I want you to meet my principal, Mrs. Parlette. Mrs. Parlette came to us last year as an experienced principal from another school district. Of course, having spent over twenty years in the classroom myself, I was very interested in the kind of leadership she would bring to our school.

I learned quickly that Mrs. Parlette was very clear about her expectations. She said that her interest as a leader was the success of every child in our school. And, symbolic of that leadership, she intended to be constantly visible and accessible by conducting classroom walkthroughs.

When she first made the announcement, I have to admit I was nervous. I shared with my teaching partner across the hall, “I am a bit concerned that she will be looking for things I might be doing wrong and just using walkthroughs as a ‘gotcha.’”

I found that I was not alone in these feelings. Other teachers also felt some concern about the walkthrough idea.

At one of our first faculty meetings, Mrs. Parlette said, “I need your help in creating the walkthrough protocol. I want the walkthroughs to be aligned to our other school improvement efforts and connected to our professional development. I also want to reassure you that these walkthroughs are not evaluations.” She worked hard in the beginning to make us all feel comfortable.

In my classes, I noticed that students were having a difficult time communicating through writing. I talked to some of my other colleagues and found this was a common challenge. I suggested to Mrs. Parlette that we focus the initial walkthroughs on our initiative to increase the amount of student writing across the curriculum. We suggested that during walkthroughs Mrs. Parlette look for evidence such as displays of student writing on the walls, students maintaining writing journals and sharing drafts of their writing with each other, and how well students were able to explain the writing process.

In the weeks that followed, Mrs. Parlette piloted the walkthrough process. One day she walked into my classroom and sat quietly in the back, observing and taking notes. Afterwards, we had a meeting. Mrs. Parlette spent much of the time asking me questions.

“In working with this group again on writing, what would you do the same and what would you change?” she asked. “For those students who found writing success early, what ways can they be involved in helping others who were challenged by writing assignments?”

As I reflected on the decisions I made and strategies I used in my classroom, I realized that Mrs. Parlette was promoting a professional conversation about our teaching craft. After a few weeks of walkthroughs the staff received a survey asking for anonymous feedback on the conduct and value of the walkthroughs.

As a result of the survey, Mrs. Parlette implemented one of our suggestions and invited teachers to join her in the walkthroughs. I had the opportunity to join the principal as she did walkthroughs in my colleagues’ classrooms. It was such an exciting experience!

Afterwards, I told our principal, “This was truly a professional learning day for me…I got so many new ideas on ways to integrate writing in various lessons.”

Joining Mrs. Parlette in the walkthroughs also contributed to our sense of being a community of learners.

The next time she walked into my room with my partner from across the hall, I smiled because I knew they were in for a treat!

At the last faculty meeting, Mrs. Parlette told us, “These walkthroughs helped me learn more about what you do, the challenges you face, and the risks you take to improve your teaching. I now see how I can support you better and how you might support each other. Thank you for working with me this year.”

The way Mrs. Parlette conducted walkthroughs elevated us to a higher level of professionalism. She helped all of us create a school culture of learning… where everyone is improving. As for myself, I remain driven to refine and improve my teaching practices. Thank you Mrs. Parlette! Thank you for treating me as a true professional.