I used to get this question a lot from friends outside of education: “What do principals do during the summer?” The answer: so much. A successful school year might just hinge on effective summer planning.
Managing planning can get chaotic. Amanda Richards, former principal and reporter for Possip, explains what you can do as a school leader to meet your summer planning needs. This article has been updated from its originally published form in 2019.
While everyone might attack summer planning differently, everyone needs to have a strong plan of action prepared. Think through these tips as you jump in:
Summer Planning Master To Do List
Sit down, either with your leadership team or on your own, and create a Master To-Do list. I used a shared OneNote document with boxes to “check-off” as you complete things and can shared it with my team. Amy Kate, another former school leader on the Possip team, used an Excel spreadsheet. It outlines descriptions of the tasks, team member assignments, and included a “status check” space. Whatever tool you like, choose one that can be shared and easily learned. If you prefer physical paper, check out this resource of various free to-do list templates
