A first-year principal will rarely know what is coming on any given day.
An experienced administrative assistant (officially, a “secretary,” but this
old title in no way describes her importance to the efficient operation of the
principal’s office) will be a great help. The longer his secretary worked for
his predecessor, the more she will be familiar with the format and due dates
of reports and the procedures for the various issues that arise. Nevertheless,
to be an effective school leader, this new principal must personally know
what to expect and wean himself from reliance on another. He needs to take
control of his day. Here are some ways in which he can do this.
First, at the end of each day, the new school leader should use a “plan
sheet” to schedule his next day. Some items will go into specific school
time slots (period 1, 2, 3, etc.) while others could be handled anytime dur-
ing the school day. Figure 5.1 is such a plan sheet.
The period-specific column is used to schedule observations,
post-observation conferences, meetings, and the daily walk around the
school—this important task is easily left undone if the calendar is not
cleared for it. The last column is used to list tasks that can be done at any
time during the day, when he happens to be free. Many tasks are handled
before and after the school day, when there will usually be fewer interrup-
tions. There are sometimes evening events at the school, hence the final
row. Figure 5.2 shows how the plan sheet might look on a given day.
A new school leader will learn early never to fill in more than half of
the period-specific slots. This provides leeway to handle the unexpected,
such as the irate parent or the sick teacher. The school leader will also
Period Day: Date: During the Day
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Post
EveningFigure 5.1.^ Blank Plan Sheet
56 Chapter 5