Dear PRINCIPALS, make life easier for all of us

Hey, what’s up, parents and teachers?

This is a video for principals—but principals don’t usually follow my content. So this video is really for you, parents and teachers, to forward to your principals.

As soon as you hear what I’m talking about, I think you’ll want to send this to them. So go ahead and listen, and then decide whether you’d like to share it with the principal of your school.

With all due respect, this is a message that probably needs to reach them.

Principals, hello.

My name is Seth Perler. I’m an executive function coach based in Boulder, Colorado, which means I work with struggling students and help them navigate this thing called education.

I work with students who struggle with attention, concentration, focus, organization, and time management. These are often kids who have a lot of late work, missing assignments, zeros, and incompletes. They may appear unmotivated and are often accused of being lazy, undisciplined, or not caring enough about school.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about these students.

However, principals, I have hardly any principals who follow my work.

Recently, we held an executive function summit with about 10,000 families. There were teachers, parents, therapists, and many other professionals involved. Afterward, we looked at who had attended.

There wasn’t a single principal there.

Not one.

And it baffles me.

I don’t understand why principals seem so disconnected from these issues. That’s not an accusation—it’s simply my observation from working with countless families.

Families need you.

Schools need you.

Teachers need your leadership.

In this video, I want to talk about one very important issue that I’ve discussed before. If you’d like to find that video, search for the word “principal.” I’ll try to link it below.

The same issue keeps coming up, and I want to explain what it is and what you can do about it.

Principals, there is something you can do that would make everybody’s life easier on so many levels. I genuinely don’t understand why more principals aren’t leading on this issue, and I want to encourage you to start.

Now, who am I? Who is this Seth guy, and why should you listen to him?

I don’t know what your reaction may be, but I hope you’ll receive this message in the spirit in which it’s intended: with kindness, generosity, compassion, empathy, and respect for what you do.

We need you to lead in this area.

Let me tell you a story.

I just finished meeting with one of my students here at my office.

He’s a student who has struggled for as long as he can remember. He’s never fit neatly into the traditional educational box. He’s now a sophomore in high school and is still struggling.

He recently started a new class for the new quarter. There are assignments, expectations, homework, and responsibilities in this class.

But the teacher hasn’t provided any paperwork.

There’s no syllabus.

There are no handouts.

Nothing.

We looked online.

I found the teacher’s name on the school website. It said, “Click here for teacher website.”

I clicked.

404 error.

No website.

We checked Schoology.

Nothing.

Google Classroom.

Nothing.

Infinite Campus.

Nothing.

No useful information anywhere.

So how am I supposed to support this student?

How are his parents supposed to support him?

And how is a student who genuinely struggles with executive function supposed to figure out the expectations of the class?

Principals, this is where you can lead.

If I sound frustrated, it’s because I am.

I deal with this constantly.

If I had a dollar for every time I encountered this issue, I’d be a billionaire. Of course, that’s an exaggeration—but you get my point.

Please get your teachers on a consistent system with consistent expectations.

Here’s one recommendation:

Tell teachers that, for example, on the first and third Monday of every month, grades must be fully updated.

Everybody is on the same schedule.

Everybody knows what to expect.

Will it require some effort?

Maybe.

But in the long run, it saves time and frustration for everyone.

It’s incredibly frustrating when a student appears to be doing fine and then, seven weeks into a grading period, a teacher suddenly updates a large amount of old work and the student is now failing the class.

The day before, they had an A or B.

Get your teachers on the same routine.

I don’t care exactly what that routine is—just create one that makes sense for your school community.

Another thing:

Please create a master page on your school website where all teacher links can be found in one place.

It’s unreasonable to expect students to search through multiple portals just to figure out what’s expected of them.

Life is already hard enough.

School is already hard enough.

At the very least, students and parents should be able to visit one page, click on a teacher’s name, and immediately access everything they need.

The teacher’s page should clearly explain:

* Which classes they teach
* Which platforms they use
* Where assignments are posted
* How often information is updated
* How parents and students can contact them
* What homework expectations are

For example, it could say:

“Your child should receive homework approximately two nights per week, requiring about 45 minutes each time. If this is not happening, please contact me so we can discuss appropriate accommodations or support.”

The goal is clarity.

Parents and students should be able to quickly find the exact information they need.

When I sit down with students in my office, we often spend enormous amounts of time simply trying to locate information across Schoology, Google Classroom, Infinite Campus, teacher websites, and other platforms.

That’s time that could be spent learning.

That’s time that could be spent doing meaningful work.

And for students with executive function challenges, navigating all of those systems is ten times harder.

The parents often don’t know where to look either.

So this is my plea to you.

If I sound frustrated, I am.

And it’s not personal.

I don’t mean this as criticism.

I just don’t see enough principals who seem aware of what families are going through simply to gain clarity about what needs to be done.

That’s not okay.

Some principals may be thinking, “Well, it’s the student’s responsibility,” or “It’s the parents’ responsibility.”

But think about your own life.

Think about dealing with medical insurance.

Think about banking.

Think about any situation where one organization communicates clearly and another communicates poorly.

You know the difference.

Now put yourself in these families’ shoes.

They’re just trying to figure out what’s going on.

Please make it easier for them.

Please understand what they’re going through.

We need your help.

We need your leadership.

We need you to step up in this way.

I know you work hard.

I know you’re dealing with your own challenges, responsibilities, and bureaucracy.

I know you’re trying to balance a lot.

But this is something that can save everyone time, energy, and frustration.

Even teachers benefit.

When information is easy to find online, teachers don’t have to repeatedly print materials or answer the same questions over and over again because expectations are already clearly communicated.

So that’s my plea.

I don’t say this for me.

I say this for our kids.

Our kids need support.

They need clarity.

They need systems that work.

Thank you so much.

Again, my name is Seth Perler. I’m an executive function coach based in Boulder, Colorado. I help struggling students navigate this thing called education.

Now I’m going to get back to some of my work for the evening.

Take care.