School Leaders,
I assume we are all very similar in various ways and different in our unique ways. One thing I believe we have in common is the emphasis placed on us during our principal preparation programs to be instructional leaders while knowing and learning there are plenty of organizational management tasks to tend to.
The responsibilities of being a school leader, principal, or assistant principal are varied and different, but all important, nonetheless. Not all that long ago, my assistant principal and I lamented that we spent too much time on school management matters and not enough time engaged in instructional leadership. We were bogged down with investigations, policies, protocols, etc. We realized we needed to know how much time in our workday was spent in each school leadership domain.
Since then, I have been studying and researching school leader time on task. Some of you may have looked into this also; there are school leader time studies, but common, consistent time studies and findings are inconsistent and inconclusive. I created the School Leaders Time Study and Reflective Response survey in response.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could complete the survey. It should only take 5-10 minutes of your time. I’m asking you to codify one complete day of your work life. You’ll code your day’s tasks into one of the criteria of the AWSP Leadership Framework, by the half-hour block for one day of your work life.
For example, this might be what my last Thursday looked like. Note: The times are not exact but rounded to the nearest half hour.
Time Tracking
6:30 AM: Arrive to the school office. Check email. Review schedule and staff absences with the head secretary and assistant principal. Criterion 6: Managing Resources
7:00 AM: Greet students and families at the bus loop and family drop-off loop. Criterion 2: Ensuring School Safety
7:30 AM: School Day officially begins. Check-in with assistant principals and Counselors regarding student-level concerns. Criterion 2: Ensuring School Safety
8:00 AM: Main Office Team Meeting. Criterion 6: Managing Resources
8:30 AM: Plan MTSS meeting for next week. Criterion 3. Planning with Data
9:00 AM: Classroom observation: Criterion 5: Improving Instruction
9:30 AM: Discuss the management structure of the after-school programs with the supervisor. Criterion 6: Managing Resources
And the day continues.
Why the Survey
I am asking for your help completing a brief survey, School Leaders Time Study and Reflective Response, because I want us to know how much time we spend in each school leadership domain: instructional leadership and organizational managment. I am using the AWSP Leadership Framework Criteria for each leadership domain. And I have determined that Criterion 1: Creating a Culture, Criterion 3: Planning with Data, Criterion 4: Aligning Curriculum, 5: Improving Instruction, 7: Engaging Families and Communities, and Criterion 8: Closing the Gap are aligned to our Instructional Leadership responsibilities, while Criterions 2: Ensuring Safety and 6: Managing Resources are aligned to work as Organizational Managers.
Even the Framework has more criteria centered on our Instructional Leadership, much like our principal preparation programs, which are focused on this important domain. But I wonder just how balanced or imbalanced our time is, and I wonder if there is a difference between the type and level of school we lead, and I wonder if there is a difference between our school settings, rural or urban. I have had the privilege of serving schools in both settings, and at middle and high school levels.
Ultimately, I have three goals in mind for this data and the findings of this survey School Leaders Time Study and Reflective Response.
- First and most importantly, I hope this survey and its data and findings make us as individual practitioners more aware of our time on task and priorities.
- Secondly, I hope this will impact our school districts and how they support school leaders.
- And third, I hope AWSP can use this data to further encourage the Legislature, with quantifiable data, that we need more support.
As I said earlier, another thing I believe we have in common is that we want our schools to be the best for the students that attend them. I know there are too many days that I cannot be the instructional leader I want and can be for my school. AWSP continually advocates for us; if this survey and data help them help us, that will help our schools, too.
I appreciate your participation and the leadership you provide to your students, staff, and school community each day.
Thank you,
Kevin Rupprecht
Principal, Lt. Gen. W.H. Harrison Preparatory School
An International Baccalaureate World School