Principal Teacher is all about administrators being more involved in the classroom but we have to walk a fine line. We never want our teachers to think we are in the classroom because we are spying on them, suggesting they are not doing things right, or suggesting we know how to do it better. It is simply about administrators getting in the classroom to teach or actively involved in the lessons so we do not become disconnected. It is VERY easy to get caught up in the everyday demands of a principal and before you know it you haven't been in a classroom for 2 weeks. How are teachers going to take us seriously when we lead staff developments if we don't walk the walk and talk the talk?
As a first year assistant principal on a new campus I had to work really hard to earn credibility. They didn't know who I was, what kind of teacher I was, or what my motives were. They didn't know that at my previous school I was actively involved in developing math and reading strategies, I conducted professional developments on best practice strategies weekly, I was part of a national program that promoted teacher growth, or that my students showed the most growth in the entire district on their state assessment. They had no clue what kind of teacher I was or the passion I had for teaching; therefore, it was hard for several teachers to trust me and understandably so. I wanted to show the teachers I was there to help them and I had so many things I wanted to share.
After a particulary stressful day I went home and spent the weekend brainstorming how I could share with our teachers new and effective strategies and build credibility not just as an administrator but as a teacher as well. Again, principals should never stop being a teacher. I finally developed the idea Monday Mini Trainings. Below are the SIMPLE steps. When we try to make professional development too complex is when we lose our teachers. They are already overwhelmed with everything they have going on and just want us to get to the bottom line.
Monday Mini Training
1. Mini Trainings last 30 minutes. At our campus we were dismissed at 3:05 and started the training promptly at 3:15. Since our teachers made sure to be there on time, I made sure to end on time.
2. Ask you teachers what their needs are. First, this encourages our teachers to be self- reflective and second we are providing them with PD that will be useful for them.
3. Pick ONE skill to focus on and create a professional development over the skill. Keep it specific and relevant. Our Monday Mini Trainings were successful because we provided all of the materials our teachers needed to be able implement the new skill or strategy the next day. We knew that if our teachers had what they needed when they left, they would more likely implement the strategy.
4 The teachers have until the next Monday Mini Training to implement the strategy into their classroom. It was understood the teacher could tweak and add their own creativity to match their student's needs.
5. The next Monday the teachers met with their Mixed Block groups. During that time they discussed what work, what didn't work, how they tweaked it, and how they would continue to implement the strategy.
6. The next Monday we started the process over.
*A Mixed Block group include teachers from other grade levels, interventionist, and enrichment teachers.
Monday Mini- Trainings were so successful that our teachers from the intermediate campus began to attend the trainings. They help our teachers to grow and collaborate with other teachers. Last year my principal, Tiffany Bietz, and I led the Monday Min-Trainings. This year we are working towards having our teachers led some of the trainings to build campus leadership. We are also going to offer to come into the classroom and c0-teach the new skill to the class if a teacher is willing.
If you have any questions on how we were able to implement Monday Mini-Trainings please feel free to ask under the comment section below! Have a great Thursday!
What is Principal Teacher?
Am I teacher or am I a principal? I am both! I am actually an assistant principal for a 1st-3rd grade campus. I will be starting my second year and I have LOVED it! I will have to be honest though, I really began to miss teaching about a month into my first year as an assistant principal. I had a pit in my stomach because I missed it so much. I missed the joys of teaching and helping student's succeed. I was the teacher who stood on top of desks, transformed my classroom depending on the lesson, created silly songs, dressed up, and more importantly believed my student's were capable of great things. I had spent the last 10 years teaching and all of a sudden felt like a part of me was missing. This feeling never went away and I didn't know what to do. I loved my job as an assistant principal but also wanted to teach. I didn't know how I could possibly do both.
Fast forward to June. I went to the TEKS resource conference in San Antonio and Ron Clark was our keynote speaker. Talk about a guy who knows what he is doing! I really respect his leadership style. He says it like it is, but in a kind way. He does this because his ultimate priority are his students, and he expects excellence from anyone who is going to teach his students. While he was talking there was one thing which really stood out to me. He talked about one of the classes he taught. Now wait a minute! He is a man who teaches a class and runs the greatest school in the world! If he has enough time to still teach, why can't I? The bottom line is he makes it a priority and I plan on doing the same thing this year. Not only does he make it a priority but so does Co-founder of the Ron Clark Academy, Kim Bearden. Again, she helps run the best school in the world and is an ELA teacher. Talk about rockstars! They both inspired me to create the blog Principal Teacher. I am not only a principal but a teacher as well.
As the new school year approaches I have been brainstorming how to make this happen. How do I build trust with my teachers so they know I am not spying on them or assuming I think they are doing something wrong? If I was a teacher in the classroom and my assistant principal said they wanted to teach a class this would be my first thought. Why? Because this is not a common practice among principals and assistant principals. It's not because we don't want to. Ask any principal what they feel like they need to work on and I would bet most of them would say they wish they could be in classrooms more. Being a principal or an assistant principal is tough and there are a lot of things we do behind the scenes. However, I know we can get into classrooms more if we make it a priority.
What will this all look like? Will I be teaching lessons, doing read alouds, or just simply being engaged during the lesson and not just sitting in a corner taking notes? I don't know quite yet. I do know there will be some things I do that will turn out great and there will be other things I will need to work on. This is a journey we can all walk together. Here's to a great year!
Fast forward to June. I went to the TEKS resource conference in San Antonio and Ron Clark was our keynote speaker. Talk about a guy who knows what he is doing! I really respect his leadership style. He says it like it is, but in a kind way. He does this because his ultimate priority are his students, and he expects excellence from anyone who is going to teach his students. While he was talking there was one thing which really stood out to me. He talked about one of the classes he taught. Now wait a minute! He is a man who teaches a class and runs the greatest school in the world! If he has enough time to still teach, why can't I? The bottom line is he makes it a priority and I plan on doing the same thing this year. Not only does he make it a priority but so does Co-founder of the Ron Clark Academy, Kim Bearden. Again, she helps run the best school in the world and is an ELA teacher. Talk about rockstars! They both inspired me to create the blog Principal Teacher. I am not only a principal but a teacher as well.
As the new school year approaches I have been brainstorming how to make this happen. How do I build trust with my teachers so they know I am not spying on them or assuming I think they are doing something wrong? If I was a teacher in the classroom and my assistant principal said they wanted to teach a class this would be my first thought. Why? Because this is not a common practice among principals and assistant principals. It's not because we don't want to. Ask any principal what they feel like they need to work on and I would bet most of them would say they wish they could be in classrooms more. Being a principal or an assistant principal is tough and there are a lot of things we do behind the scenes. However, I know we can get into classrooms more if we make it a priority.
What will this all look like? Will I be teaching lessons, doing read alouds, or just simply being engaged during the lesson and not just sitting in a corner taking notes? I don't know quite yet. I do know there will be some things I do that will turn out great and there will be other things I will need to work on. This is a journey we can all walk together. Here's to a great year!
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