A video by @principal-lamb on TikTok inspired assistant principal of the class of 2025 Dr. David Arledge.

“He’s got his little mobile table with his computer and his radio and everything, and he doesn’t have to go back to his office all the time, and so he’s able to be out with his kids, with his staff. So if something’s needed, he’s right there and so he doesn’t have to leave from here and go all the way down, whatever. And he’s got everything he needs with him,” Arledge said.

This is a growing trend amongst school administrators.

“It really makes it easier because you’re out with the kids,” Arledge said. ”I mean, just being visible with kids stops a lot of stuff that goes on when they know you’re around.”

As a principal, it can be easy to seem removed from your students and staff,

“It also lets the staff know that, ‘hey, you know what? He is available. He’s out. He’s ready to help and jump in wherever he is needed’,” Arledge said.

Being visible can not only remove the opportunity for students to make poor decisions, but increase relationships with students and staff. Arledge hopes that other building administrators will follow.

Assistant principal of the class of 2027 Mr. Buddy Sodemann has spent the last school year redefining what going to his office meant.

“I want kids to know that it’s not always a negative thing, and making sure that I’m building relationships with kids and taking away that stigma of going to the office, and when that happens maybe feeling like they’re in trouble it’s not always the case,” Sodemann said.

For the past year, Sodemann has been having physical meetings with every member of his class to continue interactions with his students.

“My biggest goal is to be in classrooms and be with kids, and I want to make sure that I’m visible within school, visible within the classrooms. And by getting out of my office, that helps me attain that goal the best I can,” Sodemann said.

While the rolling cart is an interesting strategy for administrators, maintaining a physical office can be beneficial for more serious parts of the job such as having sensitive meetings with parents and students. Associate principal Ms. Sarah Goodman sees the benefits of being visible and utilizes her mobile office when it makes sense.

“How I like to use it is there are times that I have to be in my office, I’m making a phone call that’s private, that has to be done in an office. But if it’s something that I just need to work on a computer, it’s a great time to just load up the computer, go out into the hallway, and then actually be talking to people,” Goodman said.

Spending more time in the hallways allows for students to have more informal discussions with school leaders and to get to know each other.

“I was told by a veteran principal once that proximity creates trust. So whenever we are with people that’s how you build trust, and we have to have trust to be able to accomplish things as a school community,” Goodman said.

Being out and about, our administrators are building community while continuing to use their physical offices to respect student confidentiality. Goodman has her office divided into different spaces.

“For instance, I have a conference table. My conference table always has fidgets on it in case someone’s nervous, because it can be really intimidating to go to the principal’s office. There’s also a seated, more comfortable area, and that’s good if someone’s really working through something difficult,” Goodman said. “It is natural to feel a level of intimidation when you go to the principal’s office like that. That is just kind of a natural thing. And that’s another reason why it is important that we are so visible, because we want to make sure students know that there’s a relationship there. That always makes things go a lot easier.”

This story was originally published on EHS-Hub on October 21, 2024.