Principal Profile – Rick Ackerly
Rick Ackerly led four different schools during more than 35 years in education, turning around struggling communities by giving teachers more autonomy. A graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ackerly built his leadership style around trust, encouraging teacher-designed methods like the “hook chart” and treating parent communication as core leadership work.
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During Rick Ackerly’s substantial experience in the field of education, he relished meeting challenges head-on and instilling that same attitude in his faculty members.
“The challenge of rebuilding a broken community was, for some reason, very attractive to me,” Ackerly said. “I guess there was something inside of me that compelled me to be a leader.”
As the former head of four different schools, Ackerly found himself drawn to schools that held commitments to high ideals, but had trouble meeting those ideals. Ackerly’s knack for trying new methods and instilling confidence in his staff helped turn those schools around.
From Classroom Teacher to School Leader
Ackerly wasn’t always a school administrator. Like many who make the transition from teaching to school administration, Ackerly began as a teacher.
“In my six years as a teacher, I learned the limitations of traditional methods of instruction and made a commitment to finding ways of meeting the needs of each student,” Ackerly said.
This commitment eventually pushed Ackerly to look for ways to expand his influence in school communities, leading him to enroll in the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on organizational development.
“What I learned there stood me in good stead,” Ackerly said. “I came away with a road map for building a learning community, and it has turned out to work beautifully in all the schools [I led].”
Today’s principal and administrator certification requirements vary by state, but they typically build on the same classroom experience Ackerly credits with shaping his leadership.
Building Teacher Confidence and Autonomy
Ackerly says that all of the schools he led were initially struggling financially and had low faculty morale, something he immediately took to remedying. Ackerly believed that by using his leadership to increase the authority of his teachers, it would create a safe environment for teachers willing to take risks and make decisions.
Under Ackerly’s leadership, teacher morale increased, and as a result, the educational standards at the schools also began to increase.
“Later I asked one of my colleagues, ‘What did I do right?’ and she said, ‘You treated us as if we knew what we were doing,’” Ackerly said. “This leadership style was successful from the get-go, and I got better and better at it the more I practiced it.”
Ackerly’s leadership style allowed teachers to try new and effective methods of teaching that other administrators might not have taken the risk to try. In the end, though, Ackerly said trying these nontraditional educational methods proved successful in his schools.
Ackerly says that the teachers in all four of his former schools designed a variety of different methods to ensure each student was always appropriately challenged.
The Hook Chart: Letting Students Choose Their Work
For example, Ackerly explained a “hook chart” system one teacher at a school designed that allowed students to choose between different assignments for the day. The “hook chart” was a chart of 22 hooks by seven hooks. On the left-hand column, the teacher hung cards with each student’s name, and on the 6 remaining columns, she hung activities next to the names.
When a student came into the room for class, he or she would examine the six different activities they could choose from, complete the assignment, and then flip the card signaling completion.
“All of the students were always engaged doing work that was challenging for them, and they all felt they had chosen it,” Ackerly said.
Ackerly’s enthusiasm for encouraging teacher innovation paid off for the schools he taught. At one school, teachers introduced a writing workshop approach to students, and within two years of instituting the workshops, the school became known for its writing program.
Engaging Parents as Partners
While leading teachers and students in school-wide programs is a large part of being a school administrator, Ackerly was also the face of the school to parents and community members. Learning how to manage parents and communicate expectations successfully is one of the most important parts of being a successful leader.
Ackerly said that many teachers expressed interest in a teaching method but were worried the parents wouldn’t be as enthusiastic. That’s when Ackerly would assume responsibility for bringing the parents on board too.
For example, Ackerly relates a time when the parents of a first grader met with him to express concern that their son didn’t have enough structure.
“I replied with, ‘Yes. All kids need structure. Let’s go around the school and look at the various structures we use, and then sit back down and see if you saw structure you think will work for him,”’ Ackerly said.
Ackerly led the parents around his school, showing them students hard at work, engaged in discussion, group projects, and learning circles.
“When we sat back down, I said, ‘So did you see structures that you think will work?’ and they immediately said, ‘Yes. This is great. This school is perfect for him,’” Ackerly said.
Leading Through Active Listening
These instances detailed Ackerly’s commitment to not only providing quality education, but also quality communication with the community at large. It’s all part of something Ackerly calls “active listening,” and being open and willing to take suggestions and make changes.
“Get comfortable making mistakes and learning from them,” Ackerly said. “Be comfortable with different points of view and diversity.”
For Ackerly, now retired after over 35 years of administrative work, building four safe, creative learning communities made making any mistakes well worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Rick Ackerly?
Rick Ackerly is a retired school administrator who led four different schools over more than 35 years in education, starting his career as a classroom teacher before moving into school leadership.
What leadership philosophy did Rick Ackerly use as a school administrator?
Ackerly built his leadership around giving teachers more authority and autonomy in the classroom. He credits treating teachers “as if we knew what we were doing” with raising morale and improving educational standards at every school he led.
What is the “hook chart” system Rick Ackerly describes?
The hook chart was a classroom system one teacher designed under Ackerly’s leadership, using a 22-by-7 grid of hooks with student name cards and rotating activity choices, letting students pick their own assignment for the day and flip their card when finished.
How did Rick Ackerly involve parents in school decisions?
Ackerly took personal responsibility for bringing skeptical parents on board with new teaching methods, often walking them through the school in person to see students engaged in group projects and learning circles rather than simply telling them the approach worked.
Where did Rick Ackerly study educational leadership?
Ackerly enrolled in the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focusing on organizational development, which he says gave him a road map for building a learning community that he used across all four schools he led.
- Give teachers real autonomy — Ackerly raised morale and academic standards at four schools by trusting teachers to make their own classroom decisions.
- Let students choose their work — The hook chart system kept students engaged by giving them ownership over which assignment they completed.
- Treat parents as partners — Ackerly walked skeptical parents through the school in person rather than just arguing his methods were working.
- Practice active listening — Ackerly named comfort with mistakes and openness to different viewpoints as core to his leadership style.
- Leadership can be trained — Ackerly traced his approach back to organizational development coursework at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Rick Ackerly’s path into school leadership started in the classroom, the same route many administrators and principals still take today. If you’re considering your own path into school leadership, explore accredited certification programs below.
