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How School Principals Can Model Leadership to Teachers!

By Shanika Taylor

In the 21^st century School, principals who develop teachers and students as leaders create a stronger organization. Demands for national school reform from politicians, demands for educational reform at the school level from teachers and parents, demands for increased test scores from parents and superintendents. Given all of the demands, when does the principal have time to be an instructional leader? The reality is that by developing teachers and ultimately students as leaders, the principal increases his likelihood of meeting these demands by freeing up time to work as an instructional leader.

Principals are veteran teachers who are currently in leadership positions. Outstanding principals are able to mesh the two positions and yield great rewards. As a highly effective leader, the principal must be actively involved in educating and developing teachers as leaders. The successful principal realizes he does not have the time or the expertise to be effectively involved in all aspects of the school. Therefore by getting teachers actively involved in the decision-making process, by grooming teacher leaders and delegating duties to others, the principal frees up time to become an instructional leader.

As an instructional leader, the principal must ensure that everyone in the organization clearly understands the goals and the objectives of the school and are equipped with the knowledge necessary to achieve the goals. The principal must help the teachers identify their role in the obtainment of the mission and the impact their actions will have upon the school. This should be supported with definitive data and/or research. For example, when teachers in a Georgia school were asked to change to block scheduling, they initially resisted. It was not until the principal explained to the teachers how the students would benefit from block scheduling, provided evidence from other schools and asked the teachers their opinions, did the teachers seriously consider block scheduling. One teacher stated, “by being offered a voice in the decision-making process and by accepting ownership of the change, we have created an exciting opportunity for improvement rather than an ill-fated expedition into the unknown” (Hannaford, Fouraker, Dickerson 2000).

In addition, an effective leader will ensure the goals of the organization are achieved by grooming teachers for leadership roles within the school. The principal must first clearly define the role of teacher leaders and give encouragement. Secondly, according to Wohlstetter, Van Kirk, Robertson, and Mohrman (1997), teachers should participate in workshops that help the teachers expand their views beyond the classroom and strengthen their leadership abilities. These workshops should be taught by the principal, or the principal should actively participate in the following professional development workshops with teacher leaders: Creating a School Vision, Effective Teams, Team Building, Conflict Resolution, Communication Skills, Listening Skills, Benefits of Team Diversity, Problem Solving as a Team, and A Functional Approach to Leadership. Lastly, the principal should reinforce the importance of teacher leaders in the attainment of the school’s goals and objectives.

As a teacher, the author provides students with many opportunities to become leaders through modeling, delegating duties and positively reinforcing actions of leadership. Students are often placed into small cooperative learning groups to complete tasks. Immediately after the groups are formed, the groups discuss their objectives and develop a plan of action. After the plan of action is developed, the teacher selects a “group manager”. This person is responsible for delegating duties to the other group members, ensuring all members remain on task and meet deadlines, and he also reports the group’s progress to the teacher. Many students who traditionally would not have been assertive in class find their voice and confidence in their newly assigned leadership positions. By developing leaders within the classroom, the author has more time to provide individualized instruction and assistance to those students that are having difficulty. In addition, the student leaders develop skills that can be utilized later in the world of work, namely effective communication, team building, delegating, time management, and organization skills. Lastly, the students receive feedback from both their peers, as well as the teacher on their leadership skills.

Given the many demands upon leaders, educating subordinates and “distributing leadership [has become] a survival tactic as well as a good organizational strategy” for the achievement of organizational objectives (Supovitz, 2000).

REFERENCES:

Hannaford, B, Fouraker, M., & Dickerson, V. (2000). One school tackles the change to block scheduling. Phi Delta Kappan 82(3). 212-213.

Supovitz, J. (2000). Manage less lead more. Principal Leadership (High School Edition) 1(3), 14-19.

Wohlstetter, P., Van Kirk, A., Robertson, P., & Mohrman, S. (1997). Organizing for successful school-based management. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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About the author:

Shanika Taylor has taught science at the middle school level, in Miami-Dade County Public Schools for five years. She has also taught Introduction to Education at Miami-Dade Community College. She is presently certified in Educational Leadership, Middle Grades Science, and Business Education. During the past five years, she has served as the science club chairperson, published the school newspaper, and mentored new teachers. She has earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Florida International University. Currently, she is working on a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership, with a concentration in Organizational Leadership, at Nova Southeastern University. In 1997, she was nominated for the Sallie Mae Beginning Teacher of the Year Award. Upon completing her doctoral degree, Shanika plans to teach at the university level, conduct research and consult.