8 Years Ago I Won Principal of the Year—Here’s What I Know Now
Jul 23, 2026
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Eight years ago, I thought I was walking into a crisis.
It was state testing week, and I was coming back from an offsite meeting when my secretary called, saying contractors were working in the gym to fix a leak and were asking them to evacuate the school. They stated they would need a few hours to complete their work, and it would be extremely loud…
My first thought? Not today. Not during testing.
I was irritated. I was ready to walk straight in, find the problem, and handle it.
There is a certain relief that comes when the first few days of school go well.
Staff are back, students are moving through the building, transportation is running, classrooms are settled, and the systems you spent the summer planning seem to be doing exactly what you hoped they would do.
After months of preparation, it is tempting to look around and think, We did it.
And you should celebrate ...
A few weeks ago, one of our leaders inside The Leadership Collective walked out of a coaching session and went straight to building her State of the School presentation. No blank slide. No staring at a cursor, wondering where to start. She had a structure to work from and the confidence that her message would actually land with her staff.
That moment is the whole reason I do this work. Most s...
Why managing the administrative demands of the principalship begins with protecting your role as an instructional leader
A school leader recently asked me a question that captures what many principals experience every day: “How do they expect us to do both?”
She was talking about the two roles hidden within the principalship. A principal is expected to be an instructional leader who spends...
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