Sound familiar? As school leaders, we are charged with meeting the demands, challenges, and responsibilities of providing leadership that strikes a balance between being fluid and flexible and establishing stability and coherence. Principals need to reassure and nurture the culture and learning of the school community, but we also carry the weight of learning loss, the impact of systemic oppression, and the pain of communities in crisis. Often, our work as school leaders can feel lonely and isolating.

But you are not alone. Across San Diego County, the collective strength, wisdom, and expertise of school leaders are among our greatest assets in serving our students and our school communities. So today, we are excited to launch The TIP Sheet: Today’s Informed Principal, sent twice each month with the goal of building capacity and connection through shared ideas, resources, and collaboration; because now, more than ever, we need one another. You can help drive The TIP Sheet content by responding to this brief leadership survey.

While the challenges that lay before us are many, we have confidence that as a group of thoughtful and resilient leaders, we will meet this moment with courage and care. Starting today, we extend an open invitation to school leaders to join a leadership collective in a united effort to depart from past practices that have not served all students; and answer our call to action for systemic change and equity in education.

We recognize and appreciate all you do for your students, staff, and families. Thank you for your dedication and your belief in the power of education.

Join virtual community forums with your peers the last Tuesday of every month from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Using an unconference format, each forum will be a participant-driven gathering where the agenda is co-developed by our community of school leaders. Participants set the topics and lead the dialogue. An SDCOE team member will host a virtual space and provide the structure to raise critical issues and solicit input from others regarding current issues in school leadership. Each forum will have two rounds of breakout discussions, with access to notes and resources generated from all the different breakouts available to everyone following the meeting.

Sign up using this form and mark your calendar for these dates:

As students return to classes, it’s important to address the historical and collective trauma everyone has experienced due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the events that spurred the current civil rights movement. The School Leaders Guide to Create Healing Dialogue Space from SDCOE's Equity and Student Support Services teams has ways to create and hold authentic, healing dialogue space for those in your school community.

Find more equity resources for educators, students, and parents on the SDCOE Equity webpage.

If you have any questions or comments about The TIP Sheet newsletter email SDCOE Executive Leadership Coach Jeff Warshaw or call 858-295-8919.