This spring, North Carolina's 2026 Teacher Working Conditions Survey drew responses from more than 102,000 educators. Teachers reported working an average of 9.3 hours a week outside the school day, and many said they lose planning time because they're asked to cover other classes. A pilot survey of principals in 11 districts found more than three-quarters working at least 51 hours a week. (NC Newsline, May 6, 2026: https://ncnewsline.com/2026/05/06/nc-teachers-loyal-to-schools-but-warn-of-unsustainable-workloads-i...)
Not all of that time is ours to give back. But some of it traces to how we communicate: the scattered emails, the “quick ask,” the deadline buried in paragraph four. That part sits fully inside a principal’s control.
➡️ What's one recurring task, yours or your teachers', that you've managed to shrink or eliminate this year? What made it stick?
This Week's Resource: Skills in the Gemini app
https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/17094296?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
Google began rolling out skills in the Gemini app on October 13 (https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/10/an-update-on-launch-of-skills-in-gemini-app-and-work...). A skill is a saved set of instructions you write once, then call up in any chat by typing "/". You can stack several in one prompt. Skills are replacing Gems; for education accounts, Gems stop working no sooner than June 1, 2027.
How to build one:
- Go to gemini.google.com, signed in with your school account.
- In the sidebar, click Customize (look under More if you don't see it), then Skills.
- Click Create, then either Create with Gemini to build it conversationally, or Create manually to type a name, description, and instructions.
- Click Create to save.
- In any new chat, type "/", choose your skill, and paste in your notes.
A practical example: a "staff-week-ahead" skill. The instructions might read: "Turn my rough notes into one weekly staff memo under 250 words. Open with one specific thank-you drawn from my notes. Sort everything into Must Do (with deadline), Good to Know, and Optional. Flag any item that would eat into teacher planning time and ask me whether it can move or go. Never add dates, names, or events that aren't in my notes." Teachers get one predictable message instead of six, and you get a nudge to cut an ask before it lands.
Before you start: rollout is gradual through mid-November, so Skills may not appear yet. Your district must have the Gemini app turned on, and Google lists Keep Activity on as a requirement (your district may control it). Skills inside Docs and Gmail are a separate, delayed rollout requiring the Google AI Pro for Education add-on.
A privacy note: A skill is saved and reused, so keep its instructions free of names or details about any student or staff member. Build it in your school account, never a personal one; Google notes that data a personal account shares with consumer Gemini Apps may be used for model training (https://support.google.com/docs/answer/14615114). Under the Workspace for Education terms (https://workspace.google.com/terms/education_terms/), Google acts as a School Official under FERPA and school chats aren't human-reviewed or used for training, but your district's AI policy still governs. And if you're eyeing a walkthrough-feedback skill: observation notes are personnel records. FERPA doesn't reach them; state personnel law, bargaining agreements, and public-records rules may.
Try building one skill this week and tell us in the comments what it saved you, or where it tripped you up
