K-12 Education Solutions Director Dal Sohi Shares 8 Imperatives for School Leaders

Dal Sohi has spent over three decades in schools as a teacher, counselor, and school principal, including leadership positions in four countries. Dal holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, a Master’s degree in Education, and an Educational Specialist’s degree in Instructional Leadership. His consulting agency, K-12 Education Solutions (k12educationsolutions.com), specializes in helping schools achieve their goals through a student focused approach that is grounded in research and data.

1. Quality teachers equal quality education. It is that simple and it is that difficult. Exemplary schools recognize that the greatest investment a school makes is in the faculty that it retains and develops to carry out its mission. Of all the resources that schools put in place to support student learning, only teachers appreciate in value.
2. None of us are as smart as all of us; schools which harness the power of collaborative learning teams will propel themselves from good to great.
3. Those things that are most important must never be at the mercy of things that are less important. Activities which are closest to student learning and well-being on the continuum are the ones which deserve the greatest energy and time.
4. Tomorrow’s world belongs to the learners, not the learned. Solving non-traditional problems in traditional ways won’t always work and we must prepare students to be innovative, creative, and self-directed learners.
5. Accountability is your friend. Find the truth and act on it. More than ever before, leaders must use data to guide their decisions. Use cold reason based on hard evidence.
6. You can have anything you want; you just can’t have everything you want. Schools who try to do too much simultaneously are destined to fail. Be clear on priorities and make a “stop doing” list.
7. Intelligent thought precedes intelligent action. However, talk should not substitute for action. Good things do not always come to those who wait and success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. Sometimes, you must set a fire.
8. At all points in time, organizations are either growing or they are dying. Organizational growth can only happen by design, not by default.

K-12 Education Solutions ’mission is to help schools achieve their goals through a student-focused approach that promotes best practice and a school culture of continuous improvement. Dal can be reached at dsohi@K12educationsolutions.com