As this year draws to a close, I have been doing a lot of reflecting.
This has been a very interesting year at my school. It seems that there has been a lot of disconnect between administration and teachers. As I was reflecting, it goes back to expectations not being communicated clearly at the beginning of the year, and an extreme lack of follow through on communicated expectations.
As an aspiring leader, I know it starts at the top. Our principal communicates expectations to our assistant principals and they, in turn, communicate those expectations to classroom teachers. It seems as though our leadership team works as a group of individuals rather than as a collaborative team. As a result, our teachers are out of touch and our student behavior is getting worse. It boils down to no one having clear expectations.
How can we communicate to our leaders that we need better communication?
Communication at my school is just as bad except we do not have any expectations passed down. Many teachers know what they need to do for student achievement but many new teachers are lost. They do not follow any rules and leadership just lets it slide. Emails are never returned, staff and leadership meetings are canceled, and our principal is out of the building a lot. The message being sent is terrible. Our principal has "buddies" who know more than others. Secrets are spread throughout the staff which have caused more anger towards our leadership. Our teacher leaders have confronted the leadership team numerous times, me being one of them. Still no changes have been noticed. My principal is working on her dissertation and that seems to be her only concern. As our staff turns on each other and the leadership spins out of control, it goes to show how communication is such a key component to strong leaders.
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