From Janice Ollarvia, E3 Team Consultant
New Teacher Induction: A Key Role for Instructional Leaders
By now you have no doubt discovered that it is not only your responsibility to hire teachers but also care for and support them. Because of the rate at which new teachers leave the profession, school agencies are frantically shaping and reshaping induction programs in the hope of plugging the hole in the dyke through which too many beginning teachers leak sometimes after only a few months. While system-wide programs for new teacher induction are important, the most critical and effective induction of new teachers occurs at the local school and must be shaped and guided by the local principal.
Fortunately, this important responsibility is not an area where you must reinvent the wheel. Many principals have discovered several keys to the effective induction of new teachers in their building. The following are some of those key activities:
- Informed Interviewing: Use questions designed to help you find teachers most likely to find success in your building. Not only should teachers know their content area thoroughly; they must be able to connect with adolescents. Sources such as Building the Best Faculty (Clement, 2002) and Essentials for Principals (Clement, D Amico, Protheroe, 2001) provide effective interview questions. To get the support of another set of eyes, make sure to include good teachers on the interview panel. Most important, never let the frantic rush to fill every vacancy force you to hire a candidate about whom you have major misgivings. You (and your students) will pay for that mistake many times over.
- Careful Selection and Training of Mentors: Being a good instructor does not guarantee that a person has the qualities to be a successful mentor. A good mentor of new teachers will have to fill many roles: coach, sounding board, problem-solver, facilitator and resource. Make sure they understand the specific commitment being asked of them in terms of their time, skills, attitudes and accessibility. Finally, provide them and their protgs with some method of regularly documenting their interactions and progress. You may want to take a look at the Collaborative Assessment Log developed by the New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and adapt to fit your needs.
- Scheduling for Success: It is amazing how many of us survived the old-school practice of giving new teachers the worst possible schedule, the most challenging students, maximum additional duties, and the implied directive to sink or swim. Why is it that we clearly understand the need to provide low-hanging fruit (early successes) for students, but no sort of ramping up (early success building) process for new teachers?
- Rapid Inculcation to the School Basics: Without help, a new teacher can quickly be overwhelmed by the minutia of their non-instructional responsibilities. One way to ameliorate this is to provide a series of workshops at the beginning of the school year (or before school starts, if possible) on such topics as procedures for handling school funds, strategies for managing classroom routines, textbook checkout and management, special education issues, etc. Enlist the help of key staff members to facilitate these sessions.
- Positive and Regular Communication with the Principal: This may be the most important piece of the plan, and should include informal conversations as well as scheduled individual debriefings. These encounters should include I m glad you joined our faculty assurances as well as feedback on the teachers performance so far. New teachers need to know they have your support and that you are cheering for their successes.
Careful development of a support system for new teachers has a payoff beyond their success and retention: your behavior sends the message to faculty and staff that you are an instructional leader who values the work of teachers, encourages teacher leadership, and is willing to devote time, energy and resources to the task of developing and maintaining a stable, high-quality faculty. Your time as a new principal cannot be better spent.
Principals Need to Listen
LISTEN
Listening is especially crucial advice for new school leaders. Whether you are new to the building or not, the principalship is very different from the assistant principalship, and it requires a unique and elevated skill set. It's okay not to know everything. Nobody does. There is a wealth of information to be learned from those with whom you work. Listen carefully ...
To faculty: It is important to gather input from those who have been in the school for a considerable amount of time. Find out what is working in the school and what needs work. Meet with people individually and in groups. Gather their insights. You will find there is a wealth of knowledge and talent in your building. Teachers who already have connections and relationships with parents and community can assist you in all sorts of ways as you learn the community culture. Faculty with organizational gifts can provide scheduling assistance. They can help organize a school or parent activity. Even disgruntled staff members have talents. By listening, you discover what they are. Listen also to conversational cues: How do your teachers talk about students? Is the language supportive, or does the talk reveal an "us vs. them" mentality?
To support staff: What you hear from secretaries, lunchroom workers, clerks, nurses and janitors can also be enlightening. Do they see themselves as equal members of the school team? Do they treat each other, and visitors to the school, in a respectful and welcoming manner? If invited, they can share all sorts of insights about the workings of your school.
To your students: It's remarkable how often we forget the importance of knowing what students think and how they feel about how they are being educated. Time spent in conversation with individual students, and in student forums, is time well spent. Kids can tell you exactly what's going well (or not) in your school. In addition to listening to the students in your school, I recommend the Web site whatkidscando.com, and the books Notes to the Principal, and Fires in the Bathroom, by Kathleen Cushman and the students at whatkidscando, Inc. Neglecting the voice of students can be disastrous.
To a mentor: The best mentor may not be the one assigned by your district. Be sure to enlist the help of someone who can help you brainstorm issues, bounce ideas, share confidences and struggles. A trusted mentor can respond honestly to your ideas and decisions and provide a sympathetic ear.
From Marion Payne, E3 Team Consultant
Principals Need to Inspire a Vision
It is an easy thing to dream. It is more difficult to make the dream come true. A leader has a huge responsibility in getting others to become part of the vision. It's like sharing your favorite toy with your playmates or allowing them to join you in the sandbox. All the stakeholders should have an opportunity to craft the school's vision for the future. The leader's ability to inspire others is paramount to the success that will follow.
Consider these actions:
- Get stakeholders to believe in you and the goals you hope to achieve.
- Seek buy-in and input from all.
- Provide opportunity for real input.
- Be open to consensus and compromise.
- Have believable, achievable beliefs.
- Think with the future in mind.
Principals Need to Communicate Effectively
During the course of a typical school day so much is happening. It is an easy thing for leaders to get caught up in the momentum of the day-in and day-out routine at the expense of the big picture. There are many audiences.
Effective communication includes the following:
- Avoiding the use of jargon.
- Addressing the various audiences.
- Having outstanding oral and written skills.
- Being regular and consistent in reaching all stakeholders staff, students, and community.