School Systems, the Educational Leader

¶ … school systems, the educational leader plays a vital role in connecting the school with the community. The leader is someone who the teachers, staff, students and parents can look to for guidance, support and information. A school leader is someone who can be trusted to assure that all functions and operations of the school are running smoothly.

An effective educational leader is one who is:

Someone who works to create a supportive environment were all coworkers can contribute; feel invested in the process, and succeed.

Someone who has an open-mind and vision of the future and its possibilities.

Someone who is willing to empower others and allow them to act upon their own ideas and visions.

Someone who is continuously seeking out opportunities, innovation, and change.

Someone who is willing to work in an environment which is flexible and lacks hierarchy, allowing others to take on leadership roles.

Someone who is willing to listen and talk with the creative voices, and allow them to be heard in the greater organization.

Someone who is willing to relinquish the leadership roles and responsibilities when others with greater strengths step forward.

Someone who is dedicated and committed to the future and future successes of the given workplace.

Educational Philosophy 2

As an educational leader, there are certain characteristics that I believe would make me a strong leader for any school district. As an effective educational leader I would like to:

Create the best possible environment for myself and coworkers so that we together can each contribute to the greater success of our goals.

Remain open-minded to the ideas and suggestions put forth by the creative individuals I work with and work to implement ideas that can contribute to improving the process, product, or ourselves.

Be willing to work through stumbles, setbacks and failures, and remain focused on the greater goals.

Allow others to assume leadership roles and "step back"; in doing this I recognize that others have strengths greater than my own.

Always remember the "bigger" picture, greater goals, and what is best for everyone involved (and then act to accomplish these above my own goals/needs and myself).

What makes someone a leader? Simply stated, a leader is someone who persuades others to follow them. In educational terms, it is a person who acts as a beacon, guiding others to a common vision or goal. When someone is put into a position of authority or administration, they don't automatically become a leader.

It is my opinion that leaders are born, not made or appointed. Or they are at least born with certain qualities that emerge over time.

Educational Philosophy 3

Leaders tend to be intelligent human beings. They are bright and articulate and they are life long learners. They are able to communicate clearly in both the written and spoken word. Leaders not only listen when others speak, they hear what others have to say. They are able to disagree with others without being belligerent. They respect differences of opinion. Superior leaders are not afraid to ask questions. They are open-minded. They know that they do not have all of the answers and are not experts in all areas. They have the wisdom to seek out answers and advice when they need it. Leader's value input from all team players and consider this input prior to making decisions.

There are also times when immediate decisions need to be made by school leaders. They are intelligent enough to know when this needs to be done and strong enough to do it.

School culture plays an important role in the school of strong leaders. The focus of a leader is what's best for the school and especially the students. A positive atmosphere exists in their buildings. The core beliefs are evident. They work to keep morale high and they know little acts of kindness go a long way. Effective leaders understand the importance of feeling valued for both adults and children. They respect others and in turn are respected by others. They show compassion and understanding. They know how important it is to commend people for a job well done. It is important for leaders to be consistent. The staff should know what type of reaction their leader will have in most situations. They should also know that their leader will stand behind them.

Confident leaders realize that they make mistakes from time to time. They are confident enough to admit when they have made a mistake and to try to rectify the situation. These leaders also realize that other people make mistakes. Rather than scold someone, they try to help them Educational Philosophy 4 learn from their experiences.

Although change can be fearful, leaders know the importance of change. They do not mandate change in their buildings but rather facilitate it.

Successful school leaders understand the importance of a vision, positive culture, effective management, collaboration, fairness, and political understanding. I believe that all of these standards are essential to the success of the school.

A principal to me is very similar to the coach of a sports team. I currently have no experience as a school principal, but I do have quite a bit of experience as the coach of a girls' basketball team. Personally, I can interpret the standards from that viewpoint and make the connection between leading the team and leading a school. With a sports team, the vision is to develop the skills of each player on the team, and ultimately to win. But this can't be done unless the players play as a team. I often tell my players that there is no "I" in team. Our success is based on the performance of all of the players. Collaboration is essential. Practice is an essential part of a team's success. This is the where most of the skill development takes place. It is the instructional component of the game. During a game, a coach must demonstrate fairness when deciding who plays. There are periods with set amounts of time and this time must be managed effectively. Timeouts and substitutions need to be planned out, but of course things don't always go as planned, so flexibility is a must. Lastly, a coach must know how to interact with the referees, the political/social/legal component of the game.

In the school setting, the team would be comprised of the people in the school...everyone from the teachers (team captains), students (players) and support staff (water boy, scorekeeper,

Educational Philosophy 5 etc.) All team members must collaborate in order to succeed. The vision would be that all students will learn (development of skills) and ultimately test scores will increase. The school must be managed effectively and efficiently to ensure success, the same way a coach must manage practice and game times. School leaders must be fair and equitable and must know how to interact with the community members from politicians to parents.