I am ready for the third installment in my Principal's Principles series. Here are some more lessons I have learned in the course of my short four years as a school principal. I hope somebody is finding them useful.
No Pally Pally
As a school leader, it is important to be constantly learning. We can learn from mentors but we can also learn from mistakes others make. One thing I have learned that was not beneficial to school culture was when a school leader forms a clique with a group of teachers. This is usually around a drinking group or equivalent. This kind of social group can leave staff feeling excluded and can lead to favoritism. It is important for a school leader to be inclusive when organizing social events. I also suggest finding a social circle outside of the school community, this may be a sports team or church community. Having a social support structure in place is very important. Organizations such as EARCOS or ACAMIS can provide a vital support network for school leaders.
Communication
One of the most important things you can do is learn to communicate as efficiently and clearly as possible. There is no formula for this but blogs, emails and meetings are all means to do this. In a previous post, I mentioned emotional intelligence. Growth in this, as well as leadership and management, are vital. When an issue comes to you it is important that you do not get excited or react out of anger. This will be particularly difficult if you are sick, under tress or in pain. You need to know yourself. Quite often time can solve a situation without you even getting involved. It is a skill to learn when to get involved and when not to. A young or insecure leader will make the mistake of rushing in to establish their position and control. It can be equally damaging for a leader to shy away from the necessary tough talks. It is very important that you get all the information on any situation before acting. Take the time to interview the students or teachers involved. We use a reflection sheet to allow students to reflect on an issue. This serves as a way to immediately document the issue, which can be very helpful, later when parents may need to come in. If you have access to security cameras, get the facts.
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| Student Reflection Sheet |
Tough Talks
Never shy away from a tough talk when it is necessary. We practice restorative practices with both students and staff. If a relationship has been damaged or a school policy has been broken, it is important to be consistent with all staff. Minor incidents, of course, should be let go but leaders should be consistent with all staff and not shy away from though talks and the giving of feedback. If a staff member does not understand a policy or know what he has done wrong, he cannot make the change.
Code of Ethics
It is a good idea to create a code of ethics with your staff. One thing we have done is putting the following in place. It provides the opportunity for staff to take care of disputes themselves without needing to bring everything to leadership. When a dispute between staff occurs ensure step one has taken place before getting involved.
Step 1 - Staff members try to resolve the conflict by having a meeting and restorative conversation.
Step 2 - If the issue cannot be resolved the staff members make schedule a meeting with the principal.
Step 3 - If the issue cannot be resolved the staff members schedule a meeting with the head of school.
Big Announcements
Never announce something before it is official! Decisions can change. Do not make announcements before pen goes to paper.
Parent-Teacher Disputes
When a parent emails you with an issue relating to a teacher. Ensure that you direct the parent to communicate with the teacher directly for all normal day to day issues first. Never jump the gun and ensure you investigate thoroughly before acting. I recommend you email the parent back immediately to say you are looking into the issue then speak to everybody involved directly before either responding yourself, or supporting the teacher to respond. It is very important that you support your teaching staff. If you hired the person, it is your job to ensure they succeed to the best of your ability.
International School Community Reviews
If you are a school leader and you are making changes you will come up against resistance. You will have to make tough decisions that will not make everybody happy. Unless you are a people pleaser you can expect to have some bad reviews on the ISR site. Prepare for this in advance as it can hurt. You put years of your life into an organization and deal with things that teachers cannot even imagine. It hurts when you read a scathing review of yourself on this website. Getting feedback is very important. You should seek feedback, but from people who know you only.
Gossip Up
Encourage your staff to "gossip up". We introduce this concept during orientation. What this means is that if a teacher has an issue encourage them to bring it up the ladder vertically rather than horizontally, meaning they discuss it with peers. It may take a long time to implement this into a school but it is important for teachers to repeatedly know that you are available to speak about things.
Middle Leaders Professional Growth Program
Most schools have a solid process in place for teachers' professional growth. This is usually based on the work of Charlotte Danielson or James Stronge. However, an issue in many schools is that middle leaders are totally missed. It is important that these people have the opportunity to grow and receive feedback. They are in key positions and are often missed, particularly in developing international schools. There are lots of very good tools out there that form a great starting point for this. The Australian Standards for Principals contains some fabulous information on what school leaders should know, understand and do. It is a very good starting point for the development of your own tool.
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