The Question I Wish I'd Asked Sooner

A principal I know sat down with his counselor and said something most administrators never say out loud: "I don't think I understand what you're trained to do."

Then he asked her a different question than the one she'd been answering for three years — not what he needed her to handle that day, but what student support would look like if she designed it around her actual training.

That one question moved more than any policy he'd written.

She brought research. Data. A plan the building had never had the benefit of, because no one had asked for it. Within a month, she was in the room where decisions got made, instead of hearing about them after.

The expertise is usually already in the building. It's just never been asked for directly.

If you lead a school or a district team, this week's move is small: ask one person on your staff what they'd design if given the room to.

Office hours are open if you want to think through what you might hear back.

— The Principal School Counselor™