Principals have many daily responsibilities on campus, but one of their stretch roles actually happens outside of school—when they become community leaders.
After all, school is more than just a place for education. It’s often also a provider of essential support services for students, such as meals and mental health support. Some schools even connect families with housing support and other resources. But to do this work effectively, school leaders must build their understanding of the needs of the larger community and how to efficiently utilize local resources.
As principals interact with families and students at local businesses, restaurants, and community centers, they learn about problems being faced outside of school grounds. Through their connection with the community, they can be part of the solutions.
Below are five ways principals or other school administrators can embrace becoming community leaders.
1. Tell your school’s story.
Principals know their school, staff, and student body best and can be a bridge for prospective students and families.
Earlier this year, a group of principals visited Capitol Hill as advocates for their schools and shared with federal lawmakers stories about the programs, students, and teachers at their school, and how state and federal funding supported these efforts.
2. Be proactive.
Principals can connect with local businesses and companies in their community to best understand needs and potential relationship commonalities.
In Edenton, N.C., a small town with a large aviation presence, the high school principal met with the town manager and connected with the state’s transportation department. The principal, Sonya Rinehart, wanted to find career-based opportunities for her students, and this connection led to a free weeklong summer aviation camp led by a local pilot, among other opportunities.
3. Build relationships.
Family engagement isn’t just about parents attending events at school, but the opposite—schools reaching out and connecting with parents. Principals need to get to know the families in their communities to better understand what they need.
For example, a group of administrators in a New York school district addressed chronic absenteeism through extensive conversations with families.
Educators in the Hudson City school district learned that students were missing school due to the rain, as some cultures believe rainy days can cause children to catch a cold if their head gets wet. The district worked with the local health department, school nurses, and other local organizations to inform parents about keeping students safe during bad weather and providing transportation to those who needed it.
As a result of these conversations and connections, chronic absenteeism across the district went down by 12 percentage points, according to Education Week reporting.
4. Think big.
As collaborations between schools and local businesses take off, principals can take it a step further by creating opportunities for students. They should also be creating these partnerships with an end goal in mind—student employment, said an administrator of the Pittsburgh school district’s career and technical education program.
Angela Mike is the executive director of the Pittsburgh Career and Technical Education program since 2010 and created a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. This collaboration has provided internships, shadowing, jobs, and equipment donations, according to Education Week reporting.
5. Don’t do it alone.
Everyone needs a support network, including principals. Lean on your team to help identify and pursue opportunities. Assistant principals, school counselors, and teachers can work with school leaders to share the workload and support one another.
In the small town of Pikeville, Ky., the principal of Pikeville High School, Brandon Blackburn, told Education Week, “building those relationships internally allows you to manage the relationships externally.”