Schools are filled with leaders. From students to teachers to administrators, much of schooling hovers over this notion of leadership.
Teachers fulfill many leadership roles and responsibilities within the building, but are they serving in leadership roles that influence and support the school’s goals? Are they on the principal’s leadership team? Does that leadership team operate as an organized body focused on the success of the students? The principal position is daunting and riddled with challenges that can derail the best administrator from instructionally focused activities. This reality requires administrators to rely on a core group of teachers to ensure the school remains focused on its goals. This relationship is grounded in communication. To ensure the communication structure in place is sound, principals should know the answers to the following questions:
- How and in what forum are the key messages being delivered?
- Are there expectations associated with the message? If so, how will the principal ensure the message is communicated and reinforced accurately and to all educators?
- How does the administrator protect the “teacher leader” from resistant or even resentful peers?
- How does the system create clear lines of communication?
- And, how can the culture value the role of the teacher leader?
By developing teachers as leaders, empowering them to grasp their integral role in the school, and relying on them to support school wide goals, administrators set the structure for school wide success. This administrator teacher relationship allows for clear lines of communication, open dialogue, transparency,which are vital for success. Teachers ultimately execute the work that the initiatives are attempting to achieve, so the message they receive must be clear and communicated in an environment of trust and respect.