Building a Principal Community

When I was a first year principal, other principals invited me out to
breakfast which made me feel comfortable and I got to know them. Turns out,
Sandi McCord, Director of Elementary Education, organized the breakfasts.
She also organized monthly breakfasts with all of the principals. Those
breakfasts were a very important part of my first two years as a principal.

I enjoyed those breakfasts so much that I organized breakfasts at Country
Village and drinks at the Bothell Pub when I came to Northshore. Again,
those were some of the best, most valuable times I had as a principal.

Now that I have moved on to the junior high, I am missing those social
times. We have very few social times as secondary principals and I haven¹t
taken the initative. I have been more than busy and I have fallen away from
my social connections with elementary principals and I am feeling a little
disconnected. I can call any principal in Northshore and we have a good
conversation but it feels like each of us has so much going on that we live
in 3 minutes short bursts.
Looking back, I am impressed with how Sandi McCord helped build community
with the Federal Way principals. That is the kind of community that I enjoy
working in.