Questions for Principal Shadow
The following questions are guiding questions that may be used in your discussion during the
Principal Shadowing opportunity between Sessions 5 and 6 of the Bexar PREP. The first four
questions are required questions that all PREP Cohort members must ask their shadow
principal. In addition to these four, please gather a response for a minimum of six additional
questions. The remaining questions are suggested questions and may be used at your discretion.
As you spend time with the principal, feel free to ask your own questions based on the experience
of the day. The goal is to get as much from the experience and engage in candid conversations
about the role of the instructional leader while shadowing a principal in an urban school within
Bexar County.
Required Questions
1. What instructional systems do you have in place? How? When? Where? Please
share examples and any relevant artifacts or resources.
2. With the many responsibilities involved with the principalship, how do you ensure
that instructional leadership is a priority?
3. When you became a principal of this school, what were some of the first steps you
took to improve academic success for all students?
4. When you became a principal of this school, how did you assess the school culture
and what did you do to strengthen the school culture around teaching and learning?
Beginning the Day
1. What are critical issues involving the arrival of students on campus each morning?
2. What procedures are in place to ensure efficient and safe arrival of students?
3. Do student have opportunities to receive intervention or tutorials before school? Do you
offer a “zero hour?” If so, how does this work?
4. What procedures are in place for welcoming visitors and parents to the campus in a way
that is safe and secure?
5. How are campus announcements handled on this campus?
6. What are challenges you experience with increasing student attendance and decreasing
student tardies? What strategies have worked for you?
Education Service Center, Region 20
jeff.goldhorn@esc20.net
(210)370-5490
Master Schedule
1. Explain the campus’s master schedule and the design process as it relates to the school’s
instructional goals? What are scheduling priorities and non-negotiables?
2. How are intervention opportunities integrated into the schedule for students who struggle
with learning various content areas? Do you utilize a RTI model?
3. How do electives or specials classes support student achievement in the core academic
areas?
4. What extracurricular activities are offered to students within the master schedule? How
is this decided?
5. How do you promote student participation in advanced level classes?
6. How do you maintain reasonable class size which allows teachers the ability to
successfully teach students in an environment conducive to learning?
Professional Learning Communities and Collaboration
1. What structures and processes are in place to support teacher collaboration?
2. When a teacher group meets by grade level or by department, do you attend these
meetings? If so, what is your role in the discussion?
3. How do you implement a data-driven decisions model regarding instruction during these
meetings?
4. What data is used during these meetings to drive instruction?
5. How often do teachers meet to analyze and discuss the data?
6. How do you ensure that meetings are productive and the conversation is primarily
focused on improving instructional practices?
7. Do teacher groups discuss meeting the varied needs of the students in their classes? How
do you ensure this occurs?
Walkthroughs and Campus Visibility
1. How often do you conduct walkthroughs within a week time period? What is the average
length of time per walkthrough?
2. How do you manage your time to allow for these walkthroughs to occur? What are some
strategies you use to protect this time?
3. How do you provide teachers with feedback from the walkthroughs?
4. What are ways that you increase visibility with students and staff during the day? What
are the benefits of finding time for this?
Building Relationships
1. How do you build relationships with the students on your campus?
2. Are you strategic with how you accomplish this or do you engage in the process when the
moment presents itself? Or both?
3. How do you encourage teachers and staff to build positive relationships with students
during the school day?
4. How do you build positive working relationships with the teachers and staff?
Education Service Center, Region 20
jeff.goldhorn@esc20.net
(210)370-5490
5. What do you feel teachers value the most in a positive working relationship?
Professional Development
1. How do you determine the professional development opportunities for the teachers on
your campus?
2. How do you meet the professional development needs of varied teachers in a variety of
content areas?
3. What are the best professional development sessions you have been a part of over the
course of your career? Which would you recommend for my professional growth?
4. What are your expectations for peer training of new concepts? How do you facilitate
this?
School Finance
1. What advice would you give a new principal regarding campus budgets?
2. What procedures do you have in place to involve the SBDM in the budget planning
process?
3. What are some tips you would give a new principal in being fiscally sound and in being a
good steward of taxpayer funds?
School Culture
1. Describe the culture on the campus?
2. In what ways do you invoke a sense of trust on campus between co-workers and with
administrators?
3. What are some strategies you have used to address campus culture? Were they effective?
4. Do teachers, parents, and students understand the mission and vision of the district and
school? Are they committed to it?
5. What was the process for development the campus mission and vision?
6. In what ways do you manage conflict on campus and turn difficult situations into
opportunities for improvement and growth?
7. How do you foster a belief that all students can learn in a way that all faculty and staff are
committed to this expectation?
Education Service Center, Region 20
jeff.goldhorn@esc20.net
(210)370-5490