john greenan lockport township high school new assistant principal

But she only did so after observing the meetings, reviewing sample agendas, and talking to the principal and former assistant principal.Įng asked the instructional coaches to co-design the agendas with her. When Eng’s principal asked her to lead the data and design team meetings, for example, she used the listen-learn-observe strategy to restructure how those meetings were run. She made “small tweaks” in her first six months, but nothing huge. It also shows teachers and staff members that the AP values the effort they’ve put in.Īlthough eager to make changes, Eng used that approach when she first got to CICS Bucktown Chicago during the pandemic. Taking a step back helps APs to understand why things are the way they are. “So, I think it’s really important to observe in your first 30 days and talk to the folks who have been there, talk to families, talk to students-just observe the day-in and day-out operations of the school, the systems, and structures in place.” “I think as an AP you are super-eager to get going and change things without getting to know the school, the school culture, the people, the traditions, and the values that they hold,” said Eng, who is one of two assistant principals at the school and who oversees curriculum, instruction, and assessments. This may sound counterintuitive, but Kristin Eng, an assistant principal at CICS Bucktown Chicago, an elementary charter school, says it’s a good strategy to spend some time listening, observing, and learning before changing anything. And that’s OK because we are all learning-unfortunately, really fast.” It’s OK to ‘stand there and do nothing’ “Be able to prioritize very quickly, be very confident in the decisions that they’re making, and be very humble about the fact that going to make mistakes.

“There is a need for an administrator coming into education to be extremely flexible,” said Dana Perez, an assistant principal at Rogers Park Middle School in Danbury, Conn.

John greenan lockport township high school new assistant principal