Is it ok for a kindergarten principal to visit classrooms informally; Just to find out what’s going on inside classrooms?

Certainly! Visiting the classroom is a great way to get to know the teachers and children and see what is happening in kindergarten on a daily basis. However, you should be aware of some basic guidelines so that teachers welcome your visit. Here are 10 tips to make your presence in the classroom desirable:

1. Enter the room quietly and sit or stand at the back of the room. Do not interrupt the class and do not participate unless the teacher calls you to do so. If students are busy doing an assignment, don’t walk between the rows to look at their work. That is the teacher’s job.

2. Smile.

3. Stay for a few minutes only. This is just a chance to see what’s going on and show how much you care about keeping up with all things in classrooms.

4. If you spot something great in the class, it’s OK to leave a quick positive note in the teacher’s mailbox (but it’s not necessary).

5. If you happen to see something not good, just move on. This is not an official follow-up visit. I once knew that a principal used to write their notes on a piece of paper and then fold it so that it looked like a little tent and then drop them in the teachers’ mailboxes. Teachers referred to this practice as “getting a tent.” The teachers didn’t like this way of expressing their comments, and weren’t excited about this principal’s entry into the classroom.

6. Spend time in the halls as well as the classroom. That way, if the teacher has a quick question or something, they want to tell you, you’re available then.

7. Get out of your office and walk around the hallways as much as possible. Teachers love it when administrators are visible. I know you may have a lot to do at the beginning of the day. But spending 5-10 minutes in the yards and corridors while the children enter their classrooms establishes your presence in the kindergarten.

8. Take your phone or a small notebook with you to take notes. This will help you remember questions or notes about teachers when you return to your office.

9. Visit different classrooms at different times of the day.

10. Keep smiling.

Don’t be surprised when you start visiting the classroom informally for the first time, when the teachers stop everything and ask if there’s something you need. But once they get used to seeing you, some teachers will even invite you to participate in special activities. Being visible in classrooms and halls sends a powerful message that you care about what’s going on and that you’re easily accessible.