Example Achievement Log for a School Principal

This log tracks a School Principal's year managing curriculum reform, staff retention, and budget pressures across a 650-student elementary school. It shows the real work: negotiating with the district office, handling staff departures mid-year, and measuring what actually moved.

A year in the life of a School Principal's log

Sep - achievement: Completed adoption of new math curriculum after two years of piloting. All K-5 teachers trained and materials delivered to classrooms; diagnostic showed baseline scores up 11 percentage points from last year's cohort.
Sep - feedback: Math lead Sarah Chen told me after training, "You fought for the time we needed. Without the two extra PD days you carved out, this would've been another half-baked rollout."
Oct - task: Fourth-grade teacher James Kovac accepted a principalship in the district; scrambled to hire and fill his class mid-semester. Posted, interviewed, hired and onboarded a mid-career career switcher by May 1.
Nov - achievement: Secured two grants totalling $87k: one from the Riverside Foundation for STEAM equipment, one from the state literacy initiative. Cut waiting list for enrichment programs by half without increasing staffing.
Nov - feedback: Assistant Superintendent Rodriguez said in the final budget meeting, "You made difficult trade-offs transparent. Most principals hide the cuts. You showed us where they were and why."
Jan - task: Led summer professional development redesign. Moved from consultant-led generic sessions to teacher-led inquiry groups focused on our actual gaps. Attendance voluntary but 31 of 35 staff attended at least one workshop.
Feb - achievement: Retained 34 of 35 teachers for the new year despite competitive district-wide attrition of 18%. Met individually with each staff member during August planning week; retention jumped from 89% last year to 97%.
Mar - task: Discovered mold in the west wing storage area during opening day setup. Reported to facilities immediately, worked with the district's environmental health officer to test three adjacent classrooms. All clear but had to relocate 120 fourth and fifth graders to portables for two weeks.
Apr - achievement: Piloted two-tier scheduling model in grades 3-5 to reduce crowding in common areas and improve lunch supervision ratios. Reduced incident reports in the cafeteria by 34% in the first month.
May - task: Managed parent complaint about homework load in upper grades. Met with three families separately, reviewed assignment logs with grade-level teams, found inconsistent expectations. Facilitated department agreement on clear guidelines; one family withdrew complaint.
Jun - feedback: Special Education Coordinator Lisa Okafor said, "The way you handled the accommodation conversations with those families set a tone. They felt heard, not defensive."

What makes a strong entry

What most people write: Improved math curriculum and training was successful.

What went in the log: Completed adoption of new math curriculum after two years of piloting. All K-5 teachers trained and materials delivered to classrooms; diagnostic showed baseline scores up 11 percentage points from last year's cohort.

The strong version names the timeline (two years), the scope (all K-5), the method (training plus materials), and the measurable outcome (11-point gain). Without these, a reviewer can't distinguish this from dozens of other generic curriculum moves and has no basis for evaluating the Principal's real contribution.

What most people write: Kept most of the staff for next year despite district challenges.

What went in the log: Retained 34 of 35 teachers for the new year despite competitive district-wide attrition of 18%. Met individually with each staff member during August planning week; retention jumped from 89% last year to 97%.

The strong version gives the denominator (34 of 35, not "most"), the context (district attrition at 18%), the method (individual meetings), the timing (August), and the year-on-year change (89% to 97%). This transforms a vague claim into evidence of deliberate action with a named strategy.

How this becomes your review in November

This year I completed the two-year math curriculum adoption, training all K-5 staff and delivering a baseline lift of 11 percentage points, work that built on genuine listening to teacher needs during planning time. When a fourth-grade teacher took a principalship mid-year, I moved quickly to hire and onboard a replacement by May 1, keeping continuity. Retention became my focus heading into the new year: I met individually with each staff member during August planning week, and we moved from 89% retention to 97%, substantially outpacing the district's 18% attrition rate elsewhere.

Starting your own log

Don't try to reconstruct a year you have already had. Start from today, one line whenever something happens, and let it build. The Perform Review Achievement Log does this for you and can capture wins straight from Slack, and how to start an achievement log covers the wider playbook.

Example Logs for Related Roles

Ready to start your own? Start your Achievement Log free, see how the Perform Review Achievement Log works, or browse performance review phrases for School Principal.