Tell teachers that you will get into every classroom within the first month (within the first week if the school is smaller). Let them know what you are looking for (people actively involved in learning, good things happening). Ask them what they would like you to see. Ask them to invite you to their classrooms if they have something special going on.
Time for classroom visits must be blocked into your calendar before your time is filled with administrivia and the urgencies of the day. Sit down with your master schedule and map out which classrooms you will visit on what day. Block a portion of three days a week for classroom visits until you have seen every teacher's classroom.
Make sure teachers know your purpose for these short visits. Such mini-visits are separate from the formal pre-conference, observation, post-conference cycle that is used in coaching and supervision. They are for the purpose of knowing your school as a whole, seeing teachers and students in action, understanding the life of the teacher as well as the life of the student in the school.
The classroom is the heart of the school. You cannot be effective as a school leader without knowing first-hand what is happening in every classroom. Show students and staff how important instruction is to you. Be there. Be visible. Be interested.
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