by Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader

This somewhat shocking question was asked in a recent story in The Christian Science Monitor.  Their article tells of a growing number of school districts located in cities including Detroit, Denver, Minneapolis and Boston where schools are being created without principals.  In this new format teachers are making the decisions on everything from curriculum coverage to cafeteria schedules.  While each city has a different program it appears they are being formed in response to a common problem—teachers believe that they are being held more and more accountable for student achievement while having little or no control over how their schools address the issues that impact classroom success.  According to the article teacher response to this scrutiny is basically, “Fine. Hold us accountable. But let us do it our way."  The writer, Stacy Teicher Khadaroo continues:

“While each teacher-led school is unique, the shared decision-making is what defines them. The teachers' participation tends to create a culture quite different from that in a traditional principal-led school: Teachers can't hide behind the classroom door or complain about policies, because they have to come up with solutions.”

While I applaud any approach in which teacher input is both solicited and implemented I am concerned about the wisdom of removing administrative teams designed to make decisions that are neither appropriate nor productive for teachers to make.  Time is a scarce commodity for teachers.  And using it to address such issues as school-wide student discipline, truancy, transportation, lunches, building cleanliness or budgets appears antithetical to the stated goals of these innovative, teacher-led institutions.  What I continue to fervently support, however, are schools where the teaching staff is deeply involved in the decisions that most affect them and their students.

Control or Cooperation

Mel Riddile has written on numerous occasions that for a school to succeed, principals need to be willing to trade some of their control for the cooperation of their staff. Based on my experiences as a department chair for twenty-six years and as a teacher for forty, I agree wholeheartedly.  I worked for a decade in a situation where it was clear that the opinions of teachers were considered and utilized; the department chairs had wide-ranging influence on the curriculum, hiring and the master schedule; and major policy issues were discussed at every level before implementation.  I have also worked in an environment where critical decisions were made behind closed doors and announced without discussion.  Department chairs were specifically told that their major responsibility was simply to carry out the policies of the administrative team.  I feel that the assertion by Ms. Khadaroo—if you want a school where the teachers are willing to be held accountable they must be an integral component in the overall process—is accurate. 

A Successful School with a Principal

Rather than getting rid of the principal, why not attempt to blend both worlds with certain specific arrangements which would ensure teachers accepting accountability and a hierarchy of leadership that would make the school function appropriately?  Here would be my picks for five areas of teacher influence:

Create a strong mid-management presence.  Give department chairs significant authority in the areas of hiring, scheduling, assigning rooms and generating academic policies.  The input of this group should be solicited and utilized on a regular basis.

Choose department chairs in a professional manner.  Schools should have clear and consistent criteria for selecting individuals to be department chairs.  In too many cases these selections are made based purely on seniority, favoritism or, worst case scenario, by whoever is willing to volunteer.  If the job is to be taken seriously, the appointment process must be equally serious.

Create teacher leaders throughout the building.  On every hall in any school there are teachers who have great ideas which could significantly improve academic success.  These views could have a profound effect both in the classrooms and throughout the curriculum.  Administrative leaders should encourage department chairs to solicit input from their members on all academic topics and should also approach teachers directly to request their thoughts and place them in leadership positions on influential committees.

Put classroom teachers into the evaluation process.  During my forty years of teaching math I was never evaluated by an administrator who had taught the subject.  Input from a fellow math teacher would have been welcomed and would have provided a unique viewpoint as would the thoughts of someone from a different department.  Evaluations need to be a collaborative process that includes individuals from the classroom.  Placing teachers into this process would provide an opportunity to make a significant impact on the improvement of both the teachers being observed and the ones making the observations.

Give teachers a voice in administrator evaluations.  In this new “flat-school” approach to education, teachers should have both informal and formal input in the assessment of the administrative staff.  Assistant principals should meet on a regular basis with teachers to have open and honest conversations about the positive and negative impact of their work.  In such a forum comments like “I like the way you handle student discipline for classroom misbehavior but your punishments for being late to classes appear to be inconsistent”, “If you would drop into our classes on an informal but somewhat regular basis I think it would send an excellent message to the students” or “I feel like you are not supportive enough of the teachers when working with your students” could result in constructive outcomes and interesting conversations.  On a more formal basis, teacher participation should be solicited and incorporated into the performance evaluation of all members of the administrative team.  Both of these avenues for frank and sincere dialogue between these two parts of the academic team could provide a significant improvement in morale and a greater sense of teamwork. 

Save the principals!

Principals and administrators should, in an ideal world, facilitate the job of the teachers.  If educating all children at the highest academic levels is our goal, then teachers need all of the help they can get.  They do not need more work or an enhanced job description.  If administrators are allowed to do their job of creating a positive learning environment then teachers can spend more of their time educating, inspiring, and enlightening their students