Start Planning for Next School Year Now
April…. that time of year where some wonderful things are happening in school buildings everywhere––and some not so wonderful things. There’s a much needed (and really short) Spring Break, an insane amount of standardized testing, some exciting end-of-year events, tear-jerking graduations, and those dreaded formal observations and evaluations. With all of that going on and everyone just trying to make it to summer, it is easy for School Leaders to forget or neglect one other thing that should be happening right now, too: planning for the upcoming school year. We have all heard the saying, “failing to plan is simply planning to fail.”
We know the upcoming school year seems so far away, especially when you feel as though there’s still way too much time left in this one. On the other hand, we also know about the fatigue school leaders have at the start of the year due to scrambling at the last minute to get things done. There’s also the poor planning that often occurs during the summer because there were too many missed opportunities during April and May. So, what does meeting in the middle look like?
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIME, PEOPLE, AND INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW
Right now, there’s a slew of things needed to be done to finish the year strong; but there are just as many things to do right now to ensure a strong start next year. We share five things that school leaders can do right now to take advantage of the resources that may not be available during the summer: time, people, and information.
Time becomes a scarce resource for school leaders during the summer. With trainings, professional development, meetings, and perhaps even a vacation of your own, there is a limited amount of time to get everything done within two months—more or less. Most teachers and support staff are gone and inaccessible during the summer and leaders are finally taking a bit of time off as well. This means gathering insightful information may be hard to do and in turn makes informed decision-making really challenging. Less people also means less hands on deck to help carry the load and get things done timely and efficiently.
Let’s not waste the opportunity we have during April and May to leverage the time, people, and information at our fingertips.
5 THINGS EVERY SCHOOL LEADER SHOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW:
Analyzing the Data
Start to look at the data that you have at your fingertips to extract trends and draw some preliminary conclusions about what has gone well and what needs some refinement. Some critical data points to zoom into include:
Student achievement/academic data
Student attendance data
Staff attendance data
Staff engagement and/or satisfaction data
Family engagement and/or satisfaction data
Student engagement and/or satisfaction data
Student behavior data
It is best practice to dig into these data points with your leadership team. This welcomes the opportunity to explore a variety of perspectives and interpretations of the data. It also provides the opportunity to gather additional context that you may not have. Remember, data can paint a very vivid picture, but that picture can be blurry and ugly if you’re missing some colors or using the wrong paint brushes. Your leadership teammates are your paint brushes and colors.
Listening to Your People
Seek the perspective and input of your people. Go beyond your typical feedback survey. Once testing season is in your rearview mirror, it is likely that things will slow down and you’ll have a little bit of extra time. Use that time to have 1:1 meetings with your teachers and staff (or have grade/department level focus groups). Cultivate a safe and warm environment to have open discussions about their experience this school year and what it has been like to serve under your leadership. Figure out what they valued the most and what areas they needed more support in. Transparent conversations of this nature can help you make informed decisions about the aspects of your school that you need to “keep or junk.”
Don't stop there. Do the same for your families and scholars. The goal here is the same. Families and scholars can help you see what the picture looks like outside of the frame. They are the ones who have the most to gain and lose when you make decisions or changes. Therefore, their voice holds a lot of weight; and you definitely want to hear it and incorporate it into your next steps. Of course, this may need to be in the form of a survey or highly-structured town hall meeting.
Hiring the Right People
Yup. We said it. Your vision can only come to fruition with the right people on your side. At this point in the year, educators are making decisions about their placement and goals for the upcoming year. You, as the school leader, should also be making those same decisions.
With transitions, staffing structure changes, and new priorities on the horizon, some shifts will need to be made and some gaps filled. When endeavoring upon hiring for the upcoming year:
Revisit your data and don’t just look at the numbers. Zoom into the qualitative data you gathered from your listening tours. This will reveal the needs and gaps of your school and can help you determine the type of people you need on your team and how to best position the people you already have.
Do more than ask questions; look beyond the resume; and don’t drop the ball on reference checks. Yes, it is important to ask candidates about their professional experience, but it is just as important to have candidates demonstrate their skills. This can be done by asking scenario based questions or conducting demo lessons. Make sure to also look for evidence of aligned mindsets and core values. You need to know if the candidate will be a positive contributor to your school culture and help drive your vision to fruition—as it will take more than just good teaching to do this. Candidates should be mission driven, receptive to feedback, and value collaboration. Lastly, check those references! Remember, if you’re interested in a candidate it is because the candidate caught your eye due to a stellar resume and/or interview. However, that is simply the best representation of the candidate. Invest the time upfront in gathering more objective information to identify any red flags to save yourself and team from the headaches later.
Clearly communicate your vision, the school’s priorities, and key responsibilities of the role. Just like you do not want to be unpleasantly surprised by the candidate, the candidate does not want to be unpleasantly surprised by you. Share the most relevant information and resources with the candidate so that he/she/they can make the most informed decision. This will help you attract the most aligned candidates and avoid losing staff members mid-year.
Master Scheduling… (yeah, we know…. at least start on it now)
Scheduling is a mundane and arduous task (for most). We get it. However, now is the time to start considering what your teacher, leader, and scholar schedules will look like. As you begin to make decisions about what your vision and priorities are, make sure that your master schedule reflects that. We would be remiss if we didn’t also note that your master schedule should also reflect the input and feedback from your team. It will be hard to uphold your schedule with fidelity if you do not have the investment from your people.
As you begin to craft your master schedule, be sure to include:
adequate planning and collaboration time for teachers;
bell schedules that represent your academic priorities;
coaching and development meetings for leaders and teachers;
observation and feedback cycles; and
critical school-wide transitions with leadership presence (i.e. arrival, dismissal, lunch, class-to-class).
Communicating with Your People
Some members of your team will not be returning next year, and that is okay. For the ones who will be continuing the journey with you, the perfect parting gift for the summer is the gift of communication. Have individual and school-wide conversations with your returning staff about what to expect next year.
When speaking one-on-one with your returning staff, clearly define their goals and growth opportunities. Unpack individual performance data together. Collaborate on improvement plans. Have those crucial conversations about placement, mindset, or professional responsibilities. Let individuals know what you will need from them so that they are able to effectively prepare over the summer.
Consider what your last all-staff meeting of the year will entail. Whatever the case may be, leverage this time as an opportunity to celebrate the wins together and to share what you have been working to improve the next year. Give them a sneak peak about any big shifts you are making in bringing the school’s vision to fruition; this can include changes to the school schedule, new curriculum, redefined priorities and goals, etc. You may also determine that you need to raise the bar on your expectations and non-negotiables about what it means to be a positive contributor to the school.
The Gist:
Start planning now. The early bird gets the worm.
Need some support with planning a strong start to the new school year?
View our Transformative Leader Summer Planning Intensive
Take a Look at our Principal Summer Planning Checklist.
Reach out to us, we’re happy to help! Our team responds within 48 hours.