How do I lead a department without losing the students I got into this for?

You came into this work for the kids, and now your days are budgets, staff, and meetings. It can feel like you drifted from the whole point. That grief is real. The students were where you saw your work matter. But look at what your fighting buys. Every resource you win, every good teacher you keep, reaches students you will never sit with directly. You are not away from the kids. You are working for more of them at once, from a harder seat. Keep one thread to the ground. Sit in on a class, or work with one student now and then. It will remind you why the budgets matter and keep your leadership honest.