Step One

Closure with the Existing Principal

Unless you are engaging the school's first principal you will be replacing a principal. It is usually to ensure a satisfactory closure with that person. The following are some considerations.

Farewell
Plan for an appropriate farewell ceremony and gift.

Communication
Develop and implement a plan with the principal (if possible) of when and how teachers, staff, parents, students and congregation will be informed. There should be agreement on statements to be made. It may also be helpful to have a debriefing session with teachers and staff. You and the school’s constituency also need closure in this process.

Salary and benefits
Items to consider are: final paycheck, health insurance and retirement, 401k, and TSA arrangements. (Is Cobra needed?), and other reimbursements

Office walk through
Office walk through to ensure that someone knows where necessary information is filed. It is helpful for this information also to be in written form.

Historical record
Have the principal compile a brief history of the school under her/his administration. Include pictures, names, historic moments, etc. This is helpful for the exiting principal to reflect on the experience at your school. It is also helpful in orienting the new principal.

Exit interview
Exit interview to learn lessons from your soon to be former principal. See section “How to Get the Most from Exit Interviews.”

Keys, bank accounts
Return of keys and removal of former principal’s name from bank accounts, stationery, etc.

Special finances
Have the principal document any special tuition and financial arrangements with families. It is especially important families not “fall through the cracks” during this transition.

Coverage
Be clear on responsibilities for the coming school year. For example, who will be responsible for student recruitment, teacher recruitment/hiring, summer programs and ordering of books and materials. Depending on the timing, it is sometimes best to be sure there is a person on staff involved in these activities so there can be follow-through when the principal leaves. This person(s) can also brief the new principal on these activities upon her/his arrival.

School secretary
Spend private time with the school secretary. Does s/he know of private sensitive areas the board/pastor should be aware of: special arrangements with staff, students, parents, vendors, local businesses or individuals.

Contact information
Determine if the exiting principal is willing to be contacted for unexpected needed information and how best to do that.

There may be a danger to let all other matters of the board and school be set aside during this period. With the changing of the “guard” in the principal’s office, this may be an opportune time to make some hard decisions about personnel and returning students. If a staff member, for example, should not be asked to return it is not wise to leave that situation to the new person. Try to resolve some of the critical issues which a new person may not be able to address immediately as they become oriented to the life and ministry at your school.

Exit Interviews
Exit interviews are helpful tools for everyone involved when a principal, teacher or staff person leaves the school. Exit interviews should be a routine procedure in every school. The following gives guidance for an exit interview for all school staff.

Not just a gripe session
Experts agree that exit interviews can serve a number of important purposes. Of course, they can alert you to trouble spots within your school. They also have several positive and helpful goals, including: 1) To provide a safety valve for a frustrated staff person. Properly handled, a good exit interview can allow the employee an opportunity to blow off some built-up steam about the company in a contained environment where it won’t do much damage. The school’s imagined offenses may be trivial, but they could be damaging if spread throughout the school community. After the exit interview the staff person may feel less of a need to vent anger outside the school, and 2) To give the school a chance to collect unrecorded information. An anecdote from Great Britain tells the story of Fred, a worker on the London subway. After his retirement, the subway trains began having problems with their axles. Subway officials learned that Fred had been greasing the axles, but after his retirement no one had taken up the job because no one knew what Fred had been doing. Even when a replacement tried to do the job, Fred had to be called back to train the person adequately. Lesson: Staff persons may have invaluable information that’s never been written down.

Questions to ask
The exit interview procedure should be systematic and consistent. Your goal is to collect useful information that will help the school. The information you gather during the interview can help to improve many aspects of the school. Every person leaving your school for any reason should have an exit interview which might include a list of standard questions, such as:
— Was your position described to you accurately when you started?
— What did you like most about your current position and why?
— What did you like least about your position and why?
— Do you have any suggestions for improvement? Have you raised them in the past?
— Would you recommend this school to others looking for a position?

Other factors to consider
There is more to a successful interview than just reading off a list of questions. Keep in mind:

Timing
Don’t conduct it right after the staff person has given notice. The typically strong emotions involved in preparing to leave a workplace may impeded a constructive conversation. (Some experts have suggested an additional follow-up interview with key staff three to six months after they’ve left. The passage of time may allow former staff to be more objective and less emotional about their experience with your school. They’ve also had a chance to compare work experiences, which may give them some insights which could be valuable to you.

Personnel Matters
Use the exit interview as a routine step  in clearing up the necessary procedures and paperwork involved in ending the employment relationship.

Confidentiality
Staff won’t be honest and forthcoming unless they can rely on your discretion..

See also
Eight Steps to a Successful Executive Director Evaluation 
Director/Principal Assessment Questionnaire 
Sample Administrative Policy