Stop Making Teachers Guess What Matters.

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If you walked into a classroom today and asked the teacher:
What’s our school actually focused on this year?”
What would they say?

If your answer is:

• “Well… they should say [insert 6 initiatives here]”

• “We covered it at pre-planning…”

• “It’s on the SIP…”

Then congratulations:
You’ve already lost the battle for clarity.

Because here’s the truth:
Most teachers aren’t ignoring your plan. They don’t know what the plan really is.

Not because they’re not listening.
But because the message keeps shifting.
The checklist keeps growing.
The priorities keep multiplying.
And the feedback they’re getting? All over the place.

This isn’t a teacher problem.
This is a leadership problem.

The Reality: Teachers Are Operating Without a North Star

Let’s be honest—
You’ve got data chats, PLCs, coaching cycles, early release PD, MTSS meetings, and a district priority list that reads like a menu.

And somehow, your team is supposed to:

• Deliver grade-level standards

• Scaffold for 12 different learner profiles

• Track engagement

• Make instruction relevant

• Collect progress monitoring

• Post learning targets

• Prep for walkthroughs

• Oh—and build relationships while they’re at it

But no one’s told them what actually matters most.
So what happens?

📉 They default to survival.
📉 They guess what leadership wants.
📉 They stop listening—because the message keeps changing anyway.

What This Looks Like in Action

The best schools don’t ask teachers to “do everything.”
They create alignment so teachers know:

✅ What we’re working on
✅ Why it matters
✅ What success looks like
✅ How it connects to student learning
✅ How they’ll be supported along the way

If your team can’t answer those questions—you don’t have a strategy.
You have a slogan.

Leadership Moves You Can Make This Week

📢 Say it out loud. Then say it again.
Pick your 1–2 instructional priorities and repeat them everywhere. Staff meetings. Feedback emails. Walkthroughs. Your calendar. Your walkthrough tracker. This is the signal.

🧭 Check for alignment, not compliance.
Ask 5 teachers: “What are we focused on this quarter?”
If the answers are all over the place, so is your leadership.

🛠️ Refocus your walkthrough feedback.
Only give feedback on the things you actually want people to improve. Praise aligned practice. Ask questions that invite reflection on the priority—not the shiny thing.

🧠 Use the “3-Slide Rule” for clarity.
If you had to explain your school’s focus in 3 slides, what would they say? Can every leader on your team say it the same way?

Final Thought: Clarity is the First Kind of Care

Your teachers don’t need another initiative.
They don’t need a new framework.
They need to know what actually matters.

Because when people are confused, they don’t innovate—they freeze.
And when feedback is scattered, it doesn’t feel like support—it feels like noise.

You want to keep great teachers?
Start by making the work clearer, not heavier.

📩 What’s your school’s top instructional focus this year? Hit reply and tell me in one sentence—no jargon allowed.

On A Recent Episode of The Principal School Podcast…

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