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Principals

How to Introduce Your New Assistant Principal in Your Newsletter

By Adi Ackerman·November 7, 2025·6 min read

New assistant principal greeting students at school entrance on first day

How you introduce a new assistant principal in your newsletter shapes how your community receives them for months. A careless announcement leaves families uncertain. A thoughtful one gives the new AP a running start with the people they will be serving every day.

Start With Your Confidence in the Hire

Do not open with the AP's resume. Open with why you chose them. A sentence like “After a thorough search, I am confident we found exactly the right person for this role” followed by one specific reason is more compelling than credentials alone. This signals to families that the decision was deliberate and gives the new AP an immediate vote of confidence from leadership.

Cover Their Background Without Reading Like a LinkedIn Profile

Two to three sentences on professional background is enough. Include: where they come from, what role they held most recently, and one thing that sets them apart. Skip the full career timeline. Families want to know if this person understands students and schools, not every institution that employed them for two years in the 2010s.

Describe Their Specific Role at Your School

Not every school uses an AP the same way. Tell families exactly what this person will be responsible for: student discipline, instructional support, family communication, operations, or some combination. When parents know who handles what, they call the right person and have better interactions. It also helps the new AP start with clear boundaries already communicated.

Include a Quote From the New AP Themselves

A paragraph written by the new AP is worth including even if it is brief. Here is a template format that works:

“I am glad to be joining the [School Name] community. I have spent the last six years working with students and families in [District/City], and I believe the relationships between a school and its families are what make the hardest work possible. I am looking forward to learning this community from the ground up. Please come say hello at [next event or open hours].”

This format signals warmth, experience, and accessibility in under 75 words.

Acknowledge the Transition Honestly

If there was a previous AP who families knew and trusted, name them. A sentence thanking them for their work and wishing them well closes that chapter properly. Skipping this entirely is noticeable, especially in a tight-knit school community. A clean acknowledgment followed by a forward-looking introduction is the right structure.

Share How to Reach the New AP

An introduction that does not include contact information is incomplete. Include the new AP's email address, their phone extension if applicable, and ideally when and where families can expect to find them (morning arrival, after school office hours, specific events). This makes the introduction actionable rather than purely informational.

Set Expectations for Their Visible Presence

Tell families where they will see this person: at pickup and drop-off, in classrooms, at family events, on the intercom. Visibility matters for a new administrator because it replaces the familiarity that built up with the previous person over years. When families know where to find someone, they are far more likely to build a relationship.

Use a Platform That Can Show, Not Just Tell

A newsletter with a photo, a bio block, and a personal note from the new AP does more than text alone. Daystage lets you build an introduction page that families can refer back to, and it gives the new AP an immediate professional presence with your community before their first day in the building.

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Frequently asked questions

What should a principal include when introducing a new assistant principal in a newsletter?

Include the new AP's professional background in two to three sentences, their specific role responsibilities at your school, one or two personal details that humanize them, and a direct quote from them if possible. Also briefly explain the transition from the previous AP if one existed, especially if families had a relationship with that person.

How soon after hiring should I introduce the new AP to families?

As soon as the hiring decision is official and cleared to share. Families notice new faces immediately, and the rumor mill moves faster than most principals expect. A newsletter within the first week of the appointment, or the week before they officially start, keeps you ahead of the conversation.

How do I handle the newsletter if the previous AP left under difficult circumstances?

Keep the introduction focused on the new hire rather than relitigating what happened before. A single sentence acknowledging the transition is appropriate: 'We said goodbye to Mr. Harmon at the end of last semester and are grateful for his years here.' Then shift fully to the new person. Families who want more detail will reach out individually.

Should the new assistant principal write part of the newsletter themselves?

A paragraph written by the new AP in their own voice is worth more than three paragraphs written about them. Even a brief self-introduction, three to five sentences, signals confidence and accessibility. It lets families hear how this person communicates before they ever meet them in person.

What tool makes a staff introduction newsletter look professional?

Daystage lets you include a headshot, a bio block, a quote, and the new AP's contact information all in one clean newsletter. Families can put a face to the name before the first school event, which speeds up trust-building significantly.

Adi Ackerman

Adi Ackerman

Author

Adi Ackerman is a former classroom teacher and curriculum writer with 8 years in K-8 schools. She writes about school communication, parent engagement, and what actually works in real classrooms.

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