The Three Minute Scan

I am a BIG fan of the Three Minute Walk Through.  Many principals look at this as mini observations and get caught up in too many details. A walkthrough is not a classroom observation; it is a classroom scan.  You scan to see if students are engaged, if the teacher is teaching grade-level content, if the teacher is using appropriate instructional strategies to raise the rigor of the lesson, if the walls contain accurate information to support student learning (agenda, I can statements, word wall, etc.) and if the room is safe and secure. A principal should do a walkthrough daily and at different times each day. Your scans will inform your classroom observations by focusing your attention on the areas that were red-flagged during your walkthroughs.

Respect and Relationships

Treating staff members with respect is critical. Following the platinum rule is a very good thing. Treat people the way they want to be treated. To follow this rule, you must get to know your teachers. What kind of recognition makes them feel good? Is it public praise or private? Is it written or oral? What kind of reward do they like? Is it a plaque or certificate? Is it a come in late pass or a wear blue jeans coupon? You get the idea.

What do you do when a staff member comes to you with an idea? Do you say no or I will think about it and get back to you? Do you take the idea and make it your own?  You should tell the staff member that you would like to hear more about it. If there is time at that moment, sit and listen. If no time, schedule a meeting. Handle ideas with care. If you squelch the idea, you set an atmosphere that tells teachers not to be creative, and you lose all of the ideas that would follow.  Take the idea and make it your own, and you lose trust and the willingness of your staff to step up when you need them.

A veteran principal worked very hard on a professional development schedule. She took it to the newly appointed assistant superintendent for approval. The principal showed the schedule and started to talk about it. Before she completed one sentence, the assistant superintendent pushed it back towards her without looking at it. As he pushed it back, he said, “No, no. we will do it this way.”  He began creating his own schedule. I watched as the principal deflated right in front of me. I know the assistant superintendent very well. He is honest and loyal. He shoots straight and never wastes his time. He had no idea what he had just done to the principal he supervised. That principal doesn’t take any chances on being treated like that again. She waits to be told what to do. The assistant superintendent can’t understand why his principal takes no initiative and always waits to be told how, when and why something needs to be done.

Don’t throw out everything that was in place before you came. If a system works, keep it. There is time to tweak a system later. You look better when you allow teachers to tell you what has been working and support them in continuing their work. They will also tell you what hadn’t worked and will be more open to change if they feel they have a voice. Support your teachers. You can’t be everywhere and be in control of every decision.

Treat your staff as professionals, and they will behave as professionals. Build relationships based on integrity. One of my favorite books is Principle-Centered Leadership by Stephen Covey.  Read it and apply it!