Summary: <br> Daniel (DJ) Klein is an Assistant Principal at Ocean Springs High School, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. For longtime Principal Matters listeners, you may recognize the name DJ Klein from two previous episodes:<br> <br> <br> <br> First, on June 4, 2020, DJ joined me when for <a href="https://williamdparker.com/2020/06/04/pmp197-10-tips-for-new-assistant-principals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PMP197</a> when we recorded an episode discussing ideas to keep in mind as he was moving into his first administrative role as Assistant Principal. <br> <br> <br> <br> Then on July 14, 2021, DJ and I recorded <a href="https://williamdparker.com/2021/07/14/pmp253-10-lessons-from-a-first-year-assistant-principal-with-d-j-klein/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PMP253</a> where he shared lessons from his first year as a school administrator.<br> <br> <br> <br> This week DJ Klein is back to share lessons from his 2nd year in school administration. He was also kind enough to provide detailed notes and summaries to accompany this podcast episode. I will share them below:<br> <br> <br> <br> “My Second Year in Administration – Reflections, Lessons Learned, and Takeaways to Implement Into My Own Journey to a Future Principalship” from DJ Klein:<br> <br> <br> <br> 1. Develop Two to Three Personal Yearly Goals and Work Streams<br> <br> <br> <br> This lesson echoes the points of forming goals in your previous conversation with Daniel Bauer in episode 297. At the beginning of each year, reflect on areas in your leadership in which you would like to grow. Form work streams with others that can help you achieve these personal goals. Inspect your progression monthly or at the end of the first semester.<br> <br> <br> <br> 2. Evaluate Each Situation in its Entirety<br> <br> <br> <br> They say there are three sides to a story: mine, yours, and the truth. During my previous role, a large amount of my day was dedicated to navigating a 6A (the largest school classification at the time) athletic program through the COVID-19 pandemic. Obviously, problems did arise while I wore that hat, however the challenges that I was confronted with during this school year differed in many ways. Educational leaders have many different challenges we see every day and, due to the nature of the work that we do, it is very easy to allow the false urgency we experience to influence a decision that we are about to make. Do not get me wrong, there are some cases – especially regarding student safety – where a quick decision has to be made at the moment. However, for everything else, it is critical that we get all of the information – the full story and all of the facts-before we can reach a thorough understanding of the matter at hand and make the best decision for whoever may be involved.<br> <br> <br> <br> 3. Form a Relationship with A Mentor Principal and be Deliberate in Serving as a Mentor Yourself<br> <br> <br> <br> When I was a first year teacher and football coach, I had an amazing mentor teacher named Shannon McKay who went above and beyond to see that I was successful in teaching a state tested subject. That first year came with many hard-learned lessons, however it was only through her dedication to set up a fail-proof support system for me that I was able to turn into the successful teacher I became. She had over 27 years of experience (I was only 23!) to pass down to me, and I was all ears. In administration, we sometimes are tasked with assigning mentor teachers to either first year teachers or teachers who are new to our school. The irony is that many administrators do not have their own mentor (a veteran principal who does not work in the same building) to go to when they are seeking guidance on a difficult topic. Whether you are 30 or 50 years old, if you are getting into administration for the first time,
