February Doesn't Have to Break Us

February can be brutal. The winter weather feels relentless, spring break is still weeks away, and everyone in your building is running on fumes. Research backs up what we're all feeling: principals experience job-related stress at rates of 85% compared to 73% of teachers, and 48% of us are dealing with straight-up burnout. Your staff is exhausted too - nearly three-quarters of teachers report frequent job-related stress. And our students? Attendance patterns show that absences peak in the winter months, and behavior referrals tend to spike alongside them.

But I've learned that February is also when small acts of appreciation are needed most, making it the perfect time to intentionally build culture. Don't ignore that it's hard for everyone right now; make it more manageable. 

February Doesn't Have To Break Us.

The data tells a story we know too well. Student attendance typically increases through fall, peaks in winter (when absences peak), and then rises again at year's end. We're right in the thick of the winter slump - dreary weather, seasonal illnesses, and zero breaks on the calendar create the perfect storm. Students are burned out and unmotivated. Staff members are catching every cold that goes around and struggling with their own version of seasonal affective disorder.

And we're carrying all of it. As principals, we absorb the experiences and frustrations of both students and staff. We're the sounding board, the problem solver, the one who's supposed to keep morale up when we're barely hanging on ourselves. One principal described it perfectly: walking up to the edge of a cliff with one foot solidly on the ground and the other ready to go over. That's February.

The Power of February Love

So instead of just white-knuckling our way through, let's flip the script. February might be short, but it's also the month that's literally about love and connection. Everyone's craving exactly that. Here's how to make it happen without adding to your already impossible to-do list:

For Your Staff:

Small gestures of appreciation matter more in February than in any other month. Try a Secret Admirers Week where staff members anonymously leave notes or treats for each other. Write quick, specific "love notes" for teacher mailboxes - not generic praise, but real things you've noticed them doing well. "I saw how you handled that situation with Marcus yesterday. That was impactful."

If you can swing it, become the coffee cart on Friday mornings and personally deliver hot chocolate to classrooms. And here's a radical idea: shorten one faculty meeting this month and use that time for staff to share student success stories instead. Give them the gift of leaving 20 minutes early.

For Students:

Expand Valentine's Day into a week-long kindness campaign. Kindness grams, compliment boards, lunch with a favorite staff member, and raffles - make connections visible and celebrated. Set up a photo booth in the hallway with fun props (costs almost nothing, gives kids something to look forward to). Create random-acts-of-kindness challenges between grade levels or advisory groups.

Use your morning announcements to highlight students doing great things - your principal's "love list." These small moments of recognition cost you nothing but can completely shift a kid's day, maybe even their trajectory.

For You:

You can't pour from an empty cup, and modeling self-care isn't selfish - it's leadership. Protect your lunch period this week. Leave on time one day. Take a walk around the building instead of responding to emails for 15 minutes. Your staff and students need you to finish the year strong, which means you need to survive February. February doesn't have to break you either.

The Bottom Line

We can't change the weather. We can't magically add a week off to the calendar. But we can create small moments that remind everyone why we do this work. February is hard because it matters - we're in the thick of the school year when relationships and routines either solidify or fracture.

Research on principal burnout consistently points to one thing that helps: publicly recognizing and praising staff and students. Loudly and often. February is your chance to be intentional about that. These small gestures are strategic culture-building when it's needed most.

Your building needs you to lead through February with both realism and hope. Acknowledge the slump. Then give everyone - including yourself - small reasons to keep showing up. February doesn't have to break us if we choose to hold each other up instead.