{"id":143361,"date":"2021-05-09T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T16:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/?post_type=podcasts&p=143361"},"modified":"2024-08-11T23:47:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T04:47:59","slug":"5-things-teachers-want-in-a-principal","status":"publish","type":"podcasts","link":"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/5-things-teachers-want-in-a-principal\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things teachers wish their principals knew"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot of talk right now about the teacher shortage crisis and the teacher attrition crisis.<\/h2>\n

This started before COVID in many areas, but the oftentimes chaotic and unpredictable approach to remote and hybrid learning this past year has made the situation more dire.<\/p>\n

And, I can tell for sure when I listen to teachers that many more folks are planning to quit or retire early when this school year comes to an end.<\/p>\n

So what does this mean for the teachers that stay? <\/strong><\/p>\n

How can schools keep their best teachers and attract more folks to the profession?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obviously, this is a complex issue with many factors at play. But the fact is, many teachers are really happy with their work. There are many teachers who feel supported, have the ability to be creative and innovative in their approach, are able to focus on what\u2019s best for kids, and aren\u2019t bound to excessive and unnecessary paperwork or meetings.<\/p>\n

And what I notice when observing teachers is that these conditions generally aren\u2019t present district-wide, although some districts have higher teacher satisfaction levels than others.<\/p>\n

Working conditions and morale vary tremendously, even between schools in the same neighborhood serving the same demographics. It\u2019s fascinating to consider WHY teachers at two schools in the same community can have wildly different teacher retention and satisfaction rates.<\/p>\n

I think that principals and assistant principals are the linchpins. Strong administrative leadership can make a massive difference in retaining teachers, and therefore, a massive difference in ensuring students have caring, effective, engaging instruction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the saying goes, people don\u2019t quit jobs, they quit leaders. As someone who\u2019s worked for some awesome principals, some mediocre ones, and some that were absolutely terrible … I can tell you that my actual job description and duties weren\u2019t that different from one principal to the next. When I was unhappy and when I requested a transfer, it was never because of teaching<\/em>: it was because of the school culture and leadership around teaching<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And what this means, at least to me, is that we don\u2019t have to completely overhaul every single aspect of the school bureaucracy to better support teachers and kids. That\u2019s a lovely goal to work toward, but in the meantime, we\u2019re losing our best teachers and killing the love of learning in children. We need immediate solutions, as well \u2014 practical, actionable things that can be done to make teaching a more sustainable career even within our current systems.<\/p>\n

I believe that there are leadership principles that any administrator can internalize and apply immediately to help their faculty feel better supported and create more manageable expectations. I\u2019m going to share some of these principles in today\u2019s episode, through the lens of what teachers have told me they wish their administrators understood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve surveyed teachers about this multiple times over the last few years, including during pandemic teaching, and I always see the same issues and patterns come up. Almost everything teachers say in response to, \u201cWhat do you want your admins to know?\u201d is some variation of or an offshoot of these five overarching statements.<\/p>\n

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Listen to episode 227 below,
\n<\/strong>or subscribe in your podcast app<\/strong><\/h3>\n