I started work on Monday at my new job in a new school. It’s the first time that I will be the principal. Going into my first week, I’ve given a lot of thought to my “entry plan” and the overarching areas I will need to address. It’s easy to get bogged down in minutia so I am trying to keep things “big picture” right now and focus on 3 primary areas.

1. Relationships with faculty and staff
2. Relationships with community
3. Learning the school

Being appointed as principal (as opposed to going through a lengthy interview process) presents a unique situation. Being appointed as principal in the summer when the teachers are already on break presents still more uniqueness. It’s a challenge to begin building relationships when no one is physically present.

To start things off on a positive note, one of the first things I did after the official announcement was made was to send an introductory email to the staff. I’ve seen some graduate programs in ed leadership that make prospective principals write “introductory memos,” but I didn’t want to be so formal. I kept it light, shared how excited I was to be joining the staff, gave a little bit of my professional and personal background, and then wished them a great summer.

Finally, I invited them to call or email me and set up a time to talk in a semi-structured setting. When we chat, I am looking for three things: what they are most proud of at the school, what they think needs work, and what they expect from their new principal. I’ve already met with a few staff members and hope to meet with many more before we officially get together in August.

Beyond the school, relationship-building with the parents and community will begin with a redesign and modernization of our school’s webpage. Once “live,” the web page will include a “Principal’s Message” in which I will share much of the same information I shared with the staff about who I am and how I got here. Among other things, I am striving to soothe any anxiety about the change in leadership at the school and communicate that I am kid-focused and committed to maintaining the school as a source of pride for students, parents, and the neighborhood.

Learning the school is far more personal. It begins in the conversations with staff, but also includes a review of relevant documents, including accountability reports, test data, parent/teacher/student climate and culture survey data, and any written history I can find. I have been very fortunate that my “ethnography” has yielded a wealth of information on the school’s namesake, Conrad Ball, and the history of the building since its construction was approved by the Board in 1969.

A visual ethnography of the campus can yield data about the hidden or unspoken culture of the school. What messages are the walls and classrooms communicating that the adults may not even be aware of? There’s a small window of time, during which I am still a newcomer to this culture, where I can observe it as an outsider before becoming part of the fabric.

It’s hard to believe that some of us are back to work already, but I am doing my part to ensure a smooth start to 2010-2011 at my new school.