Making January through March Your Most Focused Stretch of the Year

Every campus hits the same crossroads in January. You return from the break, everyone feels rested, the energy is high, and then within a week the building can slide right back into old habits. The difference between drifting and driving comes down to one thing: your January through March plan.

These three months are where momentum is built. When a principal walks into January with clarity, the whole staff locks in behind them. When they walk in trying to “figure it out as we go,” January turns into March before any real progress lands.

Here’s how I think about this stretch when I work with principals.

Start with the focus

You can’t afford twelve priorities. You can barely afford three. I always ask principals to reflect on what gives them energy, what drains them, and which two big pushes would make the biggest difference. Energy drives execution. When you’re energized, your staff feels it.

The Gameplan

Every great NFL coach walks into Sunday with a Gameplan in hand. You’ve seen it. That thick, laminated sheet they study between every play. It’s the script: what to run on 3rd-and-short, how to adjust if the defense shifts, where the weaknesses are, and what the team will lean on when pressure hits. A principal needs the same thing. Your January through March Gameplan is the laminated sheet for your campus. It’s your script for the spring. It keeps you out of reactive mode, keeps your leadership team aligned, and prevents the “we’ll figure it out when we get there” approach that kills momentum.

A strong Gameplan includes:

• What you want teachers focused on each day

• What your leadership team is monitoring and adjusting

• What systems must stay tight

• How you’re using walkthroughs and data cycles

• What you expect to see by the end of each month

• What you will not chase, add, or tolerate during this stretch

Just like the NFL, a Gameplan doesn’t guess. It anticipates. When a coach sticks to the script, the team plays fast, confident, and united. When they abandon it, everything feels scattered. Schools are no different. When leaders stick to their Gameplan, the building settles, the noise drops, and the results start stacking.

Your staff doesn’t need fifty new ideas in January. They need one clear, steady Gameplan they can trust. Here is an example of one of mine.

Daily moves for you

A strong January through March plan isn’t vague goals. It’s built on what you do each morning to keep the school steady. Predictable rhythms. Tight communication. Clear expectations. Visible leadership. When you show consistency, the entire building settles and follows your lead.

Daily moves for your leadership team

Your team needs clarity just as much as you do. They should know what they monitor each day, when they meet, and what adjustments they’re responsible for making. Leadership teams drift when roles aren’t defined. They stay sharp when each person owns a lane.

1% Walkthroughs

This is the semester where 1% Walkthroughs become your quiet superpower. These aren’t “gotcha” observations. These are short, sharp visits that give teachers one small improvement to build on. One percent at a time compounds. By March, a campus that gets fifty small nudges is a different campus than the one that is suddenly shoved.

Systems that create momentum

This is the time to tighten everything: master calendar, meeting structures, walkthrough expectations, communication routines, sub-pop monitoring, and data cycles. Strong systems lower the drama and raise performance. Weak systems do the opposite.

Communicate early and often

December is where you preview your Gameplan so January doesn’t hit people sideways. Teachers want clarity. They want to know what matters and how their daily actions connect to the bigger picture. When you communicate early, staff walks in ready to go on Day 1.

Why this matters

The principals who thrive are the ones who walk into January with confidence and a plan they can defend. The ones who struggle are still “thinking through” their priorities while everyone else is already halfway through them.

Give yourself the gift of clarity. Write the Gameplan. Share it. Use 1% Walkthroughs to build daily momentum. Protect the plan with everything you’ve got.

Your campus will thank you in March.