Make preparations to keep work and life balanced.

This item was listed first with intention.  Achieving a work-life balance is critical for your effectiveness as a school leader.  Before working your way down this list, make a plan for the upcoming year so that work doesn’t begin to tip the scale.  What events and activities are most important for you and your family?  Mark these non-negotiables on your calendar now and share with your team.  This way, you know that you have time set aside for yourself and your family before your work schedule starts to fill up.

Fine tune your school-wide mission and stick to it.

What are your primary goals?  What would you like your school to “look like” and “feel like” once these goals have been attained?  What do you want to accomplish?

Ask yourself these questions and use the responses to construct a crystal clear mission for your school.  Identify the actions needed to move you closer to your vision, and make those activities your priority in the upcoming academic year.

Leverage the impact of your high-performing teachers.

Although your master teachers might need less support, try shifting your focus to them this summer.  They hold tremendous value and can help support you if you push them out of their comfort zones and position them as mentor teachers.  Pair high-performing teachers with novice teachers.  Arrange a schedule for in-class visits.  Ask them to lead PLC or PD meetings.  With the appropriate support, your high-performing teachers can be an inspiration to their colleagues, leading to the development of a collaborative culture.

Make a plan to prioritize school culture.

While most academic years start off with impressive plans to accelerate student success and improve school culture, most begin to fall apart mid-year due to lack of consistency and follow-through.  With your staff, reflect on the previous school year and collaborate to create a detailed plan for the first month of the school year.  Then, plan for monthly check-ins and construct incentives to keep the practice alive.

Reflect and collect feedback.

Even top-performing school leaders know that there is always room for growth and improvement.  Set some time aside this summer to reach out to your staff and collect feedback on your goals.  Ask your teachers about the changes that they would like to see.  Pose open-ended questions and seek out the input of your staff.  Most importantly, approach all feedback with a growth mindset and set out to go from good to great!