Misdiagnosed staff overwhelm

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Twenty days into the school year, and the staff was already “overwhelmed.”

A principal on one of our mastermind calls shared his situation.

The ask? Two hours per month for PLCs. With full autonomy over how they use that time.

His ninth-grade success program? Completely reasonable early intervention work that prevents students from falling through cracks.

But teachers were pushing back hard. One respected teacher told him “everyone’s feeling overwhelmed.”

Here’s what made it interesting.

This principal had just landed at a new school. Smaller than his previous building. Rural. About 600 kids.

The previous principal had been there 15 years. Ran the place like a bulldozer. Zero trust with staff.

(read that again!)

And during COVID? The district gave everything back. No accountability. No structure. Teachers got used to complete autonomy.

Now this principal shows up with systems that should’ve been in place all along.

Meeting twice a month for an hour isn’t a heavy lift.

But when you’ve spent three years with zero expectations, even the basics feel like Mount Everest.

Here’s the thing:

Sometimes the ask isn’t unreasonable. It’s just new.

And there’s a massive difference between the two.