The Reflective Principal: Riding the First Year Wave

By Shawn Riley Principal, May/June 2013 The interview went off without a hitch. You studied the school, swam through years of data, and bought that new suit. The panel loved you, and you loved them right back. But walking into that empty office the first day in July, you may temporarily doubt yourself as you feel the weight of responsibility. The decisions you make and leadership you bring to that school will impact the school’s measures of success as well as its teachers, staff, parents, and students.