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“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Chances are you’ve heard this oft-repeated Chinese proverb from Lao Tzu more than once – either as a way to remind you to take things one step at a time or to encourage patience in the face of long endeavors. As I read it, a third lesson came to mind: consider the first steps at the beginning of a long-term venture.

Schools and districts regularly launch new initiatives, and while some lead to positive and systemic change, many others falter. While there are a multitude of reasons why this can happen, the culprits are often missteps that occur during the rollout. A failed “first step” can cause things to come to an unexpected halt long before they even get close to “a thousand miles,” and project-based learning (PBL) is often a victim of poorly managed implementations. But why? What are the missed opportunities that leaders should consider when planning?

I recently had the privilege of supporting the launch of the newest cohort of the Network of School Leaders in New York City. During this workshop, leaders from each of the participating schools worked with their colleagues to create a plan that would bring their unique vision for PBL to life, and I noticed similarities in the conversations when it came to rolling out their plans. This led me to wonder if there were important first steps that all schools should consider.

After taking stock of the progress made that day, I was able to think of three things that all leaders should consider as they prepare to roll out PBL in their own schools.

One of the most frequently asked questions was: how do we best communicate about the expectations for the PBL? As with all initiatives, it is critical that there are clearly stated expectations for successful participation, but it is equally critical that all stakeholders have had input into these processes.

This obviously means informing your teachers of key success criteria, such as the number of projects you expect students to participate in and how preparation time will be reallocated. However, an often missed opportunity is that such communication is limited to teachers only. An important part of PBL is the emphasis on student voice and community partnerships, and if you expect both groups to participate, they need to know what the expectations are as well. Finding ways to engage students, parents, and potential community partners is an often overlooked but critical ingredient for a successful rollout.

There are numerous ways this can be done. You can use existing communication methods such as bulletins and your school’s website, but adding options such as newsletters, social media posts or even inviting prospective students and partners to public presentations or exhibition events can be effective and useful.

To implement PBL properly from the start, sometimes shifts in structures are necessary, such as bell schedules and instructional support. For this reason, clearly defining the size and scope of the first year is critical, but what should that look like? Are you starting in just a few grades? Is it best to target a few departments or roll it out school-wide right away?

The right answer is what is best for your school. Here are some questions that can help you determine what that means for you:

Do you concentrate on keeping it small? With a small rollout, you can focus on getting quality projects and providing more concentrated support. Or do you expand the scope to include a larger portion of students so that you can implement the whole-school approach to instruction more quickly and don’t leave out any students or enthusiastic teachers?

Do you have teachers who already do PBL or are interested in exploring it? Do you have a team that is open to planning a project together? Including natural interests or strong collaborative groups in the initial pilot could help build broader support among more hesitant groups, as peer support is a powerful method of building support.

How will you manage teachers in designing and facilitating their first project? Should you suggest they overhaul a unit they don’t like to strengthen it, rather than asking them to change something they have a lot of ownership over? Do you start by reviewing a unit they are passionate about teaching (the chance of it being developed further with richer resources could be an advantage down the road)?

Above all, ensure that the scope of your implementation does not exceed your ability to provide support. If you only have a certain amount of time to devote to supporting teachers, make sure you factor that into your final decision.

In PBL there is a sweet spot, and because there are differences in the supporting infrastructure from school to school, that sweet spot will look different too.

To find this, consider the following:

Do you have existing support structures that you can co-opt for PBL? Could you use a day of staff development, spend 15 minutes in a staff meeting or spend a fraction of the level time on your implementation?

Do you have additional support or instructional assistance that could be redeployed to support PBL? If you have literacy or math coaches, can they support teachers who are trying to implement ELA or math projects?

Coaching is the key to success in PBL. It can come from many different sources, as long as you have clearly defined quality criteria, such as a design or enabling rubric. Coaching can be provided by leadership, by an external consultant or even by colleagues, as long as there is time for collaboration.

What other ways can you provide support? If there is a shortage of time and personnel, providing resources via email is one way. Administrators can also encourage teachers to informally share information and check in when they see opportunities that could be fruitful.