The “Strong Start” Playbook

A Tool to Launch the School Year for Success

The cover of Strong Start: Leveraging a Playbook to Launch the School Year for Success

All effective principals know that you need a plan for the school year - from big goals, to a professional development calendar, to parent engagement strategies and more.

But how specific is your plan? Do you know how to translate all the thousands of must-dos, into a focused agenda for how to spend your time on what matters most, every day?

And especially as you think about the start of the year, how will you know you're building exactly the warm, safe, and productive culture you'll need for a year of success?

At Relay Graduate School of Education, we have coached thousands of leaders on creating their own Strong Start Playbook - a concrete plan, based in your vision for your school, translated into a set of "look-fors" and a detailed calendar to ensure you're using every moment to the fullest.

For principals, this may be the last touch you need on your back-to-school plan. For principal supervisors, we recommend supporting every school leader to make their own Playbook, too.

Follow along with principal Ashley Martin as we explore how she crafts her Playbook, step-by-step. Here's to a strong start to the year!

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National Principal Academy Fellowship

NPAF is a year-long fellowship program that cultivates exceptional instructional leaders who transform their schools. Through coaching, peer networking, and hands-on practice, school leaders further develop their skills in data-informed instruction, coaching, strategic planning, centering equity, and more. NPAF is just one of many Relay Leadership Programs for every level of leader.