I’m excited to share that my article on developing new teachers was featured as the main article in the October 2025 edition of NAESP Communicator, reaching thousands of elementary and middle school principals nationwide.
The Core Truth Every Principal Needs to Hear
The article came from a powerful moment: standing in front of brand new teachers starting their residency program, knowing they were armed with passion but facing the reality that good intentions don’t automatically translate to student outcomes. What struck me was that every principal should be having this exact conversation with their new teachers.
Here’s the truth that drives everything I teach:
The most important work principals do isn’t managing systems or analyzing data. It’s developing the people who directly impact students every day.
It’s the fundamental shift that separates schools that survive from schools that transform student outcomes.
The 4 F’s Framework
In the article, I share the four principles that separate good teachers from great ones. Four simple words that all start with F: Feedback, Follow the Best, Focus on Data, and Fun. These aren’t just nice ideas. They’re the foundation of teacher success that principals can actively cultivate in their buildings.
Why This Framework Matters
I tell the story of a first year teacher who surpassed her mentor teacher in her first year because she was so hungry for feedback. When I left her classroom one day to use the restroom, planning to come right back to give her real time feedback, she literally chased me down the hallway. She couldn’t wait.
That hunger for improvement is what separates those who grow exponentially from those who plateau. But principals have to create the culture where this is possible.
The article explores how principals can implement each of the 4 F’s practically:
Feedback requires creating a culture where it’s expected, not feared. Daily and weekly classroom visits should be the norm, not just evaluation season observations.
Follow the Best means deliberately pairing new teachers with your strongest performers and creating structured opportunities to observe excellence, both in your building and beyond.
Focus on Data starts with a hard truth: never assume that because you taught it, they got it. In fact, 100 percent of your students did not master it the first time. Plan for reteaching based upon data from day one.
Fun gives teachers permission to be human. Your first year of anything will be challenging, but this work is only sustainable if you don’t take yourself too seriously.
The Ripple Effect
When principals invest in new teachers with this kind of intentionality, they’re not just improving individual classrooms. They’re building the culture of their entire school. Today’s feedback hungry teacher becomes tomorrow’s mentor who expects growth from everyone.
The teacher who chased me down the hallway for feedback? She’s a teacher leader and mentor now, known for the culture of continuous improvement she builds wherever she goes.
Read the Full Article
The complete article includes specific strategies principals can use immediately, monthly check in frameworks, and insights on how to create building wide systems that make these principles easier to follow.
You can read the full article on the NAESP website: What Principals Should Teach Every New Teacher
This framework aligns directly with the accountability systems I write about in my upcoming book, Hope Is Not a Strategy: How Great Leaders Build Real Accountability, launching January 14th, 2026. Pre-sales begin in early to mid-December with a discounted e-book on Amazon. Real accountability isn’t about compliance. It’s about building the people and systems that drive student outcomes.
Share This With Your Network
If this framework resonates with you, I’d be grateful if you’d help spread the message to other school leaders who need to hear it:
• Share on LinkedIn and tag colleagues who work with new teachers
• Forward this post to principals and instructional coaches in your network
• Send the NAESP article link to your district leadership team
• Print and discuss the 4 F’s framework in your next leadership meeting
The more principals who understand that developing people is their most important work, the more students we impact together.
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Brandi Nicole Chin, PhD is a nationally recognized expert in educational leadership and founder of the highest performing middle school in Denver. She has coached hundreds of school leaders nationwide and currently leads strategic initiatives expanding high quality school options throughout Missouri. Her book Hope Is Not a Strategy: How Great Leaders Build Real Accountability launches January 14th, 2026.