The ABC Countdown Is On. (For Some of Us.)
The Myth of the Administrator's Summer
Every June, the countdown begins. ABC countdowns appear on classroom doors, hallway bulletin boards fill with beach themes, and somewhere in a staff meeting or a hallway conversation, someone turns to me with genuine excitement and says, "Aren't you so ready? The countdown is on!"
And I smile. Because I love that energy. I love what it represents for the teachers and students who have given everything to a school year and genuinely need to step away. They have earned every single day of that summer.
But here is what most people outside of school administration don't know: the countdown doesn't quite land the same way when you're already planning what comes next.
What the Calendar Actually Looks Like
Let me walk you through it, because I think it surprises people.
School ends. I have roughly five days, and then a summer program begins. Summer programs require staffing, planning, scheduling, and leadership, just like the regular school year. While that is running, hiring for the fall is happening simultaneously. Positions are posted, interviews are scheduled, and decisions are made. There is no pause between closing one chapter and opening the next.
Then, before the summer program wraps, summer professional development for the new school year begins. By the time August arrives and staff return with their fresh energy and new classroom supplies, the new year has already been in motion for weeks, in my head, in my calendar, and in every meeting I have been quietly running behind the scenes.
I never have a break in my cycle. I am always planning and always have to be ready for what is next.
I Knew What I Signed Up For
Here is the part I want to be clear about: I am not complaining. I knew when I stepped into this role that it was twelve months. I chose it. There is meaningful work happening in every single phase of this calendar. Summer programs serve real students with real needs, hiring decisions shape a school's culture, and planning done well in the summer makes September possible.
But there is a small gap between what people imagine and what is actually happening, and it shows up most clearly in that well-meaning question. Aren't you excited? The countdown is on.
The honest answer is: I am always planning the next thing. The excitement lives there: in the building, the preparing, the getting-ready. It just looks a little different from the outside.
So the next time you see your director, principal, or central office leader in July, know that they are probably mid-hire, mid-plan, or mid-program. They are not on a beach. They are building the year you are about to walk back into.
And they are glad to be doing it.
