An entry plan is a great resource and planning tool to help a new principal acclimate to a new school and situation, as well as plan and set targeted goals. The goal setting component looks at early wins (30 days), 60 days, 90 days, semester, and first year targets for goals accomplished. This helps to strategically start to align all resources and priorities toward goal proficiency.
Basic First 100-Day School Entry Plan for New Principals1. What are the symbols, norms, and assumptions that define your school?
2. What do people value – what is important? What are the words used to describe your school?
3. What are the biggest challenges facing the school? Do you have all viewing points?
4. Why is the school facing these challenges?
5. What are the most promising unexploited opportunities for growth?
6. What would need to happen for the organization to exploit the potential of these opportunities?
7. If they (staff, parent, student, community) were you, what would they focus attention on?
8. How much emphasis will you place on learning as opposed to doing?
9. What do people in your school view as success and what do they view as failure?
10. What behaviors do people in your school consistently display that undermine the potential for high performance?
11. Given your situation, what should the timing and extent of each of the waves of change you envision?
12. Based on what you have learned, what are your priorities? Given these priorities, what do you need to do during your transition to lay the necessary groundwork for achieving them?
13. How would you like to see people behave differently by the end of your era as principal? Describe as vividly as you can the behaviors you would like to encourage and discourage.
14. What can you begin to do to change behaviors during your transition?
15. How do you plan to connect yourself to your new school? Who are your key audiences, and what messages would you like to convey to them? What are the best modes for engagement?
16. What are the most promising areas for your early performance improvement efforts? Select no more than three and think about how early successes in these areas will serve as a model for how you want people to behave.
17. Given the changes/improvements, you want to make, in what areas do you need to engage in collective learning.
18. How will you communicate 9 times 9 ways? Both information and successes?