinquish autonomy to them.
Reflect: Are you ready to be vulnerable with your staff? If yes, what are you going to work on first? If not, what’s holding you back?
Relationships are Especially Important in Your First Year
- You need support from your team. This job has the potential to take over your life, even when you don’t want it to have such an impact! If you establish a robust support system with your leadership team, you will be able to weather any storm that comes your way. My leadership team was an integral part of any success I had in the role.
- Relationships are huge. People want to feel connected with the person in charge of their school. My most challenging moments as a school principal came when I worked on projects behind the scenes. When I didn’t make time to connect with staff, students, and families, I noticed that results didn’t come as quickly.
- As a principal, you need good people skills! You will interact with different people daily; interactions won’t always go smoothly. Strong people skills (Ex. Emotional intelligence) go a long way toward establishing, maintaining, and repairing relationships. I regularly had to mediate conflict between individuals, leverage strategies to motivate others, and show up as a role model for my campus.
- You need to be a master at communication. The principal is responsible for any and all communication that gets sent out to the community, even if they aren’t the ones who send it. You need to know what message you want to send, the medium you wish to use, and who will be sending it. By having more clarity, I was able to determine when I needed to step in and when I could delegate to others.
Reflect: Do you need to work on your relationships with others? If so, what’s your next step?
Self-Reflecting is Key to a School Principal’s Success
- Take time to reflect on what went well during the year. Principals have to put out so many fires on a regular basis – student discipline issues, instructional support needs, and so much more. You need to take some time to step back and reflect on what’s going well. Sometimes, I would get to school early, so that I could walk around and think about what had gone well and what needed to go differently.
- You will feel like there is never enough time in the day. Do not waste time on things that don’t matter! Make sure you are spending your time wisely by focusing on only the most critical tasks. Sometimes, I would lose track of time while working on unimportant items because I felt more productive. I had to learn to overcome that desire to feel more productive.
- Find some balance between work and home because if something doesn’t give, it may very well be your sanity! I learned that I couldn’t always reach a work-life balance on a daily basis, but I could over the course of the year. I frequently had moments when I had to work long hours, so I learned to take advantage of any downtime I had (ex. Holidays).
Reflect: How often do you self-reflect? Is this a practice that you need to be more intentional about?
Leave Your Mark as a First-Year School Principal
School principals have a remarkable opportunity to make a difference in our communities by helping students succeed. However, the position is very demanding and difficult to navigate. First-year principals, in particular, experience many challenges to be able to lead effectively. There are teachers to hire, budgets to balance, and students to lead.
When I was a first-year principal, I didn’t want to let anyone down, so I prepared myself for the challenge of a lifetime. I understood that my staff and students expected me to be effective, and they deserved no less. I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to provide an outstanding education.
If you are a new leader, what advice will you work to implement?
What advice would you give a first-year school principal?
Closing Thoughts
I hope that this article was insightful and helpful for you. There are many other things that I wish I had known as a first-year school principal, but if I included them all, it would make this list even more extensive. If you have any questions at all about becoming a first-year school principal, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
