Decisions

Coming to a new school as a new principal, making the decision to move teachers to different grade levels and demote a facilitator to a teacher were two of many tough decisions my principal had to make.
In an attempt to close the learning gap, my principal explained how she looked at teacher’s previous experiences with other grade levels as well as a need for teachers on particular grade levels. Although many teachers weren’t happy with their new placements, she new it was something that had to be done.
My principal strategically staggered teachers throughout the grades, me being an example. I student taught kindergarten, then taught first grade and was brought to kindergarten this year. The reason for the move was because she wanted to raise the bar for the class of 2023. Considering the fact that I had experience with both grade levels I was familiar with both curriculums, which when applied correctly can show significant growth. Our school is big on vertical planning and this is one of the first steps in setting that plan in place.
A lot of teachers weren’t all to thrilled with their new placements, including myself (even more so now than at the beginning of the year), causing some teachers to leave the school entirely. Those are the tough decisions that have to be made behind the scenes. Even when people walk away you have to know within yourself that you made the right decision as the principal.
The leadership style my principal went with was a “decide and announce.” She did get together with a team of teachers who had been teaching at the school for some time and gathered their input however, when it came down to asking for volunteers first, that did not happen. One on one, each teacher was notified of whether or not they would be in the same or new grade next year.

The second big decision was demoting the previous literacy facilitator to a teacher and hiring the literacy facilitator from her previous school. But she continues to remind me and the rest of the staff that she has to do what’s best for the students. When she looks back on our AYP and see’s that we have not made progress as we should, I agree that changes need to be made. What or who can show results? Well that’s who I want on my staff. I thought of something my old commander used to say and it was, “If you keep doing things the same way, why would you expect anything to change.”
Again, the decision-making process used was “decide and announce.” The first day of school, our old literacy facilitator was introduced as a fourth grade teacher much to everyone’s surprise.