The Best Present is to Be Present

By Liz Garden

It’s that time of year when there is lots of talk of giving and receiving presents.  I actually received an amazing gift at the beginning of the school year. After spending the last seven years as an administrator at one school, I became the principal of a new school in a new district.  While it has been hard work getting acclimated and learning the ropes in my new school, it has also been such a gift to be able to experience everything new in my leadership role.

Do you want to know what the secret of leadership success is whether you are starting in a new school like me or whether you are simply trying to reinvigorate your leadership in a school that you have been in for a while?  Be present. Yes, the best present you can give your students, your staff, your families, is to be present. We can’t lead from our office; we need to be leading in the classrooms, in the hallways, on the playground, at the events.  Which is why, on my very first day in my new school I informed my head custodian that he needed to remove my desk; I would not be needing that since I didn’t plan on leading from behind a desk, tucked away in the principal’s office.

Starting at a new school this year, I made it my goal to be present and begin to make connections as soon as possible.  Over the summer, I hosted events, such as ice cream with the principal. Sidenote - it’s not easy to talk and meet people while holding a dripping ice cream cone!  I connected with the public library and arranged to do a read aloud and visit with kids as they were checking out books. I reached out to families through social media and encouraged students to write letters to me about what they were reading, and I would write back.  By the time the first day of school came around, people were already starting to understand who I was as a leader. On the first day of school, I made a surprise visit to a bus stop and rode in with the kids. Sitting with a new nervous 1st grader, we bonded over the fact that this was a big first day for both of us.  To kick off the school year, we gathered all of the students in the gym, my assistant principal rode in on a scooter, and then both of us led the crowd in counting down to the ‘new year’ and starting with a bang, literally, as we set of confetti cannons!

I don’t really remember any of the principals I had when I was in school.  I don’t want my students to think back on their time in school and not remember the principal.  We need to be present for all of our kids; we need to know them and they need to know us. They need to know that we are just as much as part of their learning experience as their classroom teachers.  Once the school year got started, I let all of my teachers know that I would be scheduling a time to come and read a story to each other their classrooms. I selected a book for my kindergarteners, 1st graders and 2nd graders, and then I selected a different picture book for my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.  Not only did I have fun doing a read aloud in every classroom, but I spent time getting to know all of my student's names while I was in their classrooms. I also decided to keep building on the memorable leader plan by sharing a bedtime story from my home on Facebook live once a month. Let me tell you...students, parents and teachers join in and talk about those videos all month long.  I am pretty sure they will not forget me as their leader.

Now that we have reached December, I have made it a top priority to be present for my students. There are some days where you can find me in the cafeteria sitting at a table with 4th graders, talking about the newest movie that everyone is excited to see.  On other days, you might find me out on the back field kicking a soccer ball or trying to hula hoop with 5th graders. There are days when the 1st-grade teacher turns around and finds me on the rug joining in on some Lego building or I am conferring on the floor with some 2nd-grade authors.  Sometimes you might find me talking with some 3rd graders while I am in the hallway on my mobile desk. At least once a week, usually on Wellness Wednesdays, you can find me in the front lobby leading a dance party with hundreds of students, truly the best way to start the school day! Whether you are getting used to a new school like me or reimagining your leadership role after several years in the same school, be sure and give your students the best possible present: be present for all of them.  It’s the gift that will keep on giving long after their school years have ended.

Liz Garden is the principal of the Dr. Leroy E. Mayo Elementary School in Holden, MA.  She has been an administrator for eleven years and taught at various levels for eleven years prior to moving into administration.  She blogs regularly for her staff at www.musingstomotivate.blogspot.com as well as for a group she helped form, www.momsasprincipals.wordpress.com.  When she is not molding future minds as an instructional leader, she is dealing with her reading addiction, keeping Amazon in business, listening to her musician husband sing, and trying to keep with her almost 4-year-old, Emerson!  You can connect with Liz on Twitter @PrincipalGarden and on Voxer @PrincipalGarden.