“One of the unique aspects of working in public education is that we experience two natural points of renewal each year,” high school principal S. Kambar Khoshaba reflected this past summer. “January 1 marks the beginning of the calendar year, while August or September signals the start of a new school year and the return of our students. Both offer valuable opportunities to reflect, refocus, and reset our goals and strategies.”
For inspiration on how to make the most of your second reset of the school year, we checked in with recent contributors to The Principal Is In column to learn how they’re hoping to grow professionally in 2026.
My professional resolution for 2026 is to keep refining how I build systems that are both effective and humane, recognizing that strong schools require clarity and consistency alongside empathy and care. I want to remain thoughtful about how we support people in changing times while staying grounded in the values that build trust.
I resolve to be open-minded about the possibilities of artificial intelligence. Rather than see this technology as inevitably ominous and destructive, I am excited to find ways that I can use it meaningfully.
My professional New Year's resolution for 2026 is to continue to support and lift up educators in the gray spaces. The spaces that others don't see and where help is needed. I hope to make their jobs a little bit easier and a lot less lonely.
My professional New Year's resolution is to focus on the bright spots. Sometimes these bright spots can get drowned out by the day-to-day minutiae, but they are what should drive and fuel us to create positive, joyful, rigorous learning experiences for students and staff alike.
My professional resolution for 2026 is to deepen our implementation of AI in ways that are thoughtful, responsible, and grounded in equity. By continuing to work with expert partners, we are focused on using these tools to strengthen teaching and operations, reduce barriers for educators, and expand access and opportunity for students who learn differently.
My professional resolution is to get better at saying no… strategically. I want to focus on commitments that truly align with my priorities so I can excel in the areas that matter most, rather than spreading myself so thin that I feel mediocre everywhere.
In 2026, I will continue to lead as a collegiate professor, former turnaround principal, and national thought leader by strengthening instructional systems, developing future-ready teacher-leaders, and advancing equity-driven school improvement. I remain committed to translating research into practice that elevates outcomes for students, educators, and communities.
Capture the memories! Many meaningful experiences and stories are often untold or fade with time. For 2026, I’m committing to capturing more of these moments through photo/video and building a digital scrapbook to remember and honor the people I cherish these moments with; whether it be a PLC, a faculty and staff social, or personal moments, I want to end the year looking back on the joys.
I resolve to re-prioritize my priorities, and ensure that my calendar reflects them. Keeping a "students first" perspective, I'm going to schedule time each week to connect with my students, hear their ideas, and work to make the second half of this school year the very best it can be for them!
In 2026, I will lead as a listener and learner first, trusting my instincts that thoughtful, compassionate, and collective leadership is what truly makes leaders great. I will invest in people and relationships that build capacity, trust, and a shared commitment to growing and leading together.
My professional resolution for 2026, is to deepen my own self-awareness as a leader, knowing that personal growth directly impacts how adults experience trust and belonging in schools. Culture doesn't start with initiatives; it starts with how leaders listen, respond, and follow through.
My professional New Year’s resolution for 2026 is to treat my own well-being as a non-negotiable professional practice. By setting and keeping clear boundaries around my time, availability, and emotional attachment to outcomes, I model the kind of sustainable care I ask school leaders to offer teachers, and teachers to offer their students.
This past year, the world of AI has been looming over teachers. There is both excitement and confusion around the topic, so in 2026, my goal is to further explore the opportunities of AI in education to show teachers how we can enhance, not replace, our human intelligence in the classroom!
In 2026, I am going to pay attention to the moments of my work and my life when I feel like a beginner. It’s easy in the study of leadership and learning to sink into the comfort of knowing things, but in being open and in beginning, well, that is where dwells the magic of life and learning!
