I Landed the Principal's Job, Now What?

Written: February 2020

I Landed the Principal's Job; Now What?

When searching for the next level, we have often put in countless hours and years preparing for the interview. We go through many leadership courses. We shadow other leaders. We build relationships and make connections with other people that are trying to move to the next level. We participate in numerous mock interviews and research interview questions that can prepare us for the big day.

You work on your resume and cover letter. You go in with doubt and question if you are really prepared. You interview! The time when natural excitement and uncertainty will run through your mind. The time when you remind yourself that you interviewed for the experience. You start telling yourself things like if the door is meant to open, it will open; if not it will stay closed. Then you go back to second guessing if you answered the questions correctly. You go through a game that I will equate to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Were your answers too long, too short, or just right?

Then the thinkable happens, the wait time. You get that phone call from the Superintendent of Schools offering you the position. You have officially been named the next principal of the school that you interviewed for. You land the job, now what?

Immediate emotions overtake you! You are excited. Your family, friends, and coworkers congratulate you. You have celebratory dinners. You spend countless hours surfing social media, attempting to thank everyone that congratulates you, and holds your breath, hoping to not see any negative comments. Then reality kicks in. You are and will now have the sole responsibility for everything that happens in your school building.

You are in a place where you are ending a school year and planning for your own school. Trying to meet the demands of fulfilling the responsibilities of your current job while preparing to transition to the Principalship.

So you have read various books and kept notes on what you think should happen in a school. You are immediately told you have three people to hire. You do not know anyone in the district, or in your school, and you already have a list of demands. Where do you start? When do you communicate with the outgoing leader? What if you were not the "people's choice." How do you deal with the politics of this?

I can share so much personally about that experience! Stay tuned!

In a six-week period, you have a lot to think about and manage in a very short period of time.

Here are a couple of tips to keep you grounded!

1. Breathe

Take a step back and reflect. Remind yourself why you wanted to move into the job of a school principal. Take inventory of your life and immediately begin a journal just for your new position. Start your to-do list. Identify what needs to happen immediately and what needs to happen within three months. Make sure you complete your 30-60-90-day plan. Understand that the "F '' work is critical to your success at this time. You must be Flexible!

2. Make Connections

Depending on the situation will determine how quickly you connect with the "outgoing" principal. Make sure you research to the best of your ability why the position is/was open. When in doubt, ask your boss, the Superintendent of schools. The worst thing that could happen is as new principals, you are armed with inaccurate information. Listen to people, but remember to always check your source (details will be discussed in a future blog). Schedule time with your Superintendent to discuss expectations and seek advice from the Superintendent or someone you can connect with in the new district for guidance. You will need a mentor. If the district does not have an official new principal mentorship program-find yourself an unofficial mentor ASAP! I had several individuals that became mentors to me.

3. People to meet first

Outside of the obvious (ex. Assistant Principals or other administrators in your building), you want to make sure you quickly set the tone and establish who you are with all stakeholders. You must move quickly to be the author of your story. Determine how and when you will meet the staff. Do you wait until after all celebratory retirement celebrations are over for the outgoing principal? Do you schedule a time to meet the team during a staff meeting? While answering the questions above, know that you must meet the following individuals ASAP:

Your Plant Manager: He or she will know about everything in the building. Including various dynamics. Remember, your plant manager knows everything operational and relational about the building. It would be wise to get this person on your side. They can be the eyes and ears of your campus. You need to know the good, bad, and ugly!

Your Financial Secretary: It is essential to get a clear understanding of the expectations with finances. My college professors shared with us years ago, "It is the money and the honey (Will explain in a later blog post) that can and will get you removed quickly from the office of the principal."

Your PTA President: The community is as anxious as you are. Set up a time to meet with the PTA president first, then the entire board (when you are ready). You want to meet one on one with the president before the PTA as a whole. This will give you time to get a clear understanding of the vision and goals of when searching for the next level, we have often put in countless hours, and years preparing for the interview. We go through many leadership courses. We shadow other leaders. We build relationships and make connections with other people that are trying to move to the next level. We participate in numerous mock interviews and research interview questions that can prepare us for the big day.

You work on your resume and cover letter. You go in with doubt and question if you are really prepared. You interview! The time when natural excitement and uncertainty will run through your mind. The time when you remind yourself that you interviewed for the experience. You start telling yourself things like if the door is meant to open it will open, if not it will stay closed. Then you go back to second guessing if you answered the questions correctly. You go through a game that I will equate to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Were your answers too long, too short, or just right?

Then the thinkable happens, the wait time. You get that phone call from the Superintendent of Schools offering you the position. You have officially been named the next principal of the school that you interviewed for. You land the job, now what?

Immediate emotions overtake you! You are excited. Your family, friends, coworkers congratulate you. You have celebratory dinners. You spend countless hours surfing social media, attempting to thank everyone that congratulates you and holds your breath, hoping to not see any negative comments. Then reality kicks in. You are and will now have the sole responsibility for everything that happens in your school building.

You are in a place where you are ending a school year and planning for your own school. Trying to meet the demands of fulfilling the responsibilities of your current job while preparing to transition to the Principalship.

So you have read all kinds of books and kept notes on what you think should happen in a school. You are immediately told you have three people to hire. You do not know anyone in the district, in your school and you already have a list of demands. Where do you start? When do you communicate with the outgoing leader? What if you were not the "people's choice?" How do you deal with the politics of this?

In a six week period you have a lot to think about and manage in a very short period of time.

Here are a couple of tips to keep you grounded!

1. Breathe

Take a step back and reflect. Remind yourself why you wanted to move into the job of a school principal. Take inventory of your life and immediately begin a journal just for your new position. Start your to-do list. Identify what needs to happen immediately and what needs to happen within 3 months. Make sure you complete your 30-60-90 day plan. Understand that the "F '' work is critical to your success at this time. You must be Flexible!

2. Make Connections

Depending on the situation will determine how quickly you connect with the "outgoing" principal. Make sure you research to the best of your ability why the position is/was open. When in doubt, ask your boss, the Superintendent of schools. The worst thing that could happen is as new principals you are armed with inaccurate information. Listen to people, but remember to always check your source (details will be discussed in a future blog). Schedule time with your Superintendent to discuss expectations and seek advice from the Superintendent or someone you can connect with in the new district for guidance. You will need a mentor. If the district does not have an official new principal mentorship program-find you an unofficial mentor ASAP! I had several individuals that became mentors to me.

3. People to meet first

Outside of the obvious (ex. Assistant Principals or other administrators in your building), you want to make sure you quickly set the tone and establish who you are with all stakeholders. You must move quickly to be the author of your story. Determine how and when you will meet the staff. Do you wait until after all celebratory retirement celebrations are over for the outgoing principal? Do you schedule a time to meet the team during a staff meeting? While answering the questions above, know that you must meet the following individuals ASAP:

Your Plant Manager: He or she will know about everything in the building. Including various dynamics. Remember, your plant manager knows everything operational and relational about the building. It would be wise to get this person on your side. They can be your eyes and ears of your campus. You need to know the good, bad, and ugly!

Your Financial Secretary: It is essential to get a clear understanding of the expectations with finances. My college professors shared with us years ago, "It is the money and the honey (Will explain in a later blog post) that can and will get you removed quickly from the office of the principal."

Your PTA President: The community is as anxious as you are. Set up a time to meet with the PTA president first then the entire board (when you are ready). You want to meet one on one with the president before the PTA as a whole. This will give you time to get a clear understanding of the vision and goals of the PTA (which should be in line with the school goals), before becoming overwhelmed from multiple parents with their own agendas.

Your Lead Teachers in each grade level: Scheduling a time to meet with one individual per team will help allow you to understand the basic expectations. Find out when the grade level teams will meet this summer. Ask if you can get on their agendas.

Your School Nutrition Managers: You want to quickly meet with this group. Sometimes the school nutrition team is ignored. Although as a new principal, this may be the farthest thing from your mind, know that if you do not feed the school nutrition staff with your time, care, and concern, they may not feed your students, which can cause significant problems in your day. You can read more information about managing School Nutrition within a future blog post!

Meet your Student Leaders: Depending on the grade span, if your school has an active Student Council or Student Leadership group, I would encourage you to set a time up for the group of student leaders to meet you. What a great way to show the community that you are there for students and care about what they think.

There are just a few tips to help you get going. You have made it. So now it is time to bring your vision to fruition. One step at a time! You can do this! Contact me at info@korriewhite.com for more detailed information. Please subscribe to my website by visiting www.korriewhite.com so you receive notifications of the latest information I share.

Pictured is Dr. White and her students during her first year as a principal in 2010.

Dr. Korrie White

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any institutions or employers the author (s) (Dr. Korrie White or any guest authors) may have been affiliated with in the past or current position (s). All views shared are the author's thoughts. The content here is for informational purposes.