A Note on Celebrating Principal's Month by Learning More About Their Work

Stop by any school in the county on any given day and odds are good, you will not find the principals working quietly in their offices. 

You’re much more likely to find them on bus duty, chatting with students in the hallway, strategizing with faculty and staff, or setting up for a special event. 

And their workday does not end when the bell rings. In many ways, it’s just beginning as some items on the administrative to-do lists must often wait until school is dismissed. 

This is the part of the job that most of us never see - how quickly the principals must shift between their different roles and responsibilities, and how rarely they have the opportunity to concentrate on any one thing without being interrupted. 

Somehow, they manage to juggle it all and every single one of them says that, at the end of the day, knowing that they’ve made a positive difference in the life of a child makes it all worth it. 

October is National Principal’s Month. I celebrated by spending some time with the men and women leading our schools to learn more about them and the work that they do.

I was struck by how most of them are really just getting settled in. Most have only been in their current roles for a few years - none of them for more than five and a couple just joined us this school year - but their experience as educators and commitment to improvement is impressive. They are all life-long learners and their ability to multi-task is truly awe-inspiring, but I am most struck by their dedication and how much they seem to genuinely care for our children.

Over the next week or two, I’ll introduce you to each of them as we explore what they think is going well, the challenges that persist, and how we as a community can best support our schools in providing the best possible educational experience for our students.