During the summer, I am sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 11 years. You can see all those collections from the first 10 years here.

Today’s theme is Administrator Leadership.

You can see the list following this excerpt from one of the posts:

1. Advice for Principals: Empower Your Teachers

When principals develop partnerships with teachers, it helps them both. Read more.

2. Principals: Supporting Your Teachers Doesn’t Have to Be Such Hard Work

Principals can show teachers they care by something as simple as a visit to their classrooms or a pat on the back. Read more.

3. 7 Ways Principals Can Support Teachers

Listening more than talking is one vital piece of advice for school leaders to help teachers. Read more.

4. How to Create a Positive Atmosphere for Teacher Observations

Listening to “understand” instead of “reply” and focusing on teachers’ strengths, not weaknesses, can make the observation more comfortable. Read more.

5. Throw Out the Protocol for Teacher Observations. Use Common Sense Instead

Narrow the focus when you do a classroom observation, ditch the laptop, and engage with students are a few ideas for improving the practice. Read more.

6. How to Make Teacher Observations (Almost) Stress-Free

Frequent walk-throughs are one way to reduce anxiety and build trust between teachers and administrators. Read more.

7. 18 Ways to Improve Teacher Observations

Holding pre- and post-conferences, showing more compassion and less judgment, and organizing peer observations are valuable. Read more.

8. 17 Actions Administrators Can Take Now to Support Students & Teachers

The year ahead is going to be “insanely difficult.” Innovation, educator agency, and equity will help leaders bring success to schools. Read more.

9. ‘Listening Is Free'—How Administrators Can Support Teachers This Year

Clearly define and articulate your values and find ways to bring people together are two ways principals and assistant principals can help. Read more.

10. Four Lessons School Administrators Learned Last Year & Will Apply in the Fall

Four school administrators share lessons learned during the past 18 months of COVID-19 and how they will apply them this fall. Read more.

More Q&A posts about administrator leadership:

• A Superintendent’s Thoughts on Reopening Schools in the Fall
• A Superintendent Explains Why Having to Decide About Fall Reopening Is the ‘Absolute Worst’
• Ways to Handle Student Absences in Remote Teaching & When We’re Back in School
• Responding to Absenteeism During the Coronavirus Pandemic & Beyond
• Administrators Shouldn’t Try ‘Too Many Initiatives’
• Administrators Can’t Lead From ‘the Confines of Their Office’
• ‘Principals Shouldn’t Be Lonely’
• The Biggest Mistake by Administrators ‘Is Putting Tasks Before People’
• Common Administrator Mistakes & What to Do Instead
• Central Offices Shouldn’t Be ‘Directive Arms’
• ‘Authoritarian-Style Mandates’ From Central Offices Don’t Work
• Looking for ‘Solutions’ in the Face of Staff Conflict
• Don’t ‘Ignore’ Staff Conflict in Schools
• Principals Should Realize ‘They Are Still Learners Themselves’
• Principals Should Be ‘Connecting With Kids’
• Being a Principal Means ‘Spending Time Each Day Building Relationships’
• An ‘Important Challenge for a Principal Is Prioritizing’
• Challenges Principals Face & How to Respond to Them
• Leaders Must ‘Walk the Walk’ and Create a Culture of Innovation
• Support Curriculum Innovations by ‘Failing Forward’
• Principals ‘Need to Step Back & Forward Through Time’
• Principals ‘Must Be Reflective Daily About the Work’
• Ways Principals Can Assist Social Studies Teachers
• Effective Principals Must ‘Work Collaboratively’
• Principals Must Support Teachers in ‘Quest of Continuous Improvement’
• School Leaders Must Focus on ‘Authentic Learning,’ Not ‘Test Prep’
• Administrators Must Make ‘Alliances With Students, Teachers, & Parents’
• Education Innovation Is Like a ‘Stradivarius Violin’
• ‘Educators Are Suffering From Innovation Fatigue’
• Advice for Aspiring Principals: ‘Shadow, Connect, & Dream’
• So, You Want to Be a Principal?
• Advice for Educators Wanting to Be Principals—Part One
• We Need ‘Fewer John Waynes & More John Deweys’
• Teachers & Superintendents Must ‘Work to Understand Each Other’

Explore other thematic posts:

• It Was Another Busy School Year. What Resonated for You?
• How to Best Address Race and Racism in the Classroom
• Schools Just Let Out, But What Are the Best Ways to Begin the Coming Year?
• Classroom Management Starts With Student Engagement
• Teacher Takeaways From the Pandemic: What’s Worked? What Hasn’t?
• The School Year Has Ended. What Are Some Lessons to Close Out Next Year?
• Student Motivation and Social-Emotional Learning Present Challenges. Here’s How to Help
• How to Challenge Normative Gender Culture to Support All Students
• What Students Like (and Don’t Like) About School
• Technology Is the Tool, Not the Teacher
• How to Make Parent Engagement Meaningful
• Teaching Social Studies Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
• Differentiated Instruction Doesn’t Need to Be a Heavy Lift
• How to Help Students Embrace Reading. Educators Weigh In
• 10 Strategies for Reaching English-Learners
• 10 Ways to Include Teachers in Important Policy Decisions
• 10 Teacher-Proofed Strategies for Improving Math Instruction
• Give Students a Role in Their Education
• Are There Better Ways Than Standardized Tests to Assess Students? Educators Think So
• How to Meet the Challenges of Teaching Science
• If I’d Only Known. Veteran Teachers Offer Advice for Beginners
• Writing Well Means Rewriting, Rewriting, Rewriting
• Christopher Emdin, Gholdy Muhammad, and More Education Authors Offer Insights to the Field
• How to Build Inclusive Classrooms
• What Science Can Teach Us About Learning