Teacher Appreciation Week is here! For leaders like you, showing appreciation doesn’t always have to involve elaborate gestures. It can be as simple as sharing heartfelt words or offering teachers the gift of time.  Here are 7 ideas from leaders in the Principal Project community:

Today, I called a teacher to ask how she was doing. Halfway through the conversation, she stopped me and confessed, “I was dreading this phone call.” When I asked why, she said, “Because there are so many things I know I haven’t done yet, and I thought you were going to ask me for them.” […]

Beulah McLoyd is a former high school principal and now serves as executive director of Program Implementation, Midwest Region, for New Leaders. You can follow her on Twitter at @BeulahMcLoyd. When I first took on the principal role at a Chicago high school for the arts, I was charged with reopening a school that had […]

In the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 first prompted schools in the United States to shift to distance learning, our team was all in for kids. We connected with each family. We put together online resources. We copied paper packets. We made an “I miss you” video and organized a drive-thru car parade to wave […]

Anitra Cook is a middle school assistant principal in Farmville, NC. Follow her on Twitter at @ap_cookie. My school district is one of few in North Carolina that launched the school year in person, using a hybrid model. When the announcement was made that we would be working in the building rather than just virtually, […]

As our team’s instructional leaders, it’s our job to keep teaching and learning at the center of all we do.  That means having an intentional focus on the growth of teachers and students. It means diving into the data and researching best practices. It means creating trust and providing instructional feedback to teachers, supporting them […]

Sharif El-Mekki is a former principal and the founder of the Center for Black Educator Development in Philadelphia, PA. This is part of our series on reimagining education. I was a principal at Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker in Philadelphia for many years. We took to heart the concept of windows and mirrors, decorating our walls with […]

Issue #5: Tapping back into your “why” this BTS season Sign up here to get #PrincipalProject newsletters like this in your inbox! Kathy Walker is a middle school principal in Statesville, North Carolina. You can follow her on Twitter @kathywalkeriss Optimism. Concern. Fear. Excitement. Determination. We school leaders are building our back-to-school plans a little […]

When you look back at your first year as a school leader, what do you wish you had known – and what did you love learning? Your fellow lead learners shared advice, insights and inspiration for new principals and APs who will soon be starting their big first year in school leadership! From encouraging teacher […]

Lisa Meade is a high school principal in upstate New York. You can follow her on Twitter @LisaMeade23.  This Teacher Appreciation Week, I’m feeling especially grateful for all the ways teachers are going above and beyond, especially in the building I am fortunate to be a part of – Granville Jr./Sr. High School, located in […]