Recently, I was facilitating a leadership workshop when I asked a simple question: 'How many classrooms were you in yesterday?' The room got quiet. Finally, someone answered, 'Well...none. But I had six discipline referrals, two parent meetings, and a bus issue.' Heads nodded around the room, and then someone added on:
“Honestly, if we started walking into classrooms all of a sudden, many teachers would assume something was wrong.”
We hear this sentiment all the time. And every time we do, we're reminded of something important. It's not that school leaders don't value classroom visits—the demands of the job are real. But this response reveals something much bigger than classroom visits.
If classroom visits only happen during formal evaluations, it makes sense that people may wonder why a leader is there. When classroom visits are rare, they can easily be interpreted as a sign that something is wrong rather than a routine part of supporting teaching and learning. The goal is to reframe this by working with educators. Over the years, I have learned that collective bargaining agreements do not prevent leaders from conducting informal, non-evaluative classroom walk-throughs.
Culture does.
Culture isn't created by announcing new expectations. It's created by repeated experiences that reshape how people think and feel.
If teachers only see administrators entering classrooms to do evaluations, then classroom visits become synonymous with judgment. That is not a contractual issue; that is a culture issue.
School leaders must think critically and creatively about how they can build a culture in which an informal drop-in visit is not seen as evaluative, but rather, is embraced as a cultural norm, a conversation and celebration, and a practice in which everyone grows individually and collectively. Building this type of culture starts with three essential commitments:
The purpose of informal classroom visits isn't to catch teachers doing something wrong. It's to better understand the student experience, celebrate great teaching, identify trends across classrooms, and provide support that is grounded in what is actually happening.
So, how do we do this?
Here are five tips (and a bonus tip!) for school leaders to create a culture where classroom visits are the norm and not the exception.
One thing that I used to do to help build this culture is to start small by asking the teachers to invite me in. Of course, not all teachers will do this to start, and that’s okay, but a simple ask at a staff meeting early in the year (and continually, as the year progresses) can help open doors as a first step in creating this culture. Simply say something such as, “I know each of you is doing amazing and creative things, and I would love to see those. So, any time you are doing something ‘cool’ or trying something you are exceptionally proud of and/or excited about, let me know. I would love to check it out.” This is a super positive way to start to get into classrooms and establish the culture. Plus, word starts to spread. When one teacher does this and shares with their colleagues that it was a positive experience, others become more likely to invite you in, too.
This is another critical step to spreading the word about the value of these visits. After visiting a classroom, we must be sure to do two things. First, we must privately praise those teachers. A handwritten note is a great way to do this, but if not that, at least send an email. They need to know that you are excited about what you saw, and this cannot wait! If you really are trying to build this culture, they need to get this praise the same day or first thing the next day. Second, if it is okay with the teacher, find a way to praise publicly. Bring up the awesome stuff you saw at the next faculty meeting, or better yet, ask the teachers who you visited if they would be willing to spend a few minutes at the start of the next staff meeting sharing their awesome strategy or lesson with the team. The more we get teachers talking about what is going on in their classrooms, the more we normalize these sorts of visits and create the culture needed to grow the work.
This can be part of the “why” that must be shared with staff, and when done with intentionality, teachers have more clarity. An example of this might be letting staff know that for the month of September, you will be doing informal drop-ins with the sole focus on openings of lessons (or fill in the blank: questioning, discussion, small group work, etc). This removes the mystery around why you are visiting, but also, it has a way of building a culture around a shared focus across all staff. Want to take this to the next level? Include your staff in collaboratively creating the specific look-for for the week of X or month of Y. This can be done synchronously as a discussion during a staff meeting or asynchronously via some sort of Google form, but creating this focus area together will only better empower staff throughout this journey.
If you really want to create the culture in which drop-ins from the administration shift from awkward to accepted to welcomed, you/the entire administrative team must commit to this. It cannot be something that becomes a “I wanted to get into some classrooms this week, but I just ran out of time.” Find the commitment strategy that works best for you. I have seen some leaders do this by blocking out 20 minutes three days a week that become completely “untouchable” on their calendar. Others have blocked out a bigger chunk, such as an hour or an hour and a half, one time a week. You know your schedule best; just be sure to create your plan and stick to it. Also, make that plan public to the staff. You will be more likely to stick to your plan if your staff know that “I will be doing visits every Wednesday” (or whatever your plan is). And don’t worry, this plan can change as your schedule changes, but what cannot change is that this time is scheduled as a non-negotiable in your work week.
One of the best ways to make these visits welcomed and feeling different than the formal, evaluative visits is to have some fun with it. Students working in groups? Join a group and join the conversation. Teacher asking questions of the whole class? Raise your hand and add your thoughts and/or try to answer the question/problem being discussed. Laugh with the kids. Become part of the lesson instead of standing on the “sidelines.” When we do our formal observations, we are so burdened down with taking notes/scripting all that we are seeing that often, joining as a “student” is virtually impossible; however, when we consistently visit informally, we can leave the pen and paper and/or laptop “at home” and jump in as a learner. This makes the entire experience more fun for you, for the teacher, and for the students. And honestly, it helps the students see you, the administrator, in a very different way - and a very positive one at that.
This great idea comes to us from our colleagues at the North Queensland (Australia) Regional Office of Education. As they do their classroom visits, upon leaving each classroom, they ask for a few student volunteers to come with them out into the hall to ask a few follow-up questions. They are asked questions such as: “What was the learning goal of that lesson?” “How did you know?” “What does success look like for today’s learning?” as well as “What is something you really like about your teacher?” Then, when the school leaders debrief with the teachers they saw, they can highlight some of the things that the students shared, which only helps enrich the discussion.
At the end of the day, trust and culture are not built by leaders staying out of classrooms; they are built by leaders joining the learning community on a regular basis. The most effective instructional leaders don’t know what is happening in the classrooms because someone tells them. They know because they were there.
So this year, open a classroom door. Not because you have to evaluate. Walk in because that's where the most important work in your school is happening. Show up with curiosity, celebrate what you see, and keep coming back. Culture isn't built through a single visit—it is built through hundreds of small, consistent moments that remind teachers and students that learning matters enough for leaders to be part of it.
Because at the end of the day, the best seat in the school isn’t your office; it is the classroom!