Assistant Principal William King didn’t go into his office at Bowling Green High School at all on Sept. 13, but he was still working.

He organized No Office Day, an initiative for principals to spend an entire day out of their offices and in classrooms engaging with teachers and students.

“It’s something new,” King said. “It’s something that good principals ought to be doing anyway. It shows that our hearts are still with teachers.”

He got the idea when he saw a blog post from a principal in China who had written about a day spent visiting classrooms. King tweeted about starting his own No Office Day, and later set up a website for principals to sign up to participate.

About 40 principals across the globe spent a day out of their office last week, including some from Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, New York, Florida, Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, King said.

Participants documented their No Office Day experiences on the website through pictures, tweets and blog posts.

“It’s kind of a place for us to share and learn from each other as principals,” King said.

He said it’s important for principals to stay connected with students and teachers, but it’s often difficult when they get bogged down with paperwork and disciplinary issues.

“We become separated from kids and teachers by staying in the office all day,” King said.

He used to be a social studies teacher, and on No Office Day he got to teach during an AP world history class and a world civilizations class. It was a change of pace not just for him, but also for the students, who got to see him in a different role.

“Now they see me not just as a disciplinarian, but also as a teacher,” he said.

Preparing the lesson brought back the same feelings he had when he began his teaching career.

“I think for me it was like starting over again, but it’s also really invigorating,” King said. “It’s kind of like riding a bike – you just hop on and do it.”

In his lessons, he took the opportunity to model how technology can be used in the classrooms.

“We haven’t really changed the way we educate, even though the world around us is changing,” he said.

King said kids today are wired differently than past generations, and teachers need to embrace that and find ways to engage them.

He used a program called Wiffiti, which allows students to text in their answers or comments, and they’ll instantly appear on a screen at the front of the room.

“These kids would rather post on here than just write on paper and discuss it,” King said.

All three of the other principals at Bowling Green High School also participated in No Office Day throughout the week: Principal Gary Fields spent last Monday out of his office, and assistant principals Monyonna Shive and Virgil Livers set aside several hours to spend in classrooms over several days.

“I thought it was such a simple, great idea,” Fields said of No Office Day. “I liked the idea of saying, ‘I’m blocking off this day.’ ”

Visiting classrooms and guest teaching helps keep principals connected to the students, he said.

“I think we forget that in reality, there’s rarely something so important that it can’t wait until the end of the day,” Fields said.

He helped teach AP world history alongside King, which was the first time he’d taught since becoming an administrator more than 10 years ago.

“It reminds me of why I got into education,” he said. “(The students) interact with me differently here than they would in the hallway.”

Shive said she usually doesn’t make it into classrooms except for evaluations.

“It’s been a good opportunity to do that with No Office Week,” she said.

She enjoyed seeing different teaching styles and watching students and teachers interact and build relationships, she said. She believes a good atmosphere makes for a better environment and lessens behavioral problems, she said.

Livers said he’s excited he got to be in the classroom on more than just a professional basis.

When he first heard King’s idea, he thought he was too busy to participate.

“But as it got closer, I said, ‘I need to do it,’ ” he said. He spread his classroom time over several days to accommodate his busy schedule.

Although he no longer teaches a content area, he said principals still teach every day.

“It might just be about discipline rather than math,” he said.

King said he plans to permanently set aside several hours during each week to visit classrooms.

“My goal for principals around the world is for this not to be just one day a year,” King said.

King’s blog about his No Office Day experience is at techsavvyprincipal.com.