Weekly Phone Calls Keep School Priorities on Track

A few weeks into my superintendency, I learned a tough lesson. As I launched our districtwide strategic development process and the work took shape, I quickly realized that if I wanted our daily work to align to our goals, I needed to implement consistent, repetitive checkpoints. What dawned on me is that while the vision may be clear on Monday, other priorities can quickly blur it by Wednesday. 

It wasn’t because the administrators didn’t care or suddenly lost focus. Rather, the everyday demands and pressures created small deviations and shifts from our priorities that quickly compound over time.

Facing this reality, I decided that I needed a way to keep our initiatives anchored in a weekly practice, not just during quarterly reviews or annual goal-setting cycles. What I landed on out of necessity is now one of my most powerful practices as a superintendent, which I call “Friday Fifteens.”

What are Friday Fifteens?

Friday Fifteens are weekly, 15-minute intentional meetings that I have with each principal in my district. They are

• scheduled back-to-back every Friday morning—the agenda is predictable and the time is protected;
• intentionally brief to maintain focus;
• anchored in coaching and instructional leadership; and
• flexible enough to adapt to pressing issues like staffing situations or student events.

It’s important to note that these conversations are not lightly scheduled items on our administrative calendars. They are hallowed time, treated as sacred work rather than something that should be shifted or postponed.

Why 15 Minutes Each Week Matters

Unfortunately, most strategic plans don’t have the impact they are designed for because they aren’t tethered to ongoing, real-time reflection and coaching. Of course, quarterly and annual reviews have their place, but those are too infrequent to catch misalignment before the ship is too far off course.

Each Friday Fifteen meeting does three things consistently:

It ensures alignment between our work and our instructional priorities. We strive to start each call with instruction first. Whether it’s progress toward key metrics, student-centered learning, or staff development, that is our primary focus. We hold the belief that the classroom is where the real work lives and where the outcomes of our goals are revealed.

It surfaces real conditions in the trenches. During the meeting, principals share critical issues for that week, whether it’s a personnel challenge or an instructional breakthrough. My intent is to anchor my responses and questions to the strategic priorities that we’ve developed over the summer months rather than defaulting to quick fixes or misaligned suggestions.

We primarily focus on student achievement and operational updates. We start by discussing students’ progress. This is primarily academic but can be other areas as well, such as data, evidence from walk-throughs, special education, Multitiered System of Supports, or other challenges. As for operational updates, we’ll touch on the administrative or operational matters that need attention, such as budgetary issues, staffing concerns, or challenges with morale.

It nurtures alignment without micromanaging. Because these conversations are coaching conversations and not compliance checks, we are candid with one another. We’ve built a level of trust, so the principals aren’t reporting on items they think I want to hear. They’re discussing real situations in real time.

Over time, upholding these three characteristics ensured that we stayed focused on our why, with targeted and direct conversations.

What to do When Alignment Shifts 

There are weeks when progress on a priority drifts away from the goals we originally set. When that happens, we treat it as data. One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that realignment is achieved faster from asking better questions. 

When the principal or I sense that a school’s focus is moving off course, we slow the conversation down and intentionally become curious about the cause. We work hard to stay away from solution-seeking too early so that we fully grasp the problem. I’ve learned that quick fixes, over-prescribing solutions, and quick assumptions can quietly reinforce the misalignment.

For example, we’ve experienced a severe substitute teacher shortage over the last year. One of my principals spent an enormous amount of time solving coverage issues and working to fill the gaps. In our system, this is a real issue that has to be managed well. But if we’re not careful, the entire conversation can stay at the level of daily problem-solving. We can spend the entire time asking, “How are we going to survive the day?” and very little time asking, “What is this issue telling us about our system?”

In a Friday Fifteen, we acknowledge the immediate pressure while stepping back from it. Our goal is not to minimize the pressures of the day, but to acknowledge them while making sure they do not keep us from examining the larger pattern or issue. So, I use a small set of questions that encourage thinking rather than prescribe answers:

• What assumptions are informing this decision?
• What barriers might be in play that we haven’t named yet?
• What support would help bring this work back into coherence with our goals?

These questions enable us to clarify direction, create space for reflection, and move us into a space of shared understanding and ownership. The goal is to stay out of reaction mode and ensure that our conversations and decisions intentionally align our actions with purpose.

Practical Leadership Takeaways from Friday Fifteens

Routine Friday Fifteens align intentions with outcomes. The weekly cadence creates continuity that large meetings can never replicate.

Short meetings sharpen our focus. A fixed, short time frame forces clarity for the principal and me.

Coaching fosters alignment. Alignment isn’t about the administrator reporting up, it’s about thinking together on key aspects of the work.

Now, as I wrap up my seventh year as superintendent, I’ve learned how easily unplanned urgent matters can overtake our Friday meeting. We don’t ignore urgent issues; instead, we make sure the right person handles them appropriately. Some issues need an immediate call, a follow-up meeting, or a different level of support. But the Friday Fifteen is designed to protect time for the work most connected to student achievement. That structure helps the principal and me respond to what is urgent without drifting away from what is most important.

And that’s why, for me and my principals, these conversations are more than meetings—they’re the weekly heartbeat of progress.