Principal Preparation: Am I Ready?

As the summer approaches—or is already in full swing for you, depending on where you’re located—there are most likely a myriad of emotions you’re feeling as a teacher: pride in finishing the school year strong and helping your students grow both academically and social-emotionally; a bit of exhaustion as you reflect on just how much of a whirlwind these last few months have been; and anticipation for a slightly slower pace (for a little while, at least!).

For some of you, there might be another emotion: curiosity. 

You might find you’re more introspective than usual at the end of the year because there’s something you’ve been pondering: am I ready to create an even bigger impact by stepping into educational leadership and becoming a school principal? This is a big question, and an even larger decision. Where do you even begin to assess your readiness?

You might find you’re more introspective than usual at the end of the year because there’s something you’ve been pondering: am I ready to create an even bigger impact by becoming a principal?

Our PRINCIPAL READINESS QUIZ is here to help!

‍You can take the quiz right now. It only takes a few moments.

Or you can reflect on the 10 quiz statements below and assess for yourself if you want to explore the principalship or the path to principal licensure on a deeper level. No matter if you’re an aspiring principal, an emerging leader, or a principal or district leader that’s interested in offering a shoulder tap to a future leader, these statements are a great litmus test for creating greater impact.

‍I believe all children are capable of extraordinary things and my instruction drives positive learning outcomes for every student. 

As a teacher, you believe all students can learn at the highest levels, and this is evident in how you design and review lesson plans. 

Equity-focused teachers are centered around creating a balance of core content standards, the intellectual depth that students deserve, specialized instruction that addresses unique student needs and historically underserved populations, and consistent and daily access to engaging and meaningful grade-level work. It’s this focus on equitable instruction that will serve you well in school leadership—should you pursue it.

I collaboratively plan with my team, developing and executing detailed instructional plans.

There’s something empowering and joyful that happens when teachers, staff, and leaders come together to collaborate for the sake of students.

As a current teacher, you already have an inside look at what’s working—and what can be improved—when it comes to team collaboration. Ask yourself: Are you being given time to collaborate with your peers during school time? Are you given opportunities to flex your leadership muscles? Pay attention to the pros and cons of your teamwork now, as you’ll be looking to strengthen and foster more of this collaboration when you’re a principal. 

I seek input from diverse stakeholders and use a variety of data points to inform my decision-making process. 

Representation matters, particularly when it comes to decision-making. Not only are principals always looking for input from the groups and stakeholders in their school community, but they use this data to understand where to best distribute resources in a way that matches the school’s vision, values, and student needs. 

In your teaching experience, you’re probably already practicing this type of input collection in your classroom, and with the families you work with every day. You know that the group with the loudest voices and most cultural capital doesn’t necessarily end up with the most resources—it’s all about putting students at the center.‍

My professional development is a top priority; continuous learning is my motto and I dedicate time to pursue it. 

If you consider yourself a lifelong learner who knows professional development and continuous improvement is the key to your craft as a teacher, you’re already establishing the growth mindset for becoming a principal fellow and an instructional leader. 

One way to continue to strengthen this mindset? Understand your “fixed mindset triggers.” Using the fixed-mindset thoughts and actions that come up when we’re facing challenges can help you self-reflect and learn a new way forward. Carol Dweck, who first pioneered the “growth mindset” concept, created a few questions to help you identify these triggers. 

I develop partnerships with families and regularly engage with our community to support student success. 

You know strong partnerships with the families of the students you teach is paramount. Communicating early and often, sharing resources, and explaining decisions you’ve made that will impact and enhance their child’s growth—these are all familiar actions you take currently.

Your comfort in developing these kinds of relationships with both families and community partners is critical as a school leader. What can make these partnerships particularly strong is to focus on two-way engagement over one-way involvement. Think about how you can draw your school community in through mutual involvement, where everyone benefits.

I prioritize cultural responsiveness in my instruction to ensure all students experience affirmation and belonging in school. 

Author, former teacher, and former principal Baruti K. Kafele says cultural responsiveness begins when classrooms are equity-based vs. equality-based. “Children have a much higher probability for success because…it’s all about the students,” he says. 

Preparing to step into the principal role requires a continued and expanded focus on cultural responsiveness, including the hiring of diverse educators to ensuring historically underserved and underestimated students feel pride and a sense of belonging in their own identities through culturally-responsive materials and pedagogy that reflects the lived experiences of the students and families in your schools. 

I value open and honest feedback and work with my peers to solve problems.

If you’re a pro at both giving and getting constructive, intentional feedback—and you view it as an opportunity for learning and growth—you’re ahead of the game in terms of strengthening your leadership muscles. After all, principals receive a fair amount of solicited (and unsolicited) feedback!

Here's another tip about feedback, courtesy of former principal Sanee Bell. She suggests thinking about feedback in one of three ways: 

• Validation: where you encourage the good work you see happening in your school or with your fellow teachers and staff
• Refinement: where you validate what’s going well while identifying small adjustments
• Correction: where you directly describe the behavior you’d like to see stop, and provide a replacement behavior

Consider the times that your own principal gave you feedback in one of these three ways. What worked and didn’t work? Use those learnings to know how you’ll handle feedback if you decide to take the leap into the principalship.

I view setbacks as learning opportunities and try to lead by example to overcome challenges. 

Viewing challenges as opportunities for capacity-building and learning new skills is the very essence of adaptive leadership: a model that embraces the inevitability of change in schools and education more broadly and challenges the status quo with experimentation and innovation to accelerate student learning. 

Adaptive leadership can be translated into action in many ways, including: 

• Listening to diverse groups of stakeholders—other teachers, staff, parents, community members, and students—to gain a variety of perspectives
• Mobilizing others to initiate change by working together toward collective goals
• Having the ability to anticipate when adaptive situations might be coming—and being able to adjust your strategy as needed

You’re no doubt already taking these actions to some degree as a teacher—especially the “adjusting strategies” part! 

I consistently use a variety of data sources to inform and evaluate my instructional strategies and decisions. 

Having quality data means being able to truly focus on responsive teaching and learning. You’ve seen how good data helps you identify your students’ readiness to learn based on the curriculum you’re teaching. It also helps you design supports for students and identify the sweet spot just past a student’s current level of independent ability where instruction will be most beneficial. 

Your role as a “data champion” in your school is what will catalyze you to build an even more impactful and intentional data-driven instructional culture as a principal. Because of your experiences as a teacher, you’ll be more apt to give your own teams the time and space they need to understand, analyze, and create strategies for learning because of that data. 

I show empathy and try to understand multiple perspectives beyond my own.

The qualities great school leaders need to possess are changing. What used to be a focus on operations and management has shifted to an emphasis on human skills in principal certification programs, including empathy, compassion, emotional intelligence, resilience, and more. 

There’s already a large dose of empathy you infuse into your teaching and classroom practices. You do your best to always see situations through your student’s eyes, put aside judgment and avoid jumping to conclusions, try to understand your student’s feelings, and communicate that understanding—all necessary actions when leading a school community, too.

Ready to take the pulse on your own principal readiness?

‍Take the official quiz with these same questions, and tally up your score! Our National Aspiring Principals Fellowship might be your next best step! 

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