Principal ditches office for "rolling desk" to be more present with students
"The best ability is availability."
Principal Jared Lamb uses a rolling cart for a mobile principal's office.
The principal's office is a place of childhood lore. Getting sent there as a kid was never a good sign, but one school principal is ditching the intimidating location for a more approachable one.
Principal Jared Lamb (@principal_lamb) of BASIS Ed school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has taken an unconventional spin on his role as a school administrator. Rather than sit in an office all day, he has traded his desk for a rolling cart. The reason? To be more of an active (and visible) presence around school.
"The best ability is availability," he captioned a video on Instagram explaining why he won't "go back to the office." In the video, he says, "At our school, students don't get sent to the principal's office. The principal comes to them. I traded my principal's office for a rolling cart."
He is seen in the video wheeling his cart around the school's hallways, adding that there are five reasons why he won't be going back to a traditional office.
Firstly, "It's easier to provide customer service to our educators," he says. "Need a restroom break? I got you. Support with an upset parent? I'm here."
The second reason: "I can support with student behavior because I'm right around the corner."
Thirdly, "I have a pulse on what's happening at school. When challenges arise...and they always do...I can address them firsthand."
The fourth reason is that, "It's improved my relationships. I check in with every teacher and staff member daily. I give hundreds of fist bumps to students each day." Finally, he shares the fifth reason he ditched the office: "I'm more proactive and less reactive. I don't wait to get called on the radio. I'm already there. Principal's office? No thank you. My best ability is availability."
In an interview with PEOPLE magazine, Principal Lamb shared that he has been using the rolling cart for three years to support over 800 students. "This upcoming year will mark my third year of going fully mobile," he said. "I truly believe that I can make the biggest impact by walking across the campus and being visible throughout the school."
"I spend most of my day visible," he said. "I walk in and out of classrooms. If I need to respond to an email, I do it from an empty hallway while students are in class." He adds, "During major transitions, I'll often park my cart underneath a stairwell on the side just to make sure that I'm not walking traffic. So you do have to maneuver, especially during big student transitions, so I'm not stopping the flow or preventing students from getting to class, but we navigate the best we can."
His method has spread. Now, his entire administrative team also uses rolling carts. "We literally had a fleet of carts rolling through the school, and so our deans were on rolling carts, our assistant principals were on rolling carts," he shared. "It's really created just a great environment of leading with support and making sure that our teachers and students have what they need to be successful."
Principal Lamb's video garnered incredible support from viewers and parents alike.
"This is such a fantastic way to lead a school. 🙌🏻," one wrote. Another added, "Can this be standard in our education system? Well done, sir. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻."
Another viewers shared, "The mobile office demonstrates so many positive leadership qualities! Creativity, flexibility, relationships, vision, empathy and on and on! Thanks for inspiring us all."