Six Important Actions K-12 Leaders Can Take Over the Summer

The end of the school year is always a race to the finish. The good news: if you’re reading this, you made it!

Now, summer’s here—and with it, a chance to slow down, catch your breath, and concentrate on what you need in order to be the best school leader or district leader you can be for the next school year and beyond. But before you break out your long list of ideas, strategies, and summer learning you’d like to implement, don’t forget to factor your own well-being into the equation, too.

Think of the summer break as a time where you can build up your “resilience bank”: the knowledge, mindsets, and leadership practices you need to grow in spite of any challenges that may come your way when school resumes this fall. Because as the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. 

Before you break out your long list of ideas, strategies, and summer learning you’d like to implement, don’t forget to factor your own well-being into the equation. 

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be highlighting a dozen actions you can take to make sure you’re taking care of yourself and expanding your professional learning through the summer months and beyond. 

Get out of school & be visible to your community

This one might seem obvious. Even if you don’t get the summer off, you don’t necessarily need to be at your desk all the time, right?

Think about the places your students and families frequent outside of school, especially during the summer. Establishing weekly office hours in these locations—whether it’s a local coffee shop, a casual restaurant, your local library, or a community center—can help families connect with you in a safe space when school isn’t in session.

This “work from anywhere” strategy has several benefits. When students see you outside school, they understand that you truly care about the person they are all year round, not just during the school year. And, families who may not always be able to get to school events because of jobs and schedules have an opportunity to give feedback and talk about their needs and challenges in a neutral environment.

When students see you outside school, they understand that you truly care about the person they are all year round, not just during the school year. 

Forge deeper connections with staff & community partners

The slower pace of summer means you’ll have more time to strike up conversations and build deeper relationships with your staff and community partners.

Even if the building is closed over the summer, take advantage of the people you are able to connect with. Are there staff members who are spearheading an improvement project during the summer months? Maintenance crews, engineers, or office staff on site? Spend time with them and ask them open-ended questions about the past year, and what might be improved.

To strengthen community relationships, consider taking a series of “community walks.” Are there partnerships you’ve identified with local organizations and businesses, but you haven’t had the chance to meet with them? Reach out to those groups and start the conversation. Share your vision of what a potential partnership might look like, ask for their thoughts, and how they think the school can better contribute to the community. You may need to have additional conversations, but creating the time for an initial discussion can start to open that door. 

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Make a plan to audit & improve school-wide communication

You most likely count “communicator” as one of the most important aspects of your principal role. It’s what sets the tone for interactions with faculty, staff, students, parents, and the rest of your school community—which means it’s critical to have the right balance of transparency, clarity, and empathy. 

Alongside your team, assess your communications from last school year—both internally and externally—by asking these questions:

• Did your teachers and staff know about large-scale changes before your parents and families, so you could present a more streamlined and united front to ensure student success? 
• Were communications consistent, personalized, and disseminated through channels that your school community actually uses? 
• Did you focus on simply getting the message out, or did you take it a step further to connect with your school community by using stories and anecdotes to engage them? 

Auditing your communications actions—and making the needed changes for the next school year—can be the difference between talking at your community and listening to them. 

Take time to innovate & learn about the next big topics in education

“Innovation” is a word that’s a bit broad and nebulous for educational leaders. Truthfully, innovation isn’t so much of a “what” as it is a “how.” To get to the solutions for our toughest issues, we first have to cultivate a mindset and culture of innovation. That means making a concerted effort to collaborate, experiment, and reflect on what works and what doesn’t.

To get to the solutions for our toughest issues, we first have to cultivate a mindset and culture of innovation. That means making a concerted effort to collaborate, experiment, and reflect on what works and what doesn’t.

For example, let’s say your goal over the summer is to learn more about artificial intelligence (AI) and how you might start to incorporate it into your school over the next school year. Could you:

• Offer a live or self-paced workshop or professional development course about AI to help your educators understand the applications, key terms, and ethical considerations?
• Survey your teachers and staff to see how they’re currently using or testing AI?
• Get a working group together to develop a set of AI guidelines for students? 

Change is constant in K-12 education, and it’s important that we continue to explore what could be for the good of our own learning—and for the good of our students and educators.

Catch up on your reading & listening

The best school leaders are also great learners who know that continuous improvement in their roles is essential. There are countless ways to engage in summer learning that don’t require traveling to a summer conference. Here’s one that’s short on effort and long on impact: dive into the articles, podcasts, videos, and books that are on your “must read & listen” list.

If you don’t have a list, we’ve got you. Explore our annual Restore. Retool. Recommit summer series, complete with great reads, compelling podcasts, and helpful resources. These five education-focused TED talks are another great place to find inspiration. 

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Seek out coaching & mentorship

Through some self-reflection this summer, you might discover that what you’re truly missing is a solid support system, especially someone who understands the whirlwind that is being a school or district leader—and helps you to feel seen and heard. 

Here’s where it might make sense to think about working with a leadership coach, whether it’s short-cycle for a designated period of time or over the duration of the school year. Coaching practices follow a structure that includes setting goals, reflecting and problem-solving, identifying action steps, and ensuring accountability for results—all actions that are critical for strengthening your personal and adaptive leadership muscles.

Not sure if a leadership coach is the right step for you? Take a look at our 10 Reasons to Consider a Leadership Coach. 

Take action, but don’t forget to rest & recharge, too

We’re sure you have your own list of goals and to-dos when it comes to these next few months. In the midst of all of the planning, learning, and deep strategy work, don’t forget to take some time to simply be a human in the world.

Whether it’s taking a much-deserved summer vacation, making the time for daily doses of joy, diving into a hobby, or connecting with family and friends, do the things that make you happy. After all, your well-being—and that of your school or school district—is tightly linked.