First, we need to understand how a school’s principal could affect your child’s learning experience. Below are the key roles that school leaders might play:

• Defining a vision of academic success for the school
• Ensuring that the school environment is safe and conducive for learning
• Boosting staff morale, so that staff feel motivated to work towards the school’s vision
• Serving as a mentor for staff and students
• Overseeing school processes and implementing improvements where needed

Just like in any other profession, you may have heard about poorly managed school environments where teachers are languishing in comfort zones, or worse, feeling overworked and underappreciated. In high-needs schools with a larger proportion of learning and discipline issues, you might have observed that the staff seem to be barely coping, especially in these trying Covid-19 times.

That said, you are limited in your perspective as an external observer, and it will be difficult for you to assess if a school principal is truly doing a good job. For simplicity, you could look at a school’s performance in milestone exams such as the O- and N-Levels, but new principals will also need time to turn things around — and results may not be their topmost priority.

Perhaps more crucial than results is a principal’s commitment to strengthening the school culture. Where school culture is concerned, there are two things that parents can look out for. First, what are the principal’s plans for creating a deeper sense of belonging among students, teachers, and the wider stakeholder community, such as parents and alumni? To find out, here are some questions that you could put across to a new principal during a meet-the-parents webinar:

• What are your plans to make the school environment more welcoming and enticing for students? Are there plans to create community spaces for students to build friendships beyond the classroom? (This could be as simple as designating a space in the canteen for games such as chess, subject to prevailing social distancing guidelines.)
• How will you use data to improve outcomes for students? 
• What efforts will you take to protect the mental health of teaching staff — especially during Covid-19 — to prevent exhaustion and burnout?
• How will you build the parent volunteer or alumni community?

Second, you can also enquire about the school’s goals, and whether teachers and students are aware of their role in fulfilling the school’s vision. For instance, in a school where students are taught the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” there may be numerous posters on the school walls to remind students to live by these daily habits.

Some questions that you can ask include:

• Will the school be reassessing or changing its vision statement under the new leadership?
• Currently, what are the school’s biggest challenges? What areas will be addressed first, and in what ways?
• Will there be new opportunities for students, so that they can grow in the areas outlined by the school vision?
• Are students taught to set academic and non-academic goals in line with the school vision? How is this implemented in the classroom, and how will students track their progress?

Finally, don’t forget that principals need care just as much as anyone else. In fact, you can think of principals as the “heart of the education system” — if they are not thriving, you can be sure that the school will falter too. To show your concern for the new principal, you could ask questions such as “How can parents help to ease your transition into the school?” or “What can parents do to support you?”

In December 2021, 35 secondary schools will see the appointment of new principals. For your convenience, we have included information on these schools and their new principals in the table below. Do note that two of the listed schools — Fuchun Secondary School and the School of Science and Technology (both marked with an asterisk) — will not be participating in the Secondary 1 posting process.

We hope that this information will be helpful to you, whether you are at the point of helping your child to research secondary schools, or are feeling slightly unsettled about the impending change in your child’s school. It may help to realise that principals alone do not have the power to make or break a school. As a parent, you can certainly make a difference, so don’t hesitate to step up and lend a hand.