Principals Matter: The Midyear Tush Push*

The middle of the year is not a checkpoint, it is a turning point. Midyear is the moment for a tush push*—a deliberate, collective surge forward that can meaningfully change student trajectories while there is still time in the year. This surge must be led by principals, whose leadership sets the urgency, direction, and follow-through that determine how effectively teachers and teams impact student outcomes this spring.

Midyear demands urgency, not urgency rooted in pressure or fear, but urgency grounded in belief and responsibility. This is the moment when our actions must match our words. If we truly believe that all students can learn, then what we do next must reflect that belief with clarity and conviction. At this point in the year, what remains is not preparation, but leadership action.

By now, routines are established. Schedules reflect student needs. Staff are trained, practiced, and delivering instruction. Students feel the learning cadence and understand expectations. These conditions create the most powerful instructional window of the year—one that reveals whether our systems are built for convenience or for student success.

No role has greater influence on this instructional window, on whether midyear momentum translates into improved outcomes, than the principal. At this stage of the year, a principal’s decisions, presence, data analysis, and follow-through can either accelerate learning or allow it to plateau. This is the moment when belief becomes visible, and it starts with the building leader.

Midyear data forces an honest reflection, and it signals the need for a tush push. For principals, this data reveals where momentum has stalled and where a deliberate surge forward is required. This push is not generic or reactive; it is led and directed through data, requiring principals to identify which students need intensified support, which skills demand immediate focus, and where instructional time must be tightened and protected. When the data changes, it is evidence that leadership actions are working. Midyear data tells us not only where students are, but whether we are willing—as building leaders—to respond with the urgency required to meet their needs. Data is not a verdict; it is a call to action. Every data point represents a student whose trajectory can still be changed through timely, intentional instructional decisions made now.

This is the time to ensure small-group instruction is right and tight. Groups must be purposeful and fluid. Transitions must be efficient. Instruction must be sharply focused on priority skills and delivered explicitly, with a clear understanding that every minute matters. When urgency is present, instruction accelerates. When it is absent, opportunity slips away.

Likewise, intervention time must reflect our deepest beliefs. If we believe all students can learn, then intervention cannot be optional, loosely structured, or misaligned. It must be exact, skill-based, and systematically delivered, designed to accelerate learning rather than simply provide support. Intervention is where belief meets action.

Urgency at midyear is not about doing more; it is about doing what matters most. It is about aligning instruction, intervention, scheduling, and staffing so that every system works together in service of student outcomes. It is about refusing to accept predictable gaps and instead responding with intention and resolve.

It is not too late, but it is the moment that reveals who we are. A midyear tush push is exactly what education needs to carry us through the remainder of the 2025–2026 school year. It is visible in action. It shows up through increased principal presence in classrooms, small groups, and intervention settings; tighter feedback loops between observation, coaching, and instructional action; and faster, more responsive adjustments when students are not demonstrating expected progress. Most importantly, it is evident in clear, consistent expectations that urgency is not optional because when students struggle, timely action is a responsibility, not a choice.

The choices we make now—how quickly we act, how precisely we respond, and how relentlessly we support—will determine whether our belief that all students can learn is a statement we repeat or a commitment we live. The tush push is not a one-time effort; it is the final surge that gets us across the line. The last stretch of the school year demands collective strength, precise execution, and relentless focus on what matters most. When principals lead with urgency and purpose, small gains compound, momentum builds, and student achievement moves forward.

This is how we finish strong, together, ensuring every student crosses the finish line with the learning they deserve. The work we do now matters.

Do we truly believe that all students can learn? I do. And that belief is why I will always lead, or stand shoulder to shoulder with others, in the midyear tush push. Because It’s Possible!

Footnote:
The term “tush push” is used as a metaphor. In football, it refers to a coordinated, short-distance push used in critical moments. Here, it represents a timely, collective surge of leadership and instructional action to accelerate student learning while there is still time to make an impact.

Jill Hafey