Principal Project

How teachers can use AI to listen, reflect and build math classroom community. By educator Al Rabanera via EdSource

For educator & @teachplus.bsky.social fellow Al Rabanera, AI is a thought partner, surfacing patterns and opportunities to support students.

Read on and consider sharing this perspective with your team:

edsource.org/2025/how-tea...

Our approach to creating a community-centered school To encourage family participation and engagement, we must center community in all we do.

🔑 Shared commitment
🔑 Community assets
🔑 Collaborative planning

Read on to learn how these 3 keys can lead to strong connections with students' families this school year, via leader Maricela Rodriguez.

Screenshot from the linked resource which offers a protocol for holding meaningful five-minute conversations with students' caregivers.

It can be hard to make time to speak with students' families, but a 5-minute chat done right can help you shift toward a more culturally responsive school environment.

Find out how to make every minute count with this guide from CASEL: schoolguide.casel.org/uploads/site...

Screenshot of a chart from the linked resource that can be used to map when, how and by whom information is presented to new teachers.

🌊 🌊 When a teacher joins your staff, there's an ocean of information for them to absorb. This tool from TNTP can help you chart their course.

Click for a full onboarding guide from TNTP: tntp.org/wp-content/u...

Conference room table with the words "Cougar Pride" visible on a wall in the background. On the table are several small piles of school "swag" for new staff.

Close up of a school swag collection for new staff, including a letter from the principal, a school T-shirt, sunglasses and a water bottle.

How do you celebrate the arrival of new team members?

(Inspiration via P Beth Thomas)

Screenshot of a guide available at the linked resource, which offers teachers resources in support of the question, "What state must I be in to create the environment my students need?"

🔖 Looking for strategies to launch the school year with solid SEL supports in place?

Save this discussion guide from CASEL to share with your team.

schoolguide.casel.org/resource/tea...

11 tips to support math learning and teaching over breaks via NCTM

Don’t let math momentum fade over summer! 🧠

@nctm.org has tips and tools to help educators and students stay engaged during the break.

www.nctm.org/Conferences-...

A library of resources for anti-racist school leadership On the following tabs, you’ll find a collection of resources for anti-racist education shared by your fellow school leaders – along with some reflections on how each resource has informed their…

Seeking resources to reflect meaningfully on Juneteenth and beyond?

Here's an array of tools from your fellow school leaders:

"We're pretty intentional about making sure that there are displays, books, resources, posters and flags throughout our school, even stickers on the office door that send a message of inclusion. Families may not say anything when they’re walking through our schools, but they are always looking. For example, a few years ago, a family with same-sex parents came into school for the first time, and they told me that when they saw the Pride flag, they knew they would belong here. That was very powerful to me. The school said nothing. It was a flag, on a pole, that said everything to them." —Leader Michael Moore

Here's to the ways you let EVERY student and family know: You belong here.

#EduSky

A photo of a staircase. The front of each step has a sticker with the name and logo of a college or university in Virginia.

One step at a time, these students are reaching their college dreams! 💫

(Via AP Michele Repass)

Screenshot from Strategic Data Project's Summer Melt Handbook, showing how to prepare an exit survey for graduating seniors to better gauge whether they may change their original plans to attend college.

Even after students are accepted to college, they are many tasks they must complete before they matriculate – and many of them need support.

Read on for ways to prevent "summer melt," via The Center for Education Policy Research @harvard.edu

sdp.cepr.harvard.edu/sites/g/file...

Thank you for sharing, Ingrid!

Screenshot from the linked resource, capturing the section called "Soliciting Student Feedback/Input." It lists 10 questions, starting with: "What is the part of high school you enjoy the most? What is most challenging about being in high school?"

Have you ever tried holding "exit interviews" with your students?

These conference questions from @ctrisenetwork.bsky.social can surface insights to support your work in the fall.

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Screenshot from the seventh page in the linked document that reads "When the Fight for Equity Becomes an Ethical Dilemma," followed by three prompts to help gauge what is happening in your institution.

As you refine your school's equity vision this spring and summer, this Leading Lessons Guide from NAESP can help your team collaboratively assess current practices and future goals.

www.naesp.org/resource/cen...

Promotional image for 'Thank A Black Teacher Day' featuring two photos of individuals wearing branded T-shirts alongside the logo of the Center for Black Educator Development. Text encourages appreciation for Black teachers and highlights their positive impact on students.

Promotional poster for Black Teacher Appreciation Day by the Center for Black Educator Development. The poster includes images of joyful teachers and students in classroom settings, with text stating that only 7% of U.S. teachers identify as Black.

Image promoting Black Teacher Appreciation Day by the Center for Black Educator Development. Features four individuals wearing T-shirts with the text "We Need Black Teachers." The main text states "Black students make up over 15% of the K-12 population." The background includes classroom settings with additional people.

Promotional poster for Black Teacher Appreciation Day, featuring a statistic from the Center for Black Educator Development that states students who have had Black teachers are 38% more likely to feel they belong at school.

Happy #BlackTeacherAppreciationDay! How did a Black teacher change your life? Today is an opportunity to help everyone learn how Black teachers impact the lives of all students. Use #ThankABlackTeacher and share.

Learn why #WeNeedBlackTeachers: thecenterblacked.org/we-need-blac...

Discover Your Teacher Persona This Teacher Appreciation Week, I’m celebrating my own special teacher persona! Find out yours here with this five-question quiz from @teacher2teacher.

Every teacher in your school community brings their own special spark!

Share this Teacher Persona Quiz as a piece of your #TeacherAppreciationWeek celebration!

A close-up image of a small white sign stuck in grass. The sign reads "We remember August... We sometimes joked about the frequency in which the words 'pivot' and 'unprecedented' were being used."

An image from the linked article, showing several staff members walking through a grassy area, looking at a row of white signs.

"'What do I even say?' This was one of many questions I asked myself when trying to plan our final staff meeting of the school year."

Check out how leader @gustafsonbrad.bsky.social set up a reflective walk for his team.

www.bradgustafson.com/single-post/...

Thanks for making a meaningful difference, today on National #SchoolPrincipalsDay, and all year.

Two stacks of cards with restorative questions for responding to challenging behavior, such as "What have you thought about at the time? What have you thought about since? What do you think you need to do to make it right?"

"We build community, connection & understanding through dialogue."

P @inspiretheyouth.bsky.social passed out these cards to staff members to help support that dialogue.

A hopscotch board painted on the floor in a school hallway. In front of the boards, the words "I am" are painted, and the blocks in the board include adjectives such as brave, loved, creative and smart.

Here's a fun way for students to jump right into the school day.

(📸 via P Mandy Ellis)

"I absolutely love my job – the highs, the lows and everything in between. No matter how tough some days get, I can’t imagine doing anything else." —Principal Jenna Bludworth

Graphic titled "National Assistant Principals Week" with the message: "Dear APs, thank you for everything you do! You inspire us every day." —The Principal Project Team

It's National Assistant Principals Week!

Tag an AP who makes you grateful EVERY week.

#HappyNationalAssistantPrincipalsWeek #APWeek25 #EduSky

Leader tips to create a meaningful Teacher Appreciation Week Looking for Teacher Appreciation Week inspiration? Here's how 8 fellow leaders are celebrating their teams.

The clock is ticking toward #TeacherAppreciationWeek! ⏰

Whether you're still brainstorming, or putting the final touches on your celebrations – draw a little extra inspiration from your colleagues:

A screenshot of an infographic in the linked resource offering a bank of prompts for an equity-focused data conversation.

Looking to support meaningful conversations around equity and data?

Try out this tool from CASEL this spring!

schoolguide.casel.org/resource/sel...

Picture of a bunch of Post-it notes on a wall with positive messages students wrote about their teachers.

It's never too soon to plan your #TeacherAppreciationWeek celebrations!

Here's an idea from Wahconah Regional High School, where students posted positive messages about their teachers.

(Inspiration by Principal Aaron Robb)

My 4 tips for holding positive, powerful stay interviews With stay interviews, I'm striving to create a school culture my teachers will never want to leave.

"I thought stay interviews would be a challenge to organize during our busy spring season, but they’re actually very simple to execute."

P Melissa Harvey shares one of her go-to retention strategies:

Screenshot from the article showing four ways to shift your practice.

As your leadership team dreams big, consider this guidance from leader @esheninger.bsky.social on the importance of small, steady shifts.

esheninger.blogspot.com/2024/07/smal...

Screenshot of the first page from "Analysis of School Structures: Teams, Time, and Tools" from UnboundEd with a table that sets up a team's current state, desired state and space to details ways to arrive at the desired state.

Is your leadership team in major planning mode this spring?

🛠️ Check out this @unboundedu.bsky.social toolkit to help you make the most of your time. 🛠️

unbounded.org/resources/ke...

How one California school district supports students during Ramadan, via KPBS

What's one way your school community has supported students during Ramadan? #EduSky

www.kpbs.org/news/educati...

"School leaders, as we enter into hiring season, please know candidates are doing background checks on us as well. They want to know how we are as leaders. What’s it like working for us? What is the culture and climate of our buildings? Our leadership matters!" —Principal Harold McCray, Jr.