What People Look for in a Winning Principal

Reprinted with permission from the copyrighted article What People Look for in a Winning Principal, PRincipal Communicator, published by the National School Public Relations Association, 15948 Derwood Rd., Rockville, MD 20855; www.nspra.org; (301) 519-0496. No other reprints allowed without written permission from NSPRA.

      To find out what makes a good school and what it takes to be a winning principal, NSPRA past president Bill Banach, APR, and his firm Banach, Banach & Cassidy talked to over 30,000 students, parents and school staff. Here’s what people said:

1. Be a champion of reading, writing, spelling, and “computers.” This is the instructional focus of parents. Make sure students learn how to read, write, and spell and parents will be your advocate. Add a little math for good measure. Then, make sure that youngsters in your school are learning how to use technology.

2. Make discipline fair and equitable. Both students and parents are opposed to lax discipline, but they are also opposed to discipline that is too severe for the “crime,” and to discipline that is perceived to be inequitable; i.e., treating athletes, smart kids, trouble-makers, or any other classification of students differently.

3. Stand for something … anything! In marketing, standing for something is an important part of creating an identity in the minds of your customers. Your school -- and you -- will be known by what you stand for, whether it is respect for others, the good manners of your students, or running “a tight ship.” Students, parents, and staff need to be able to say, “At my school, we stand for ….”

4. Keep the school clean, outside and inside. Odds are most people in your community haven’t been in your school in a long time or have never been in your school. So, they judge what is happening inside the school by what it looks like on the outside. That’s why it is important to keep the grounds clean, to cut the grass and trim the shrubs, and to make sure the marquee is current. Once the outside reflects what you are, create a positive learning environment by making sure that the inside is in order, too.

5. Create a culture of competence and caring. Both students and parents want all staff to be competent, and they want education delivered in a caring environment. Yet, students say that they don’t get enough individual attention. They also yearn for people on the school staff to care about them “as a person.”

6. Listen – really listen! – to staff, students, and parents. Successful people learn the most when they’re listening. Listening is how you discover what people like and don’t like, want and don’t want. It gives you a one-up when it comes to being ahead of the curve.

7. Know their names. If you don’t know your staff and students by name, you’ve been spending too much time in your office. So, learn names and use them to greet people.

8. Exude enthusiasm. Shuffle about and you (and your school) will be perceived as a ho-hum place. You’ll be perceived a lot more positively if you put a little bounce in your step, smile, and exude some enthusiasm.

9. Be best friends with bus drivers. Tell bus drivers the important role that they play in your school’s educational program. They can set the tone for the day, alert you to student successes and problems, and they can help send positive vibes into the home at the end of the day.

     NSPRA provides a wide array of educational communication services for principals and schools, including PRincipal Communicator, kits on topics ranging from managing a crisis to building staff morale , an annual seminar in July, tip. sheets on such topics as multicultural communication, and much more. NSPRA can be contacted at www.nspra.org or 301/519-0496.
Principals who want assistance in conducting community or staff surveys can contact Banach, Banach & Cassidy at www.banach.com or 586/784-9888.