Countless books have been written on the subject of school leadership. From Fullan to Reeves to Whitaker to Marzano, the finest minds in educational research have all taken their turn espousing the best practices of school leadership. What I have learned in over a decade in school leadership is that each constituent group has a different metric. What a teacher thinks makes a good principal is different from what a student thinks which is different from what a parent thinks which is different from what a central office administrator or board member thinks.

To whit:

For a student, a good principal is one who knows your name, knows a little bit about you as a student and person, has a sense of humor, and will shoot hoops with you at lunch.

For a teacher, a good principal is one who has your back, who follows through on promises, who stays out of your way in the classroom, throws the book at students who distract their classes, keeps staff and in-service meetings short, and has a sense of humor.

For a parent, a good principal is one who communicates regularly about what’s going on at the school, who knows a little something about their kid, will drop everything they’re doing to meet about the A- that should have been an A, who is visible at drop-off and pick-up, and who has a good sense of humor.

For a central office administrator, a good principal contributes to and supports the district vision, filters what’s coming up from the teachers and what’s headed down at the teachers, keeps parents at bay, and thinks the superintendent has a good sense of humor.

For a board member, a good principal is whatever the superintendent tells the Board he/she thinks is a good principal.

All things to all people, but above all, sense of humor. The biggest and most important part of the job is “and other duties as assigned.” Get that right and you’ve got it.

Cultural observation: Alaskans look forward to winter and are ticked when they don’t get one. On Super Bowl Sunday Chicago got twice as much snow as Anchorage has had ALL WINTER. The snow helps those long, dark days feel a little brighter. They also love their winter sports, of which I’m told I must choose one – maybe cross-country skiing, seems least likely to cause neck breakage. Two winters ago they got nearly 150 inches of snow. This year, I don’t think it’s reached double digits yet. I’ll see how much I can get in my suitcase here in the Midwest and bring back with me.