A Normal Day and Your Battle Face

One of the most interesting aspects of my experiences as an intern assistant principal is that I never know what will happen at school. Yesterday I walked through the doors with one meeting and a fire drill scheduled, followed by ten teachers that I needed to speak with before the end of the day. These were my three goals, did I actually accomplish them all? No. I went 1.5 for 3, the .5 is because I sat in on half the meeting before being called out of the room. It isn't that I didn't try to get everything done, it’s just that something else came up each time. On this particular day it was a visit from the University Neighborhood Partners, an ambulance visit for a student with a concussion, and a substitute teacher who seemed to think students were out of control when they left their seats to sharpen a pencil. Every day is like this. There is always something to do and somewhere to be.

                At first I hated this. It honestly made me feel completely unsuccessful. I felt like I was never able to fully finish something. As a teacher I could sit down and work through any problem, and usually in one sitting. As an administrator you don’t have the luxury. This has been a huge challenge because even though you are distracted from a task you have to finish whatever you start. The key is the ability to pick up where you left off like nothing happened, a good battle face is required for this. No matter what happens to have to seem unphased. It doesn't matter if a student swore at you or a teacher just had a break down in their classroom, when you leave the situation, nothing out of the ordinary just happened.

                I think that this is a skill that you have to develop, and it will take time. I now feel a sense of accomplishment when I can hold my battle face through a tough meeting or interaction. A good administrator should be in control no matter what the situation is. As I go through this journey I realize how important this is more and more. When you can’t predict your day you have to be able to predict your reactions or you will always be fearing what will happen next.

               

               

                

Power of Positivity

As future administrators it is important to remember that the staff as well as the students need the 4:1 positive to negative ratio.  We focus on this concept in the classroom through the knowledge of PBIS, and it can have incredible power over the classroom culture.  The same can be said for the staff and the school-wide culture.

Just as students, we as adults like to be recognized and appreciated for doing things in our lives.  If we are given the slightest amount of praise for doing something that may not have been pleasant for us, we will be more willing to continue the activity.  We should remember this when working with our school staff.  While we may give positive feedback following an evaluation, this is not enough.  It is important to let your staff know that you see and appreciate great things they are doing.  The praise does not need to be costly or take a lot of time.  A post-it note on their computer, a card in their box, or a quick conversation during breaks can go a long way.


Nichole

Saying Thank You

As an administrator it is important to stop, reflect, and say thank you to those around you.  A simple thank you note goes a long way to show the people who support the school and make it the wonderful place it is that you appreciate their hard work and dedication.  It is a simple way to build culture and increase morale.  The question is, how do you find time to write thank you notes, who should you write them to, and how to you make them sound sincere.

One way to make time is to block off time in your schedule once a month and choose between five and ten people to say thank you to.  By the end of the school year, you should have been able to recognize all staff members, some great parent supporters, and maybe some students.

You should write thank you notes to teachers, coaches, support aides, recess and lunch duties, custodians, secretaries, parents, community supporters, crossing guards, the PTA, and even that student who is frequently sent to your office because they were naughty.

It is important when writing the thank you notes, that you are specific and sincere about why you are saying thank you and appreciate their hard work and dedication to making the school a great place. You could say thank you to amazing staff members who help you through your day.  Thank you to the custodian for keeping the school so clean.  Thank you to the students who strive to do their best every day.  Thank you to the parents who trust you to teach their children the things that will help make them successful adults. Thank you to the teachers who put in all the extra hours to provide meaningful lessons for their students and serve on extra committees and after-school activities so the school can be a wonderful place.  Thank you to the recess aides, reading and math aides, the lunch duties, the lunch servers, crossing guards, for going the extra mile.

I don't know about you, but over the years I have saved every Thank You note that I have received from students, parents, co-workers, and administrators as a reminder that what I do is making a difference. I want the people who surround me to feel appreciated, and a simple thank you note can help me achieve this goal.

Connecting With the Community

One of the most valuable components of a school is the community.  Full of invaluable resources, supports, and organization, the assets of the surrounding community only further enriches the environment of a school.  The inclusion of the community into the school and its activities allows for support for students, teachers, parents, and stakeholders to collaborate and benefit the learning environment.  Coming from a private school where much of the guardians and supports were out of state, it has been a refreshing and wonderful experience to talk with and organize events that promote community relationships.

                There are many activities that can connect the school and community but one that recently inspired me was the literacy night at my internship school.  It was wonderful to see the teachers assisting in providing ingenious and alternative learning experiences and situations where reading and literacy were promoted to very welcoming and appreciative parents, guardians, and stakeholders.  The joy that the teachers expressed about this night really caused me to reflect how important it is for administrators to provide these opportunities for not just students and parents, but also for teachers and staff. 

                Building a culture within the school where connecting with the community is a priority supports a positive learning environment, open and honest communication with all involved, collaboration of educational and social supports, and ultimately student achievement support.  I have appreciated viewing these activities from the administrative lens because of the happiness and learning that the activities provide, but also to view the positive fallout of strengthening community ties.  While it takes planning, organization, extra hours, and of course a hiccup here or there, it really benefits the students.  And their benefit, after all, is why we do what we do.

Transformation

I have now spent more than two years learning about leadership in schools. With each experience I have in school leadership, a new dimension is added to the conglomerate idea I am forming of “Leader”. In the two years I spent earning my Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership, I really never saw myself defined as anything other than a teacher. Even as I began doing internship hours at the beginning of the summer, I still perceived myself as someone play-acting in the role of administrator.

            Two particular incidents recently have made me realize that this is starting to change. When a student ran away at the elementary while I was in charge, I automatically grabbed a walkie-talkie and some support and headed out to find her. And a few days ago when I was in charge of lunch intramurals, a young girl passed out and then had a seizure. I got her situated and sent students for help while her sister called home. She was only out for a few moments, but it was very frightening for her, not to mention very public. Her mother came to see me the next day to say that the girl had appreciated the fact that I was so calm and kind. The growth part for me in these two scenarios was the fact that I didn’t take time in my head to think, “What would an administrator do in this situation?” I just acted in the best way I knew how.

            Another situation that highlights my changing role was the faculty breakfast we served the other day. It was one of the first times that I felt I was truly part of a different pack. I admit I was a little nervous about how my colleagues would perceive me, knowing that I was not in a teacher role at all, but serving them as a leader. It did feel a little strange, but it didn’t feel wrong or awkward, so I felt that I was undoubtedly where I should have been, in the role of a leader.

            While I still feel like I’m not quite there yet in seeing myself as a school leader, I believe that the next step of interviewing for jobs and having to articulate my views and present myself as an administrator will help to push me the rest of the way in transitioning from teacher leader to school leader. As an unpaid intern there are many resources that I still don’t have access to, which is a frustration. When someone wants my help, I often have to tell him or her that I will have to get back to them since I can’t pull up information that they need at that moment. They often look confused, thinking that as an intern I have been given full privileges. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, however, as I feel it is often wise to take time to deliberate and dig deeper into a situation before making a rash decision. I feel like my mindset is changing appropriately, and all of my experiences, from lunch duty to building the School Improvement Plan, have been valuable, and that I am on the right track for my future. 

Adulting

What do you do when you are the adultiest adult in the room?  Right now in all of our positions if we don't have the answer, we can say "I'll check with the principal and get back to you", but that road is quickly coming to a dead end.  What happens when we ARE the principal, the boss, the leader, the one with the answers?  Who do we check with then?  Because let's face it, we won't always have the answers right away.  This is an intimidating thought about leadership. 

One thing I have learned so far is that it's okay to not have all of the answers.  As Frank Shaw taught us, our go to phrase is: "Let me look into that and I will get back to you in 24 hours".  I've observed several administrators throughout my internship use a derivative of this phrase.  However, this is a fine line we walk.  We want to maintain control and confidence but still be transparent and admit when we don't have the answer and be savvy enough to know where to find it.  

I think it's key that we always remember to walk that line with a moral conscience and do the best we can, because at the end of the day, we are still learning how to be the adultier adult. 

-Michelle

Honesty

When assessing how to best lead a school, it is very easy to become engulfed with the different areas that are ever-present and stressful.  Data driven decision making, SAGE scores, instructional leadership, organizational and programmatic efficacy, and connecting with the community.  While all of these items are of importance, an experience I recently had revealed that simple practices can really assist in succeeding and meeting the demands of school leadership.  Interestingly, both practices that I want to discuss revolve around honesty.

I see changing the culture of a school to be one of the most monumental undertakings that a school leader can encounter.  Whether the changes be in instruction, programs, systems, or any other educational support, there will likely be ample resistance.  Instilling a culture of honesty to allow for open and truthful conversations to occur is imperative for progress to be made in schools.  This can look like talking with longstanding teachers about struggling achievement data, system effectiveness, or even the use of funds and the resulting outcomes.  Having a leadership priority where honesty is a core value of the administration and school is invaluable.  I appreciate the leaders that I have worked under that have modeled how honesty, as corny as this sounds, is really the best policy.

In addition to creating a school culture and value of honesty, a component of good leadership is the ability to be honest with yourself.  The willingness to identify points of improvement, failing or struggling practices, or even to change ways of thinking can all assist in helping students succeed.  Moreover, it can help in supporting faculty and staff in being honest with themselves as well.  With many accreditation, foundations, programs, and titles requiring self-assessment, the willingness to identify where improvement can be made, even if it includes your own practices, is needed.  Ultimately, the students will be the benefactors and that is the most important focus.

I appreciate the honest conversations with leaders, peers, and others that I have had.  As much of a hit to my ego as it may have initially been, I realize that the long term benefit will be the students, faculty, and stakeholders that I will work with.  Regular self-review and assessment will be a practice that I will continue to do personally and hope to inspire others to do as well.  With this momentum, I hope to create a culture within my school where honest and open conversations can occur.

When Valuable Staff Leave

It is never easy when you lose tremendous staff at your school.  I'm sure everyone can think of that staff assistant who genuinely cares about the school and students to a degree that is difficult to match.  They are the adult that the students gravitate to for academic and social support because of their kind heart and caring personality.

This past week we had this special type of staff assistant resign at our school.  This was a very difficult decision for her.  As acting administrator I was required to be with her as she was cleaning out her office.  It was difficult emotionally to see her pack up her belongings, some of which were thank you notes from students.  While my first instinct was to think of the students and how sad they were going to be when they realized that she was no longer with us, the administrator side began to think of the logistics.  I began to worry about how we were going to cover for all of the duties that she was tasked.  This is a difficult thing for an administrator that I never really understood until this experience.  

As a school counselor I was always surprised to see how administrators would act after excellent staff would leave the school for whatever reason.  It almost would seem as if they did not care.  Now I realize that is not the case.  Administrators are required to continuously have the entire school's best interest in mind and that may entail the quick posting of a position to ensure that the gap is as minimal as possible.  Of course they do not wish to lose incredible assets and do not look forward to the process of trying to fill the position.  There comes a point where you must be professional and put the priorities of the school above the emotions one may feel.  It is shocking sometimes when we begin to realize that we are starting to think as administrators in various situations.