Earlier this week Jasmine opened a powerful reflection around the reality of educational leadership and the endless plates we keep spinning. From teacher support and parent communication to district initiatives and “other duties assigned,” it’s easy to feel like the joy that drew us into education sometimes gets buried under the weight of routine.
In my own experience, both in the classroom and now supporting leaders across the country, I’ve had weeks that felt like a balancing act between inspiration and overload. Yet, the moments that bring me back to why I do what I do almost always come through a connection. Whether it’s a conversation with a teacher, a shared laugh with a student, or a note from a family that reminds me of impact.
This week’s resource builds on our earlier conversation by helping you find small efficiencies that protect time and preserve authenticity, especially in communication.
Principal Communications Templates
Purpose: Design reusable, authentic templates for the messages you send most
Think about the types of messages you send frequently. Are they staff reminders, family newsletters, teacher feedback summaries, or quick community updates? All of these can become opportunities to strengthen trust and clarity, not just add to your to-do list. Do you already have templates for these communications? How effective and authentic to your voice are they? Let’s design (or re-design) a customizable communication template/framework that sounds like you, using AI as a tool for ideas.
Try this:
- List frequent communications (staff reminders, meeting follow ups, family updates, etc.)
- Choose one message type you send regularly that tends to drain your time.
- Draft a prompt and use an AI tool of your choice (such as Gemini) to co-design your first reusable framework. Feel free to copy and paste, customize/modify the following:
Prompt:
“Help me draft a [type of message] that reflects my authentic tone. My tone is [warm, reflective, direct, supportive, etc.]. Include sections for [greeting, purpose, main message, appreciation, call to action]. Add placeholders for [dates, names, events, links]. Keep it concise and consistent with a principal’s weekly communication”
Review, Refine and Test: Does the communication sound like you? Consider creating a Gemini Gem with your refined prompt. Once you've refined a prompt that works, Click on ‘Explore Gems’ and the + New Gem button. You can give your Gem a Name, Description, Instructions, and a Prompt. In the Knowledge section, you can upload existing templates or communications documents with no personally identifiable information (PII) in them as a reference. It is very important to ensure any reference you share with any AI tool has no PII such as names, birthdates, addresses or anything else that is personally identifiable or confidential.
You can share your Gem link with assistant principals or office staff so the whole leadership team benefits from the same tone and clarity. Each time you use your Gem, adjusting the wording slightly helps keep messages feeling authentic and current.
Share: Share your finalized prompts, outputs, and/or any reflections you have on the time it took to create a framework and/or gem with the community in the thread here.
Optional Deeper Dive:
I came across some resources on the NAESP (National Association of Elementary School Principals) website while working on this resource, and in particular I was impressed with the access to digital issues of Principal magazine. This week I recommend:
A Principal’s Cheat Sheet to a Universe of Messaging Tools on pages 13-15 of the November/December 2025 issue! You can also use AI to help create your own Cheat Sheet like this using the tools currently in use with your district.
Garden, L. (2025). A principal’s cheat sheet to a universe of messaging tools. Principal, 105(2), 12–15. National Association of Elementary School Principals. https://www.naesp.org
