Leave an Unforgettable Legacy by Prioritizing Support
This year’s TEPSA presidential theme is “Leave an Unforgettable Legacy,” a mantra that rings true for supervisors across the state as we support campuses. As supervisors, we must be systematic and intentional about leaving a legacy or we can become overwhelmed with navigating compliance tasks and putting out daily fires. Fall is a great time of year to set priorities and get the calendar organized! Here are a few ways we support our campuses in my district.
1. Plan out your principal and assistant principal meetings. Make sure all meeting dates are on everyone’s calendar at the beginning of the year. Ensure the priority of these meetings is instruction and supporting campus leaders on growing educators and learners.
2. Schedule curriculum walks or campus visits. Each fall and spring, our curriculum and special programs team prioritizes visiting every classroom across all campuses. The teams consist of people from the campus (administrators and/or instructional coaches) and district administrators. During these visits, we make note of strengths and opportunities for improvement and leave a special note for each educator. We then gather to debrief and help develop next steps for each campus.
3. Schedule data digs with campus administrators. Use your assessment calendar to think through when student data will be collected (MAP, unit assessments, mCLASS, etc.). Plan a protocol for campus administrators to present strengths, opportunities and next steps to the district and find out what support they need!
4. Plan professional learning for educators. If your district is like ours, you have district professional learning days built into the calendar a few times a year. Use data to plan the topics of these days with your district team. Additionally, plan specific ways to support campuses either through unpacking units with educators (this can be done in PLCs, on Zoom or afterschool) or consider a cohort to dig down into a specific topic. An example we have implemented is a math cohort. Educators who voluntarily participate in the cohort (and receive a small stipend to participate) meet a few times after school for about an hour. In between these sessions, the math coordinator visits their classroom to provide feedback based on their specific learning from the cohort (ex. adjusting to student needs during small groups).
5. Plan professional learning for administrators. We are intentional about providing mentors and support groups for all new administrators to thrive in their role. In addition to job-like mentors, we plan growth groups for first and second-year principals and assistant principals. These groups meet separately, but the goal of this time is to provide our administrators with an opportunity to meet with different departments, growing their professional knowledge and preparing them for upcoming tasks.
6. Develop an Aspiring Administrators program. If your district does not have a way to develop your bench, now is the time to plan your program and add the dates to the calendar. Educators interested in becoming assistant principals or current assistant principals who are ready to move into the principal seat soon, would be ideal candidates. Use your built-in district professional learning days and after school sessions to develop this group. Ask them how they want to grow and use that to develop your scope and sequence for the year. Also, having these Aspiring Administrators complete a project focused on instruction will grow them, support your campuses and give you a great idea about their passions and skills!
While programs and calendar items alone won’t allow you to “Leave an Unforgettable Legacy,” the quality time you spend engaging with your campus leaders, offering them encouragement and support, absolutely will!
Dr. Mary Pugh, a former elementary principal, is the Senior Executive Director for Elementary Curriculum and Instruction in Rockwall ISD. She is starting her 25th year in education. A longtime TEPSA member and region leader, Dr. Pugh currently serves as the Region 10 President.
