***

Early Morning Start

I arrive at school around 6 in the morning. From 6:15听to 7:15 a.m., I鈥檓 automatically answering the phone to see what the staff needs. I could be finding and calling subs, dealing with issues with bussing or helping special education students; it鈥檚 a lot of maneuvering.

No Student Left Behind

At 7:15 each morning, I go to the front desk to greet the kids. The bell rings at 7:45 a.m., and I start my morning routine of going to every classroom. I had an attendance of 96 percent again, so I go to each classroom to see which kids are absent and to record every name in a log. I call each child who is absent every day.

From 8 to 9:30 a.m., I do home visits with my security guard four days a week. I am constantly picking kids up from home, getting them dressed and bringing them back to school with me. Parents know I am coming and what I expect. I make it very clear that kids need to be in school. If you鈥檙e not here, you are not learning; how are you going to succeed?

Social Afternoons

After that, I go in and out of lunch and recess duty. I try to do two or three formal or informal observations a day. Then, I have meetings. Once a week I have grade-level meetings and twice a month I have听Instructional Leadership Team meetings, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support meetings and Individualized Educational Plan meetings. After my meetings, I work through parent issues.

School Never Ends
I end school with outside bus duty to make sure all busses are gone and students are dismissed. Then, I come back in and maybe do some paper work. I come in a lot of Saturdays. I like Saturdays – sometimes I鈥檓 here alone and sometimes I鈥檓 here for detention. I love being here because, I have to be honest with you, I have the greatest kids. I am a very lucky person!

This news post was authored by Summer Fellows Ezgi Ilhan and Hailey Oliff.

Quiet Starts

I usually get to school around 6:45 a.m.听to enjoy the quietness until 7:30 a.m. I check my to-do list and important emails. Between 7:15 and 7:30 a.m., I talk to teachers.

Open Door

I have an open听door policy. If my door is open, I鈥檓 available. This holds true for teachers, parents and students. A parent might come in and want an impromptu meeting. I鈥檓 always finding a way to hang out with students. I usually walk through the lunchroom or pop in at recess. Typically听I have scheduled my day in light pencil. I鈥檓 popping in classrooms for 10听to听15 minutes, at most, to give feedback to the teacher or to assist with the activity the students are engaged in. I do some more administrative work starting at 11:00 a.m., but I鈥檓 available at all times because of my open door policy.

Check Ins

During lunch time (12听to听1 p.m.), I remain available for incidences of misbehavior or to help resolve student conflicts. During that time, I do some more administrative work. Then, from 1 until 2 p.m., I鈥檓 walking the building. I鈥檓 just popping in. I might also use the time to set up meetings with kids. I鈥檓 also looking to ensure interventions are taking place during intervention time we call Academic Enhancement.

Winding Down

Then, from 2 to 4 p.m., I鈥檓 dismissing kids and having impromptu conversations with kids and parents. I also meet with various committees and clubs. I take 4:30-5 p.m. to wind down the day and craft a to-do list for the next day. That鈥檚 a really good day, especially if I鈥檓 out by 5:00 p.m.

***

For many school leaders, the activity never ends. From a whirlwind of meetings to checking in with students, principals are always on the move. We talked with Principal Elizabeth Alvarez of John C Dore Elementary School to get a peek into what her days look like.

Early Welcome

In the mornings, I have a 7:15听morning meeting with staff and I check what substitutes are needed and how the main office is doing to see what concerns there are before we start. Normally, the teachers help with the parent meetings, but sometimes I will be in the meeting too. The children come in at 7:30 in the morning. If it鈥檚 nice out, I walk outside with the students from 7:30 to 7:45 a.m. If it鈥檚 rainy or cold, they are lined up indoors.

Morning Announcements

At 7:45 a.m., I am in the office waiting for our announcers, our children. I get them prepared to do the morning announcements. I add a spiel like 鈥淭oday is poem in a pocket day. Make sure to have a poem ready in case you see me.鈥� Once the children finish, they are off to class.

Classroom to Classroom

If it is a Tuesday, grade level meetings happen after classes start. If it鈥檚 not a grade level meeting, I have team day in the special education room. If it鈥檚 a Monday,Thursday or Friday, I am doing an observation, making phone calls or checking e-mails. Observations last about an hour in the classroom and then I try to type up what I can on Reflect and Learn. That is, if I am given that opportunity because often there is another shoe about to drop.

Lunch Time

Then lunch and recess happens. I walk hallways and manage听our P.A.W.S. (Positive Attitude Within Schools) program.听I attend a meeting during lunch and recess. We also have mentors that will meet during lunch and recess time with students. This coming year, we will see how these new students are doing at Dore with their mentors.

It鈥檚 a wrap!

At the end of the day, I get ready for dismissal. I take on the upper grades and make sure our children are safe. At 3 or 4 p.m., if we have detentions, I meet with these students or check in with our after school program and make sure everything is okay. At 3:30 p.m., I try to finish Reflect and Learn when the observations are fresh on my mind. I end my day around 6 or 7 听p.m.,听then I go home.

Positive Welcome

The main gates open half an hour before school starts. This past year, our start time was 8 a.m., and so our start time this coming year is going to be 9 a.m. I go out into the front entrance half an hour before school starts and welcome students into the building. The students come through the metal detectors and must get searched. It is a very traumatizing experience so we make it a point to mollify that with our own positive greetings. A lot of adults will give students hugs, or ask them a personal question. We try to make that transition into school a little more positive.

Nice to Meet You

The first hour or two will be spent meeting with parents. They mostly want to be heard, but they also want some resolution. Then, I鈥檓 usually in classrooms, doing informal or formal evaluations. I also do quick five minute check ins or I鈥檓 in team meetings. Here at Wells, we have the Care team meeting. It鈥檚 about digging deeper to see what social emotional issues might arise. On Tuesday, each grade level meets. On Wednesdays, I lead the Instructional Leadership Team meeting. Thursday is the day for departmental meetings. On top of that, on Thursday, we also have the transitional meetings for students transitioning in and out of high school. Throughout the four years here, students have the opportunity for postsecondary options. We create plans for that and then also we have on Thursday the climate and culture team meeting for the building. This includes interactions between adults. How do we make this a warm, welcoming place to work? Our meetings are very productive. Meetings take up 40听percent听of my time.

Inbox: 0

By that time I鈥檓 back in my office, I have many e-mails left in my inbox. Four o鈥檆lock is when I鈥檒l check my work e-mail again. I then have one-on-one meetings until 7 p.m., as students are still here. After that, and checking my e-mail one more time, I plan for the next day and leave by 8:30 or 9:00 p.m.

***

Principal Michelle Willis is a force to be reckoned with at Gillespie Elementary School. Eight years ago, she took over Gillespie, which was on probation and facing major administrative and academic issues. This year, CPS has designated Gillespie as a Level 1 school.

We decided to look further into the day in a life of this prominent educational leader. Nobody can say a principal鈥檚 day is easy. Be prepared; Principal Willis鈥� schedule is quite the whirlwind.

iReady

I sleep with my iPad and iPhone on my bedside. Both have my CPS e-mail attached. I鈥檓 checking email and texts before I鈥檓 even dressed. I have a quick response time, which helps me take advantage of opportunities.

Bright and Early

The school day starts at 8 a.m. I鈥檓 usually in the building 45 minutes before any of the children arrive. I walk the building and greet teachers at their doors. I鈥檓 usually not back in my office until 9 a.m.

Whirlwind Lunch

I have a whole Google Calendar list of things to do. I鈥檓 usually spending the middle of the day doing pop-in visits, helping to monitor lunch and recess. I don鈥檛 do any paperwork until the children leave at around 3:30 p.m. after some outdoor duty time.

Dedicated Hours

I spend 10 to 12 hours at my school every day. It鈥檚 a full day, especially when I have meetings. A lot of times, I spend these after hours trying to make sure I鈥檓 on top of everything. Honestly, I spend more time here than I do at home. Most nights, I leave alongside the janitors at around 7:30 p.m.

Weekend Shifts

I have a dedicated team of staff and teachers. Sometimes those teachers want to come in on the weekend to work or there might be a weekend sports event and the children need to be let into the school. I鈥檓 more than happy to spend time there on Saturday making sure those kids get to their sports events safely and that my teachers can access their classrooms if they want to work.

Spending 60-70 hours a week at school seems crazy to those of us who remember being on the edge of our seats, waiting for the bell to signal the end of our 40-hour school week; however, Principal Willis feels much differently: “Even when I was a teacher, it was never work. It was fun. I want to create well-rounded productive citizens, create and mold future leaders. This is my life work.”