The School Administration Manager (SAM) project helps school leaders spend their time where the impact is highest: working directly with students and teachers. The SAM project brings together tools, data and coaching to help administrators spend more time on instructional leadership and less on school management. The overall goal is to improve instruction and school climate, eventually increasing student achievement.

Delaware is one of eleven states in the National SAM Project. Visit the national project site.

Read the 2011 Implementation of the National SAM Innovation Project: A Comparison of Project Desgins

Essential elements of the project include:

• Data collection – annual shadowing of the principal and daily use of TimeTrack software to analyze the use of time

• Delegation – identify a School Administration Manager (SAM) to assume some management tasks and schedule/protect the principal’s time. This could be an existing staff member (e.g. secretary) or a new position.

• Reflection – daily meetings between administrator and SAM and monthly “time change coaching” with a DASL coach

• Professional development – alignment of instructional time with district/school improvement goals

Delaware administrators began participating in the SAM project in 2008-09 and many have already shown major progress. Learn how they delegate management tasks and spend more time on instruction. See a sample annual data report. Read what Delaware school leaders and SAMs say about the project.

Prior to officially joining the SAM project, DASL conducted research on Delaware administrators’ use of time.   See a presentation and read a paper about the results.