I had a unique retired principal’s weekend with an old girl’s wedding on Saturday and another’s memorial service on Sunday.
Any experienced principal knows that it’s not an ordinary life. You are the go-to leader in both the good times and the crisis times in the lives of many hundreds of families.
Even as a new principal you realise soon enough that you become a parental figure to children who live without their parents. As a male principal, and initially the only male on a big girls’ school staff, you are a father figure to many. Your role as a school leader requires you to demonstrate leadership, responsibility and integrity.
Obviously, you are not the parent so there are definite professional boundaries, but if, like me, you were the principal of the same school for decades, you can retain that link with past students, some now in their fifties. That continued contact in our connected times is a source of sincere interest, fulfilment and inspiration in my life. You may see this as unnecessary, maybe even weird, but it’s me; and I’m trying to share that part of principalship that we all share that’s far from ordinary.
It’s not ordinary to deal with family tragedy, but principals are often called upon to take the lead, to comfort and to guide, to facilitate support, to speak at funerals and to follow up on children for years to come. Principals bring a calmness and authority to difficult situations which have a devastating impact on young lives.
My experience as a Principals Academy mentor, these last six or seven years, is that of principals who see themselves as guardians of their school and its people, and, in many cases, as respected and effective community leaders. I remember how many of them followed the WCED’s lone call to bravely lead lockdown nutrition at their schools.
Let me tell you about my Saturday.
Gaby, a young, chartered accountant, one of my past students and the daughter of a close family friend chose a much older fiancé and together they faced a series of serious complications. They wanted a wedding that acknowledged that reality and reflected their dreams and desires. Who better to navigate the complexity of their relationship than your school principal who has known and respected you for many years. I’m 73, literally past it, and I was not keen, but no-one can say no to Gaby.
Being a principal also means having a grandstand seat, not only at weddings and graduations, but sharing in the pride of our learners’ many achievements and accomplishments.
Sunday was different.
I had known Crystal Donna Roberts (40), who died of breast cancer earlier this month, since she came to Gr 8 in 1998. Her memorial service was in the Opera House at Artscape and was hosted and attended by the film industry. Crystal was a radiant personality, an inner and outer beauty, a humble, vibrant spirit whose laughter was always kind and contagious. She was in over 800 episodes of Arendsvlei on KykNet and in many plays and films including Krotoa in which she played the titular role and won the 2017 SAFTA Best Actress Award and an invitation to the Cannes Festival.
I loved her candour. ‘My breasts were sick. They had to go; I could handle that. But my hair!’ If you are watching the audio version of this letter you will understand how central her hair was to her dramatic persona.
Excuse me sharing these personal stories with you, but they dominated my weekend even ten years after retiring as a principal. Once a principal; always available for use and abuse.
How many funerals of teachers, parents, learners have you attended? How many memorials have you organised at school and how many eulogies have you presented? In South Africa, it’s in a principal’s job description; as is dealing with the police, the neighbourhood watch, the construction mafia, the gang leaders and now, it seems, the protection networks, too. It is not an ordinary life.
When I look back at disciplinary issues in a busy boarding school, I could write a bestseller. You can, too. Trouble is, they might be banned!
A necessity to get you through each extraordinary week is the comforting presence and listening ear of a spouse or soulmate, although so much of what we experience is confidential. Being able to offload in the company of a trusted coach or mentor, usually an ex- or colleague-principal who has also seen it all, helps one to alleviate the stress that punctuates every week.
Being a principal has had a profound impact on my life. It’s a role that extends far beyond the confines of that big fence, a role that requires patience, empathy and understanding, but one that weaves itself into the very fabric of the community one serves. I know you long for an ordinary life, but principalship has given you much purpose, meaning and joy. Thank you for being extraordinary.
Paul Coach/Mentor The Principals Academy Trust
No: 05/25
26 March 2025
Video/Audio Links English Newsletter: https://youtu.be/cou_Fwu_GxY Afrikaans Newsletter: https://youtu.be/tASTpQecU2k
Dr Mark Potterton, principal of Sacred Heart Primary and joint-author of the powerful DBE ministerial committee publication, Schools That Work, penned an article on principalship in Daily Maverick recently – ‘Carrying the torch for excellence’.
He wrote that the qualities of a successful principal are, arguably, similar to those of a country’s president, but the role of a school principal is often more demanding. Unlike a president who has access to hundreds of staff, principals must navigate their responsibilities with limited resources and support.
But what stands out for me is that presidents and principals are human, too. They make mistakes every day by saying, not saying; by going and not going; by delegating and not delegating; by including and not including; by saying it all or minding confidentiality.
I set out to write about the common mistakes that principals like you and me make, but I was side-tracked by Potterton’s striking comparison.
Writing regularly to the same readers is really challenging. The secret is just to start writing. As EM Forester remarked, ‘How do I know what I think until I see what I say’.
When I look back, I wish I got the balance right, better. I needed to be more astute and more selective about why, where, when and how I used my time and shared it better between school and home. You can be at home but actually at school. You may work with 800 families at school but remember yours is number one.
I think I often made the mistake of dominating the conversation, instead of consciously inviting broad opinion. Our role as head of school often leads us to think that, because we see the bigger picture, we know best. Nothing beats listening and, even if we do know best, the message is often much more effective if it comes from someone else. As a principal, I tried to remind myself often: leading is not all about you.
Choosing a principal is always a gamble because the pressure of the hot seat sometimes manifests itself in unforeseen ways. Too often the senior or untried candidate makes the mistake of using the office as a refuge from those obvious issues – complex or sensitive or conflicting – which simply need a principal’s positional intervention in terms of policy, flexibility, wisdom, experience or understanding.
Problems can be addressed instantly and satisfactorily by the easily accessible, willing, confident and transparent leader. Imagine a 200-bed hospital being run by a Chief Nursing Officer who spends the week behind the closed doors of an office. School or hospital-wide excellence is delivered by classroom or ward standards which are driven and delivered by professional leaders.
When one looks at the issues which get principals into trouble, number one is always financial irregularity. A financial policy needs to be full and followed. Simple, non-negotiable rules which govern control, authorisation and budgeting and navigate the necessary legal requirements. You have to be happy with all financial processes because you’re the one legally responsible; and only you. No mistakes allowed.
I think the biggest mistake principals make is not insisting, demanding and following up on core business like teachers teaching from minute one, like teachers on active break duty, like effective grade and subject meetings, like written-book control and like subject specific competence. I say it often, but we get things wrong by going through the motions of a school year rather than maximising the opportunity to take learners to that expected standard. We leave far too many behind.
If you ask teachers to identify the common mistake principals make, most will highlight communication – that ability to hear, reach, motivate and align every teacher. Having a clear message, especially a vision which people immediately associate with everything you do and say, unites and empowers the staff as a team.
I’ve always believed that great principals lead their school’s staff in person on a daily basis even if you are meeting phase teams today and the full staff tomorrow and even if it’s just a five-minute briefing. Not seeing and leading your teachers regularly face to face is a mistake.
If you ask coaches to identify a mistake, I think the answer will be not sufficient, high-quality delegation. In other words, being tied down to administrative compliance which principals do themselves because they want it right. We should be developing layers and layers of skills, carefully constructed in a working organogram.
Like presidents, principals often make the mistake of trying to please everyone. One of my colleague principals showed me a poster this week: ‘If You Want To Please Everybody, Sell Ice Cream!’
Yes, we are very human, but, fortunately, the idea is to learn from our mistakes. It’s lots of learning because we make them every day.
After four years of high level, mentored service as a registrar, as well as serious study, exams and orals, a doctor becomes a respected specialist. It’s not that simple to gain recognition as a specialist teacher. As school leaders we know our ‘master teachers’ and we do our best to support, recognise and retain them because they are often in demand at ‘other’ schools.
If you carefully analyse your NSC and systemic data, your master teachers stand out like true professionals. Whether in Gr 3 or Gr 12 the master teacher’s star quality is clearly spotlighted.
I just love teachers who are always at their best and demonstrate that wonderful combination of pure professionalism and classroom excellence. Excuse the incessant medical analogies, but I’m reminded of how I feel every time I’m treated for a long-term diabetic condition by my trusted ophthalmologist. I walk into his surgery with total confidence. He has four patients waiting but when I sit in that chair, with the lights and lenses poised, he makes me feel as though I’m his only patient that day. I’m in expert, experienced hands. A teacher with the same qualities changes lives. All children deserve teachers with real passion and care for the children they serve.
To be regarded as a master teacher, there must be clear evidence of taking an entire class to a new level of competence. At say, Gr 3, it is almost certainly an ability to use group teaching to offer more intensive support, to embed skills and to maximise active, participatory and personalised learning in every lesson.
The very best teachers – in terms of the superior performance of their learners – possess that ability to engage learners from the beginning of a lesson, a day, a year to the very end. It’s a standard that’s set over time. The children are taught to be prompt in getting into work mode. They know that the period won’t be about listening or going through the motions or passing the time. It will be discipline, concentration, hard work and dedication from the first minute – and they know that every minute counts.
Think about a top sports team’s practice session. The idea is to improve fitness, skills, strategies and performance. It’s full-on commitment – like any successful lesson. That’s great coaching and great teaching.
Allow me to share a few random thoughts about teachers who stand out:
I was at university for some time forty or fifty years ago (not just before the internet, but before the personal computer) and I clearly remember the huge difference between my history lecturers. One was an expert in his particular field and just arrived with his keys in his hand and spoke for an hour. Interesting, fascinating actually, but one dimensional. The other, who became my post-grad promoter, was obviously also an expert in his field, but he arrived with ten books on the subject, and each had clear markers for the pages necessary to make his point, to guide your reading and to encourage you to think critically about different perspectives and to teach you how to develop your own. He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve, and he invested much effort in preparing himself and his resources. That’s what sets teachers apart. Are you a ten-book teacher?
I love reading biographical information about people who make their mark in business, in the professions, in sport and on stage or screen. When asked about their schooldays, nearly all are quick to identify a teacher who either believed in their ability or made them feel good about themselves or a particular subject which they made come alive in a memorable way. Teachers shape lives, they really do.
Last weekend I missed the Stormers/Bulls game because I attended a relative’s 100th birthday lunch at The Vineyard. Ten of us around a table in one of the most beautiful settings to make a very old lady feel special. She’s a French teacher, a demanding one, and, guess what? She still has four adult students. ‘I’ll stop when I can’t’, she says. ‘I just love it.’
Think of the very best teachers you know; those you search for when a vacancy arises; those who earn universal respect from staff and learners. Personally, and without boasting, I would regard myself as an inspirational teacher whose trademark quality was getting the best out of every learner. That’s how I see teaching. I try to create a climate that one can feel in a classroom. I strive to be at my best and I expect your best. Not many rules necessary. Just the right attitude. It’s how I see principalship, too.
As a school leader, you were most probably first a really great teacher, too. Just as well, because you are the school’s instructional leader, and your job is to develop master teachers. Good luck.
My interest was sparked by a friend’s daughter, an industrial engineer, who works for one of the big four accounting firms. She accepted a transfer from Johannesburg to Dublin this January. What interested me was that she had been headhunted with the sole purpose of training corporate professionals to collaborate smarter, and, importantly, faster. That’s her job; teaching collaboration to highly trained, certified accountants.
Collaboration is a skill listed in nearly all advertisements, and, strangely, we all think it’s something we can do well. That’s, actually, quite far from the truth. As an example, carefully peruse this modern advertisement:
‘Project Manager: This role requires collaborating with cross-functional teams, stakeholders and clients to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.’
Those three phrases – ‘on time’, ‘within budget’ and ’required quality standards’ are the real challenges which make the collaboration so vitally important. They ring true for school leaders, teachers and even Moms and Dads.
In a school sense, collaboration means working together with other teachers with a view to enhancing classroom practice. This means talking not only about what exactly will be done, but how something will be taught – ensuring total mastery of the content and the skills involved, sharing resources like flash cards, worksheets and online material.
In many schools, classrooms tend to be silos. Too many teachers walk into the classroom, shut the door and tend to their own learners irrespective of their own content proficiency and teaching prowess. I suggest you read the 2018 Needu Report, ‘Breaking the Walls of Classrooms through Teacher Collaboration : How do top-performing schools turn a teacher’s best practice into a school-wide best practice?’
When a novice teacher is hired in Grade 1, the most important challenge is learning to do the right thing – the best methodology for the context in question. That’s a huge ask which requires the total support and involvement (the collaboration) of the school’s collective foundation phase capital. It needs to be shared quickly, like daily, openly and very practically. It’s not just about what we are going to teach in Grade 1 next week, but how best we are going to teach it. That is collaboration and its often more useful than any professional development workshop, because it focuses on active teaching practice in the classroom at hand. Successful collaboration makes an instant impact. Teachers are better prepared, more confident and effective.
Teachers who are natural collaborators are gold. I love Shulman and Shulman’s definition of an accomplished teacher – one who is ready (possesses vision), willing (is motivated), able (knowing and able to do), reflective (learns from experience) and communal (part of a professional community). Do you have such priceless teachers? Encourage them to add value to your department as a whole.
In my experience, it takes one department and a switched-on portfolio head in the school to lead the way. Our best subject team was a group of experienced Grade 12 Mathematics teachers, who, having to teach five Gr 9 classes between them one year, got together for a weekly collaboration where they refreshed their knowledge of the next week’s work, did the teaching individually out loud, each did a few exercises and shared best practice. They walked out ready, willing, able and reflective and far better off because of their communal commitment. Their learners were the actual winners.
One of South Africa’s biggest education issues is the competence of its system – what percentage of Gr 6 or Gr 9 Mathematics teachers demonstrate – in a professional assessment – a fair ability to themselves master the concepts they are teaching? Even in Gr 6 it’s less than half and there are genuine historical explanations. Collaboration which focuses on how best to teach a concept is the most effective local option in pursuing quality teaching in any grade.
I serve two special schools: Molenbeek – in the grounds of Alexandra Hospital; and Mary Harding School in Athlone. They are experts in a beautifully different form of collaboration. Members of an inclusive learning community – class teacher, principal or representative, perhaps a family member as well as occupational-, speech- and physio- therapists combine their efforts to plan and implement strategies in the best interest of an individual child’s needs. Such collaboration may not only be life-changing; it builds trust, brings together different skills and experience, keeps everyone on the same page and boosts a child’s social and learning engagement.
You’re the principal. If you want to promote collaborative practice in your school, you have to lead by example. Celebrate the sort of collaboration you want by recognising and highlighting it when you see it in action. Openly champion a culture of mutual respect which puts workplace politics aside in the interests of better outcomes.
I became a better principal by collaborating with other schools and their principals. I was in another principal’s office a few times every month of my decades-long principalship. All good doctors, engineers or teachers know that no one person or organisation has all the answers.
I like to think that the process of coming back from a summer holiday is somewhat like reconditioning a bus with a new battery, an oil change, clean filters, re-upholstered seats, re-treads and a navigation software upgrade. Ready for another hundred thousand kilometres.
The driver has been mentally readied for the new journey – it took a few days – but, first stop is picking up the staff. They leave the holiday spirit at the bus stop and are welcomed into the freshness, excitement and positivity of a reconditioned bus. The 2025 bus route is well-planned, well sign-posted, crystal clear and aimed at an agreed destination.
The principal in me marvelled at the reconditioning – actually, the return to glory – of the Notre Dame in Paris at year end using the best of our civilisation, generosity and special skills. I had been in the Cathedral just months before the 2019 fire. I know I’m stretching it a bit, but a school is as much abeacon of hope to a community in need as that cathedral is to the diverse and currently divided French nation.
I certainly get that feeling driving into schools I have served, like Dunoon Primary, Sinenjongo High in Marconi Beam, Welwitschia Primary in Delft or Siyazakha Primary in Browns Farm. Notre Dame may have cost nearly a billion dollars to restore to its remarkable splendour, but your very own centre of excellence in Khayelitsha shines a light which is priceless. School leaders are the architects of that climate of hope and achievement. Learners must be able to buy into the credible imagery of a school that inspires futures just like that cathedral. Not only should a school be a place of beauty, but every classroom in this cathedral should be a source of inspiration.
Remind every teacher of the importance of lesson number one in 2025. In that first twenty minutes, Prof Jonathan Jansen reminds us, the learners should notice: this teacher knows her thing, this teacher is fully prepared. He knows where we’re headed this year, this term, this week. This teacher exudes and instils confidence. In the years to come learners will recall that phenomenal classroom atmosphere and the wonderful way each individual was made to feel. That’s what great teaching is.
A new year offers teachers – novice and experienced – the chance to up aspects of their game especially their classroom management skills, their teaching techniques and their effective use of baseline assessment. You either start well or you invite mediocrity.
Ask yourself: was any teacher at your school or in your department a better teacher in 2024 because of you? That’s the idea of instructional leadership and that’s not just the role of the principal, but of every team leader in the school. Actually, most teachers report that they become better teachers because of the example, inspiration and expertise of peers usually within their phase or subject.
Going into 2025, goals are important: goals about self, family, work. Planning for the future – the weeks and months ahead – is infinitely better than looking back with regret. This week I read in the Wall Street Journal about a 71-year-old guy, Ron Shaich, who writes, not new year resolutions, but ‘premortems’. He looks ahead to his final days and wants to have a sense of completion, peace and, most importantly, self-respect. So, he asks himself what he can do now to ensure that. He has been doing premortems since the 1990s. His book is entitled ‘Know What Matters’.
High schools should be ready for NSC results day on Tuesday. Everyone should know their part – the photocopiers, the collection desk operators, the help desk experts, the official record keepers, the good story writers. Don’t hide any disappointments. Own them. Analyse the implications of those weaker subject results and the performance of your statistical neighbours (those schools closest to you in context). Break them down to key learning opportunities.
On Monday and Tuesday teachers will be in and out of the staffroom and meeting venues, but on Wednesday those seats should be empty from early till late as teachers engage learners from arrival to assembly points, to classrooms with register teachers, to a planned programme and to timetable in place. No teacher or assistant should be waiting for things to happen. Weak links on day one place that all-important climate at risk.
This week I scrolled upon US principal Chanavia Patterson, a champion of women in school leadership, who used her favourite holiday binge on the newly added Netflix movie – Six Triple Eight – to turn five key quotes from Major Charity Adams into Lessons in Leadership for Back-to-School professional development and team meetings. I have watched the movie – the true story of the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of colour to serve overseas in WW11 as they overcame sexism, racism and gruelling conditions to serve their country. All this just to share Patterson’s lesson from Adams, but I think it’s worth the extra words:
‘As school leader, your team is always watching you – your decisions, your actions, your leadership. This is the responsibility we signed up for. It’s time to own it. Your leadership sets the tone for the team, so lead with confidence, integrity and purpose. They’re watching, and what they see will inspire how they show up.’
Just remember, you are the driver of that bus. You have your hand on that lever. Yes, YOU are the lever for change in the school. Drive safely, but get to your destination on time.
This newsletter outreach to principals started when COVID hit in 2020 and so it was called Keeping in Touch in Tough Times. Well, it’s more than four years later and times are undoubtedly still tough. We still need massive personal and professional support, and the Principals Academy has shown it has the insight, integrity and expertise to help principals become the kind of school leaders South Africa desperately needs right now.
Going Forward – is what makes a school relevant and successful. I wrote recently to the principals I coach, ‘One day your photo will be on the wall in the passage because the school chose YOU to take it FORWARD.
This letter is a joint effort by my colleague coaches and my partner principals to share observations on 2024 and ideas for 2025 which you can use as you reflect or as you prepare that end of year staff hour or that first staff session of next year. These perceptions are from practitioners who currently manage schools in the Western Cape or visit and mentor five or six principals per week in their busy offices. Interrogate the points below to take your school forward.
One of the deputies I coach, Monia Lewis, who finished her UCT GSB year on Saturday writes, ‘My key objective as Deputy will be to optimise record-keeping processes and improve classroom management techniques ensuring a more efficient, effective and supportive learning environment for learners and their teachers.’ I love the focus of her goals for the new year.
Another graduate, Sharon Poole, challenges us all by simply saying, ‘I’m looking forward to 2025 with my newfound knowledge and experience.’ Are you looking forward to 2025? Perhaps this time next month!
One principal highlighted an issue we all recognise ‘2024 taught me not to get hooked by staff personal agendas. Stay focused on the goals and do not get distracted by the noise.’
Another principal, Isaac Morkel, has committed his staff to a ‘collaborative, focused, target-driven push for academic and holistic prowess in 2025 through planned actions, diplomatic finesse and a whole lot of elbow grease’. Nothing about getting better is easy.
Coach Gavin Fish noted, ‘Take time to reflect on what went well in the year past and plan to build on it in 2025. Our default position is the Negativity Bias where we tend to remember the unpleasant, our “failures” and frustrations. Find time to celebrate the good and, if you are battling to remember such, ask a trusted colleague or three.’
Our CEO, Keith Richardson, reminds us that health initiatives – especially as a result of COVID – have shown us the potential of working together. What can we improve in our schools if principals work together? I cannot stress this more.
He also makes the point that AI is going to revolutionise education. It provides amazing tools for teachers in any setting. Are we ready for it? Have we interacted with teachers who are using AI to take teaching and learning to new levels? How open and flexible are we, as principals, to exploring AI, to encouraging and supporting teachers who lead the way.
The most common comment from coaches was on the importance of staff collaboration and the power of teamwork. Midge Hilton-Green stressed the continual development (and acknowledgment) of staff, both individually and as a team, in a way that is on-going, monitored and measured. There can be nothing haphazard about the subject-specific, technological and team aspects of readying teachers for today’s educational challenge.
In my experience subjects flourish at a school in direct proportion, not only to the quality of the teachers but, more specifically, to the quality of leadership and accountability of the subject head and the lead collaborators in each of the grades. Subject or literacy or numeracy improvement is an intensive weekly drive to plan, to put in the time and to master and monitor the skills required.
Gregg King, coach and former principal and circuit manager, urges principals to pace themselves so as not to get bogged down in red tape and administration. That pacing is important to invest enough time in building positive staff relationships, in making ‘me’ time for themselves and supporting their staff – teaching and non-teaching – to do the same. It is important for their mental health and longevity in education, he says.
This time last year I wrote a letter entitled ‘Lessons from the Springboks to the Staff Team’. Alan Clarke, author of the PAT 2025 Planning Document, stresses that John Hattie, New Zealand’s most highly respected educationist, confirms that ‘Collective Teacher Efficacy’ is strongly correlated to improved learning outcomes. Use Rassie’s amazing ability to ingrain this concept in the entire Springbok squad as what needs to happen in every grade team, phase team, subject team, portfolio and school management team. I repeat that word ‘team’ on purpose. It’s the basis of collective efficacy and the most necessary step for going forward. And don’t just stick to the Springboks. How about Saturday’s Carling Cup Final where Mogesi FC beat Sundowns? Thanks for a telling point, Alan.
I loved Deloitte Africa CEO Ruwayda Redfeam’s speech at the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Awards Dinner last week. ‘Tonight is not just about recognition of business excellence and outstanding achievements of companies and individuals – it’s about celebrating and acknowledging the journey that got you here. We recognise that behind every achievement is a story of grit, resilience, and often the courage to fail, but most importantly to keep going when things are tough.’
We all agree, times are tough, but our country needs genuine leadership at every level. You are that leader. The country’s future is in your hands. End your year off on a high and send your staff off to rest, recharge and return with energy and enthusiasm.
