Continue to Foster a Strong Partnership with Your Principal

A high-functioning principal-AP/dean partnership is fundamental to shaping the culture of the school. Use this mid-year check with your principal to ensure you both continue to be on the same page.  

In this NAESP post, Melissa Van Ruiten identifies six core elements for a strong, AP/dean and principal partnership. Included with each area are questions for discussion between the principal and AP/dean. I would encourage you to process in your mentoring partnership in advance of meeting with your principal.

Shared Vision — APs and deans support the principal’s vision in a variety of ways: helping paint the picture for staff in daily conversations, pointing to examples of progress toward the vision, and helping set and monitor building goals and priorities.

Communication — When you have questions about expectations for your role, ask them! If you don’t already have them in place, you might visit with your principal about sharing documents, a shared calendar, scheduled and consistent check-ins, and/or other tools to help you remain on the same page. 

Division of Responsibilities — Collaboration around division of responsibilities is important to the role. Clarity as to who will lead what is critical.

Supporting the Relationship — “Strengthen your partnership by being proactive, reflective and supportive.” Take initiative and celebrate successes.

Beyond the Building — Identify opportunities to attend events (school-based and/or community based) together to model a united front and build community ties. 

Growing Together — Engage in frequent conversation and reflect on what is and is not working in your partnership.

Read the full article HERE and see questions I’ve aligned to the article that you might use in a mid-year meeting with your principal below:

• How can I best continue to support your vision? 
• What is working for us in terms of how we communicate and share information? What could be improved? 
• What expectations did or do you have for this role that you’d like to see me address differently? 
• What is working for us in our division of responsibilities? What might need tweaking?  
• Ask about any other responsibility or opportunity you’d like to take lead on.
• Discuss any responsibilities that you feel do not belong to you.
• Are there projects for which you’d like me to take the lead?
• What else can I be doing to support your leadership?
• If you’re interested in eventually moving into a lead principal role, ask your principal questions that relate to that. What does your principal think you need to do to be best prepared for your next career move?