Throughout our days there are a multitude of things that we deal with. Some of these things are planned and some come out of nowhere. Having a plan of attack helps take some of the stress away when it comes to dealing with the unexpected. The reality of working in a school setting is that things will always come up, how you deal with them can make or break your day.
The major difference in being an administrator and a classroom teacher is scheduling. As a teacher, you know what your schedule is. As an administrator, your days will vary. Having a schedule will help to focus your time.
ARD meetings, 504 meetings, parent conferences, and PLC meetings, are a few things that your days could be comprised of. While these meetings are important, you have to find a way to take care of other important tasks as well. How is this possible? I’m glad you asked.
When you begin creating your schedule, start with tasks that absolutely have to be done. Next, begin with secondary essential tasks. What are the things that you would like to do, barring an urgent situation? Here is an example of what calendaring your day could look like:
7:30 Student Arrival
8:00 ARD meeting
9:30 Classroom observations
11:00 Lunch duty
11:45 Eat something!
1:00 Grade level PLC
2:00 Office time
3:00 Student dismissal
This is just an example. Always build time into your day for the unexpected. Some things you may not get around to doing, and that’s okay. Flexibility is the name of the game. Calendaring your days and weeks will help you to be productive and stay focused on the important things.
My Life In Education… 