Why Every School Leader Should Teach Again

Type: Article
Topics: Leadership Development, School Administrator Magazine

March 01, 2026

My View

What did two weeks in a 6th-grade classroom recently remind me about leadership?

On the first day of school, I stood in front of the class with a simple lesson plan and a knot in my stomach. It had been more than a decade since I taught full-time. As an assistant superintendent, my days usually involve board of education reports, compliance updates and district-level problem solving. This time, I was in a 6th-grade classroom at our middle school, covering for an unfilled position.

What began as a two-week stopgap became a powerful reality check about leadership. I’ve now concluded that every administrator should spend time in the classroom again, not as an evaluator or observer, but as the teacher.

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Shelly Wilfong

Assistant superintendent

Wawasee Community Schools, Syracuse, Ind.

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