10 Things Principals Can Do This Summer to Make Next Year Fantastic

This summer, Mission Driven Catholic is staying on mission with a brief content series full of tips for using this summer to make next year your best school year yet.

Just like teachers and families, it’s important for school leaders to have time over the summer to rest and recharge. By also focusing on a few mission-driven decisions over the summer, principals can set up the school year very successfully. Having done this for more than a decade in school leadership, I recommend taking time to think through the following 10 things to get your next school year off to the very best start:

1. Fill Your Bucket

It’s important to go into a new school year with as much energy as possible. Burnout is real and can cause psychological, organizational, and even physical problems. As a leader, you cannot give what you no longer have.

So, your first step this summer is to take the time you need to refresh. Then, take time to plan for your own care throughout the year and establish the healthy boundaries you need to remain an effective leader. Schedule something outside of school at least once a month to fill your own bucket. Consider and establish boundaries at home for your ability to recover each day; for example, give yourself a curfew for your school communications, and hold to it.

2. Prioritize Prayer

Many Catholic school leaders get so busy administering that they easily justify that the work is a prayer. This is true to a certain extent, but Jesus wants to be in a relationship with us. More personally, He really wants to be with you. Prayer is a relationship, and He desires to be in this relationship of love.

Ask yourself whether or not your prayer life is advancing while doing the work. If not, praise God for the clarity, and prioritize more time with Him in your daily routine. If so, praise God, and prioritize more time with Him. The conversation you have with Christ is the most important one you will have each day.

3. Organize Your Day

This was one of the best tools I had when I was a principal, and I share it with every school leader I meet. To avoid reactionary leadership, take the summer to plan out your days during the school year. This may seem difficult, but can become an easy habit if designed beforehand.

Think of your typical Monday, Tuesday, etc. What times and days do you have the most energy? What times and days do you have the least? Don’t waste your energy first thing in the morning responding to emails if you can prioritize walk-throughs at that time. Plan your week out, and keep a visual copy of that plan so that when you deviate, you can see it and remember what was the best way for you to accomplish the work of each day.

Schedule time into your day or week for each of the following: prayer, reflection, professional reading, walk-through observations, email communications, planning, enrollment, and presence to those who need it regularly.

4. Theme the Year

We will talk about this more in a later post, but one of the great ways to help keep everything organized in a Catholic school throughout the year is a well-constructed theme. This could be a simple Bible verse that everyone shares, puts on display in each classroom, and is a lynchpin for communications throughout the year. Or, the theme can be a quote from a saint, something that is connected to the character of your school, or a large overarching devotional project. Whatever it is, allow the Holy Spirit the space to guide you in reflecting on this theme so there is always something to hold together the work of the school year.

5. Set School Goals

The summer is an important time to consider your goals for the school year. As principal, you might want to establish these goals with input from your pastor, board, or diocesan support structure. Consider developing shared goals in the three major areas that affect the school community: academics, spirituality, and community.

Academic goals may come from data that shows areas of need and growth for the school, better integration of the Catholic faith in classroom instruction, or better vertical and horizontal alignment of curriculum. Identifying the one most important shared goal in this area will lead to more consistency in accomplishing it. The same is true for your spiritual goal for the school and a community goal to be shared by teachers, parents, and other stakeholders.

6. Notate Your Calendar

You’ve probably already established your calendar for the major events of the school year, but summer is a great time to take out the master calendar and ask the questions that we often forget to ask. How and when are we celebrating our patron saint? What did we need to honor the liturgical season better (Advent wreaths, Lenten decorations, Easter celebrations)? Where is the theme visible in each month of the year? How often are we providing Confession to the students? When do I need to get into my first year teachers’ classrooms for their first observation? How are we honoring the major saints and feast days? When are our open house and new family welcoming events, and what do I need to do in advance? Sometimes the beginning of the school year and these events sneak up on us, so summer is a great time to forward plan.

7. Template Faculty Meetings

Do you feel like sometimes your faculty meetings are not quite hitting the mark? Is there a balance of professional and faith development activities for your teachers at the meetings? Do they sometimes just become calendar sharing meetings?

Summer is a good time to create a template for your faculty meetings to keep them organized and prepare some of the content of the meetings for the entire year. If your theme is a certain Scripture verse, incorporate that verse and a brief teaching and idea sharing at the beginning of each meeting. Plan out the conversations you are hoping to have regarding your goals for the year in the monthly meetings. This way, even if you deviate, you know what you were hoping to accomplish and can keep yourself accountable for productive meetings at the end of the year when energy wanes.

8. Onboard Faculty Members

Each year, there is an opportunity to onboard your new teachers to better understand the mission of your school. If you have mentor teachers, connect them with their mentees early in the summer. They may not get together then, but you are giving them a chance to foster a relationship earlier rather than in the beginning of the school year when the desperation of setting up the classroom is looming.

Also, think about what makes your school unique. Taking some time over the summer to create a document with your expected cultural norms will not only help your new teachers, but can be a great reminder to veteran teachers of who you are as well. They also serve as a reminder for you of what you want the school to be.

9. Welcome New Families

New families, like new teachers, can be very overwhelmed. Summer is a great time to meet with the new families from last year and ask them what you could have done differently to help them feel a part of the school community. This group can give you valuable insights and potentially serve as ambassadors for new families.

Bringing together a small team of teachers and parents to plan picnic days or small summer gatherings will take the work off of your administrative team and help build organic relationships to assist in building authentic community. Know when the events are, and pop in occasionally just to let everyone know that you are around to be of help.

10. Consider the Campus

I really liked it as an administrator when the school was empty, because it was a blank canvas. Walking the school and looking around, you can ask yourself, what is it that we can do to better show who we are as a Catholic school? Are there symbols of your saint or saints? Is the displayed artwork beautiful? Does the trophy case need to be refreshed? Are the decorations in the classrooms age- and developmentally appropriate? Where is there too much clutter? How can we better use the space? Where do we display those things that matter most to us? What can get tossed? Answering these questions will help with the setup of the next school year in a way that is mission-aligned and connected to what is best for the students in the school.

We hope you enjoyed our first piece of our summer series from our founder and president, Dr. Daniel Baillargeon, on ways that Catholic school leaders can make the most of their time over the summer. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more advice, including enrollment management tips from Cara Grasso, our enrollment management specialist, and advice on engaging families from our executive vice president, Megan Baillargeon.

Mission Driven Catholic is a nonprofit apostolate seeking to revitalize Catholic schools to become centers of evangelization for students and their families. To find out more or help support our work, visit our website or schedule a virtual meeting.