Lead, Serve, Learn: The 3 Pillars of Principalship

Some academic writing, as required for my administration certification program...

What makes a school leader?

In order for an organization, a school, to grow and succeed, a leader must be put into place who can hold all sides of the school up to a high standard. The strength of a school sits on three pillars of character, and the school administrator must fulfill these three crucial roles in order to lead the school community toward success. The pillars of administrative success require an administrator to be a leader, a servant, and a continuous learner.

Principal as Leader

The importance of a principal as a leader cannot be overstated. One needs just to scan the internet for articles about the importance of this relationship to find study after study showing that no underperforming schools on record have been turned around without the leadership of a principal, and that many a good school has fallen apart under the direction of a poor leader. When viewed through the lens of student achievement and community, or plainly doing “what’s best for students”, a principal-leader has been shown to empirically improve school performance. In Leadership Matters, a joint publication by the NASSP and NAESP, a study by Louis, et. al, was quoted as saying, “Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school.” (Louis, 2010).  From the student’s perspective, the school administration should be a concoction of cheerleader, counselor, parent, community leader and liaison.

 To lead a staff, the principal must be a visionary, a coach, and a manager. Leadership is killed when the administration focuses on micro-management, shows unpredictable or volatile behavior, or when (even unintentionally) the administrator seems part of a clique, such as a group of teachers or office staff that is seen as “favorites” by the rest of the staff. (In fact, a study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found administrative leadership as the primary factor in the retention of good teachers) (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2010). In the end, the powerful leadership of a talented, energetic, wise administrator can make or break a school or district.

Principal as Servant

In addition to being a dynamic leader, the best school administrators are focused servants to their communities. Schools are not isolated businesses where young people go to work each day. A school is a vital cog in the greater good of the community in which it exists, and it is there to serve that very community. As the leader of a school, the principal must be a servant-leader for the larger community as well. Opening school doors for community functions, inviting community and business leaders into the school on a regular basis, and touting the school’s students, alumni, staff, and attributes to the larger region are all roles of a servant leader. 

Principals must not only be congenial to the local area, but must lead through humility and service in their own buildings. In an article about principals as servant leaders in the country of Jordan, Kayed Salameh states, “Leaders know that people will be more impacted by the quality of relationships than they will be by the accomplishments of tasks. Therefore they intentionally work to build community that works together and learns to serve one another in the process” (Salameh, 2011). An administrator that is loved by his/her community is the one that willing does car rider/bus/cafeteria duty, can stand in for any absent staff (including the most challenging positions) without hesitation, and who knows the importance of the school in the larger community.

Principal as Learner

Perhaps the most intuitive role for a school leader is that of master learner. Within the vast expectations of the common vision of a principal, learner can often be lost completely, yet learning is what brings most principals into their own leadership positions. As a beginning administrator, it is vitally important that one seeks out an experienced mentor, someone who has been through the rigor and ringer of administration, and who can guide the new administrator through the challenges of the first few years in the office. Just as other occupations (law, business, engineering, even education in the roles of student-teachers) have mentoring opportunities, so must school building administration. This allows the new leader support while learning the role.

Education as a field encourages learning, and principals must seek their own continuous education in order to stay abreast of learning trends, legislation, and educational developments. Without continued learning, leaders will lose the focus of education.  In his article, “The Learning-Centered Principal”, Richard DuFour points to the school building administrator as the ultimate learner, for the good of the students. He states, “By concentrating on learning, today’s school leaders shift both their own focus and that of the school community from inputs to outcomes and from intentions to results”. (DuFour, 2002).  Leaders must seek intentional results in order to facilitate learning in schools, staffs, students, and themselves.

By creating and maintaining a professional learning network (PLN), leaders can discuss and try-out new ideas before presenting them to their staffs. This is made easier in our modern world of social media, and on any night of the week, leaders can attend “Twitter Chats” on a variety of educational topics. In addition, staying connected with local universities is another way to keep fresh ideas flowing through the administration office and into the school building, helping the cycle of learning to continue to all levels of the school.

Leadership is a tricky pathway, and what works in one environment will never work in all environments. It is the responsibility of school leaders to act as servants, leaders, and learners in order to take students and teachers forward in the modern age of learning. 

Keeping Kids Connected: Using Video Conferencing as a Bridge for Homebound Students

This was originally published on the Indiana Department of Education's eLearning "Digital Learning Month" blog on February 5, 2016.
(It was exciting to be published on a state blog!)
http://indianadld.blogspot.com/ 

                                                                             Teachers are constantly working to find new, innovative ways to engage our students in the classroom. From total participation techniques (as discussed by Pérsida Himmele and William Himmele [Himmele, Pérsida, and William Himmele. Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2011. Print.]) to the use of video games or coding in the classroom, we want students to have fun, to be involved in the learning, and to acquire and assimilate each day’s lessons. Yet some students are unable to participate in the exciting, interactive lessons that we’ve created because they are absent from school. Approximately 64,000 U.S. students were homebound or hospital bound last year due to a medical condition classified under IDEA. If schools are tasked with providing education for every student and are focused on consistent involvement in the classroom, then they are responsible for the use of resources for this purpose. One way to bridge learning gaps for some homebound students is through the use of video conferencing in the classroom.

Classroom video conferencing, or distance learning, has been used for well over a decade at the college/university level to promote diversity in learning across the country and around the world. This technique, which allows students to participate in classroom learning from home or another setting, has a place in our upper elementary, middle, and high schools as well. It can be an effective tool that allows participation for students who are unable to be with us in the classroom. Classroom video conferencing works especially well for students who are unable to attend class because of anxiety, social disorders, or other medical conditions which would still allow for students to participate at a particular time each day.

Recently, I had an eighth grade student, “Rory”, who was a member of my 8th grade Honors English class. Rory had a medical condition which precluded him from participating in our class for a good portion of a 9-week quarter. Rory was under medical care for this condition, but was still able to complete school work from home. In order to keep him involved, I consulted with his parents, and we decided to try video conferencing with Rory during our class time, whenever possible. 

We set-up a video conference through Google Hangouts, since our school uses the Google Apps for education platform. Rory was able to log-in to the hangout from his home computer, and one of our district technology coaches set-up a web cam on my classroom desktop computer. Rory was ready and waiting to read along with us that day. He was able to interact with the other students, participate in our classroom discussion, and even get the homework for that night. We were able to keep him involved in our classroom without any kind of social awkwardness (in fact, the other students had been very concerned about Rory’s absences, and they were very excited to take turns sharing/working with him during class). 

What do you need to set-up classroom video conferencing for homebound students?

Classroom video conferencing can be set-up in a very short amount of time. After conferencing with the parents/guardians of your student for permission, you will need to have/do the following:

• Put a camera on both ends. 
• For the student: If your district has a 1:1 initiative in place, the student may already have a camera through their device. If not, your district may be able to provide the student with a loaned device, or the camera on a cell phone/iPod will also work. The student must have access to the internet for conferencing to happen. 
• For the teacher: If teachers have laptops or tablets, the device’s camera can be used, or a webcam can be attached to a desktop computer as well. We had our interactive board/projector on during the conferences, so the whole class could see Rory, and he was able to see all of them as well. 
• Choose a software system that works on both ends. 
• For Apple devices: Facetime, Messaging, and Skype are the best. 
• For Android/Windows devices: Google Hangouts and Skype work. 
• If you have a webcam installed, there may be a proprietary software program that you have to use. Check with your district tech team for help with this. 

Special Considerations  

1. Technology notoriously fails when we need it to work. Set-up a practice session with the student/family outside of class time, just to make sure everyone understands the hardware/software you are using. 
2. Engage the homebound student as much as possible. Assign certain students to partner with the student during class. This can be as simple as asking “turn-and-talk” questions, where all students are talking to someone else, and an assigned classroom student moves to the camera to speak with the homebound student. 
3. Give the homebound students whatever hard-copied materials the class will be using ahead of links/documents where these can be easily found. 
4. Allow for questions afterward. It is important to check-in to make sure nothing from class time was lost in the transmissions. 
5. Remember why the student is home in the first place. It is very likely that the student will have days when he/she is too ill to participate. Be mindful and patient with these, allowing alternatives for classroom participation. In these times, you could simply use the webcam to video the class discussions, sharing this with the student afterwards. 

In the end, classroom video conferencing should not make the situation more stressful for the student, the teacher, or the student’s family, but should offer a way to continue the student’s engaged learning in the classroom.