A-Rated Leadership

 

J.Sanders-Nelson, Spring, 2025

-rated Leadership

Working in a successful, high-achieving school with stellar standardized testing scores is hard work. Working at the very opposite end of that spectrum is even harder.

  An academically struggling school's leadership is often under tremendous pressure from its higher-ups. Trying to rally the team to meet expectations and raise campus scores is a daunting and delicate task. Leadership approach can either make or break the teaching team they are counting on to achieve those goals.

 I believe that collective perception(1), in my opinion, is when a group of people working or living together experiences a negative shift in their environment and react to it accordingly. In a restrained environment, this could breed an atmosphere of contempt. Where does the contempt derive from? From negative comments, actions, and even emotions. Thus, if leadership presents hostile or passive-aggressive comments but then tries to follow it up with the standard “We're All in This Together” comments, the team only hears the negative. In this state of reflection and the replaying of the negative comments, corporate teamwork jargon is lost. Instead, heads turn, eye contact is made with other co-workers, and the collective perception that the leader does not believe in them is born. This perception may manifest into lackadaisical attitudes with very little motivation to do well because doubt has been cast on their abilities to bring up achievement in the first place.

 Is it feasible to turn such a toxic environment around and bring the team together for the good of the students?  Who, by the way, are watching and learning how adults treat each other via the leadership’s interactions with the educational team. According to Corwin Connects, "...it is critical for teachers and administrators to take time to connect with students. Students will remember the connections and connection attempts, and it will help them shape their behaviors." One way to make that connection is to demonstrate appropriate behaviors towards colleagues.

In the midst of turmoil and low morale, it is possible for leadership to reinvest in their team, but it may require inner reflection and honesty. 

• Have I been an honest leader? 

• A helpful leader 

• Did I blame others when I knew the initial responsibility fell on me?

 I believe it's okay for a leader to backtrack and say, “Let's start over, before this gets out of hand.” If the delivery is sincere and without the “buts”:

• But you all have to …

• But I can't …

• But you have to realize…

     These are all self-preserving excuses shoddily tagged onto an apology for a mediocre leadership style. I'm no expert on leadership, and I am not currently involved in academic leadership. However, I have served under both good and strained leadership and learned a great deal from observing. I'm a classroom teacher, I love teaching my kids, I don’t mind following the curriculum, and I am a team player. Looking back, I have found that the best leadership I thrived under was humble, honest, and secure in their ability to lead. These attributes were passed on to the teaching team, and we therefore excelled. Working hard to raise and maintain academic goals came easily because, in the end, we had leadership right there in the trenches with us. Leadership has to stand with their teaching teams; they must trust and believe in them, help to develop their skills, and not look for last-minute remedies that render very little impact on students. When we teachers know that leadership is on our side, it empowers us and inspires us to be the absolute best that we can be in our classrooms.  

After all, we are all in this together.

19th Year and Counting

his will be my 19th year as an educator and as the new school year is about to begin I am excited, nervous, and a little sad about leaving summer vacation behind.

Since I began teaching in 2005, so much has changed in the classroom, the access to technology, learning management systems, online tutoring that occurs in class while the teacher is teaching, the massive exodus from the profession of teaching, unfounded claims that teachers are indoctrinating students...and I could go on.

"Why do you stay?" They ask. "I couldn't do it!" They exclaim.

I stay because I love teaching kids, I do it because I love teaching. It's quite simple for me. I have several former students who are now educators and even former educators. It's a tough road, I have encouraged them to persevere and most have; some have moved on to other professions and that is understandable.

 

I look forward to another exciting year of teacher and student triumphs. I am hopeful for support administration and staff to make sure that the school year is one of learning and a safe space to be creative and grow.

Burning On

by Paula J. Sanders-Nelson ~November 13, 2022

Everyone has heard of teacher burnout, right? More students, more paperwork, more discipline issues…daily. It’s enough to make many take off their teacher hats and hang it up.

“It's caused by chronic stress due to unrelenting workplace demands. The National Education Association defines teacher burnout as “a condition in which an educator has exhausted the personal and professional resources necessary to do the job.” It's not just about the ability to educate effectively, though.Sep 15, 2022 Teacher Burnout: A Growing Problem in Schools - Talkspace

 

My last year teaching high school was a bit much. There were some nights when I couldn't close my eyes without dreaming about the noise and violence. Yes, I said violence. 

My plate was already full with work, plus family health issues and now pile on the daily discipline issues, fights, lack of administrative support, apathetic students and the list goes on, I was teetering on the edge of good-bye teaching profession.

So many at this point ask, well, why didn’t you just quit?

Reasons, well there are many…not only was my family depending on me financially, but I had students who became like family depending on me for emotional support. How could I, in the midst of all of the chaos, simply walk out on them? If I was feeling anxious, nervous, stressed and borderline traumatized, how were they feeling?

 I looked out each day at a group of students who should have been elated to be back in school and moving into the normality of school days: homecoming, prom, field trips, athletics…instead, I saw a lot of blank faces. Many turning to artificial substances to escape the raucous. How could I just leave? I couldn't, I toughed it out. 

I am still toughing it out. It's a new year, new school, new kids, but I look out and see the similarities. They are keeping their heads above water, trying to be in the norm, but there is a lot going on inside of those young minds. So, my teacher hat is still on, I enter the classroom everyday, a little bit older but hopefully a little bit wiser. I’m burning on.

Gifted Leadership

 Paula J. Sanders

(opinion)

Some people are born leaders, someone once said, and I believe that to be true.

I am a reluctant leader, but I am a hard worker, team player/cheerleader but I feel my true place is in the classroom.

I have been a classroom teacher for 16 years and teaching is actually my 2nd career. After college, I went into corporate training and eventually event production and sales. In those capacities I had to lead, but I did so with patience and firmness but never was I harsh, hateful, or hurtful. “Good leaders exhibit courage, passion, confidence, commitment, and ambition. They nurture the strengths and talents of their people and build teams committed to achieving common goals. “ (1)

Looking back on those times led me to some very interesting observations about educational leadership; some people are just natural-born gifted leaders. I remember working with a very young teacher, however, he was an intelligent and active teacher with great methods and ideas. (I have never been one to be intimidated by the fiery new teachers entering education; instead, I look forward to the fresh ideas they bring to the classroom.) One morning as we worked together on a special event for the school, I watched him direct and inform the other teachers and  I just had to tell him that he had a higher calling in education. Of course in the middle of preparations, he brushed it off as if I were joking. But I could just tell that there was something “gifted” in the way he headed up the team of teachers and students preparing for the special event, that leadership was indeed his forte. After all, “Great administrators are those who excelled in the classroom, not the teachers who got into administration to get away from teaching.” (2) He is now an inspiring administrator and has changed the lives of many, many students, and is very well respected by his staff and peers alike.

“Ineffective leadership can be thought of as directly contrasting successful leadership; while the latter has a positive influence on workers to achieve common goals, ineffective leadership, on the other hand, has an adverse impact on workers’ motivations to attain common goals.” (3) Contrary to watching a teacher evolve into a strong leader, I worked with a teacher who was extremely ambitious and made great efforts to receive recognition for her hard work and ideas. She relished in the fact that she wore many hats episodes her regular instructional position. She definitely had drive and ambition, but, from my personal observation, needed to hone her leadership skills. Her concern for her position and personal accolades often left gaping holes in her leadership style. Thus her team was simply worker bees than a united team. The work they completed definitely elevated her status with the end product and she praised herself when her team accomplished the goal. It was only when a seasoned administrator acknowledged her team that she would also do so, briefly, and then turn the focus back to her success in the task. Her ambitious leadership would never equal that of a gifted leader who could acknowledge that without the team of hard-working people behind them, success would remain far out of reach. 

In the past, I have been fortunate to serve children with phenomenal administrators. One in particular instilled the concept of “whatever it takes” and she allowed teachers to use whatever methods they had to make sure that students were engaged and learned well. This included teaching students about recycling and repurposing everyday items to having an “underground railroad” day to engage students in history and the realities of pre-civil war slavery. She wanted to walk by or walk into a classroom and see students receiving engaging instruction, collaborating, or independently working and focused. Her ability to coach, lead and inspire teachers made for great morale and high retention. “One key factor that influences teachers to remain at schools is their relationship with the building principal. ... the most crucial variable in faculty productiveness and commitment is the quality of the relationship between [faculty] and their administrators.” (4)

“Administrators who don’t understand what it takes to be a great teacher cannot succeed as leaders of a school.” (5) There is truth in this statement because there are plenty of teachers who would make excellent leaders, but for the love of teaching remain in the classroom. An educator who I call a colleague and friend is one such teacher/leader. She goes above and beyond for her students and coworkers. She has elevated ideas from classroom instruction to school activities. She is encouraging, knowledgeable, and most of all humble. She is extremely likable and I have discovered that some may find her light and ability to make a friend anywhere intimidating. They are prone to the notion that she is trying to be better than they are or somehow intentionally outshine them but that is just not the case. Her only intent is to be a team player and uplift those around her even on some of her most personally challenging days. I have assumed several times that she would go for leadership positions but each time she waved them by basking in the joys of simple teacherhood, utilizing her “gifted leadership” to the fullest in her classroom. 

In the end, a gifted leader knows how to gather a team seemingly falling apart and bring them back together. Gifted leaders can harness potential without harmful worlds, inspire without insult and work selflessly to make sure that all teachers feel appreciated, even when things are tough and right now, things are tough all over.

To administrators, I must say that just because some are “gifted leaders” does not mean that you are NOT a true leader yourself. Some believe that, “Great leadership is not a natural occurrence. Though some people have innate leadership traits, the best heads of the pack get that way through ongoing mentoring, training and real-world experience.” So, take the time to improve your style and knowledge as a leader to increase or maintain the morale of your team. An effective and conscious leader will accept the need to learn more and develop those skills in order to become an even more competent leader. This effort is not just a personal goal but is also for the amazing teachers and students who stand with you. “Conscious leaders speak with integrity, lead with authenticity and hold themselves accountable. They listen with the intent to understand and not just to respond...” (6)

Sources

1. 8 Must-have Qualities of Effective Leaders 

2. Why Ineffective Teachers Shouldn't Be Hired as Administrators 

3. Competitiveness Review 

4. Teacher Retention 

5. Why Ineffective Teachers Shouldn't be Hired as Administrators 

6. 5 Ways to Be a Conscious Leader 

7. Natural Born Leaders