Setting Building Goals as a Principal
What does a successful school year look like for your building? In this episode of The Principal’s Handbook, we explore how to set clear, purposeful goals that guide your school forward. I’ll share my personal approach to creating a vision and drafting goals before the year begins — rooted in district priorities, building data, and staff input — so you can lead with confidence and intention.
You'll learn:
- Why starting with your own vision is essential — and how it actually makes shared leadership stronger
- Five key reasons to draft goals before the year starts
- How to involve your Building Leadership Team (BLT) and staff so goals become truly collective
- Tips for making your planning time efficient and aligned to what matters most
Plus, I’ll give you a quick look at my Lead with Clarity: Vision & Goals Workbook and how ChatGPT prompts can help you organize your thoughts and simplify this process.
Start your year anchored in clarity and purpose — and set your building up for success!
We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.
If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time.
These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation.
