Principal Interview

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Interview a principal from your school district or from a school district close to where you live. 

Ask the principal to share an example of conflicts that he or she has experienced with each of the following groups:

· Teachers

· Parents or family of students

· Support staff (e. g., secretaries, custodians)

Ask the principal to describe how each of the 3 conflicts was resolved and how the communication strategies he or she used might have been different in each instance.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word analysis of the interview using the balanced leadership framework and identify the principal responsibilities you would have used in each instance.

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253356444_McREL’s_Balanced_Leadership_Framework_Developing_the_Science_of_Educational_Leadership

• Help me understand your thoughts about your primary role as a principal.

I see my role as one of support.  I need to be able to support my teachers as they learn new strategies to engage students, solve ongoing issues (behavioral and academic), and try different pedagogical approaches that lead to academic and social gains.  Often, I lead by example- whether it be modeling new tech in a staff meeting, or helping propose solutions in a team meeting.  In order for this to be effective, I have to know my staff on a personal level first.

With my students and families, again, building rapport is paramount to supporting them.  I often meet with students identified as high-needs at the beginning of the year before they are sent to my office for a disciplinary issue.  I talk with them and their families to see what barriers have been keeping them from being unsuccessful and work with them to set goals for themselves (could be academic or behavioral).  A key for this to work is following up with them in subsequent weeks.

• I invite you to share your own definition of instructional leadership.

Instructional leadership is modeling the idea that pedagogy is ever-evolving and that educators always have something new to learn.  This includes a clear vision, various learning opportunities (workshops, book studies, etc), support for staff as they try innovative strategies in their lessons, and reflection to see objectively what impact was made.

• Discuss how you model the concept of instructional leadership with your faculty and staff.

I am part of the learning process along with the staff.  For example, when the district made the decision to create a middle school class built on innovation and personalized learning, I immersed myself in the professional development and the implementation process.  I was transparent with the staff about the process, and included them in discussions and heard their concerns.  As we implemented the program, I checked in regularly with the staff members and students to see what was working well and what should be changed for the upcoming school year.  I used faculty meetings as a platform to discuss pedagogical practices that were taking place and allowed teachers to highlight the progress of their students.  We also had discussions about some of the difficulties and solicited ways to work through them.

• Please describe at least 2 examples of your own instructional leadership during the past month.

1.  During remote learning, l learned along with teachers how to adjust to the online learning platform and help students engage remotely, starting with empathy.  Our staff met weekly and we discussed practices that had been effective in reaching students.  I modeled self-care with staff, as I wanted them to do with their own classes.  I was cognizant to focus on solutions that would streamline their efforts.

2. I am starting a book study at my new school called “This Book is Anti-Racist”.  Since I am new, I have been in contact with one of the counselors and decided she should lead the study, as it is a passion of hers and she is looking for leadership opportunities.  I will be part of discussions and helped design what the book study will look like.  Additionally, I will be driving the discussion on how the reading will impact what school will look like.

• What should I have asked you about instructional leadership that I did not, and how would you have answered that question?

I would say that in order to be an effective instructional leader, one needs to know their staff on an individual level and as a team.  One needs to know when to push and when to let up.  What are the most important things to focus on and does it support the goal of the school & district.  I have found great success by focusing PD opportunities on just a few things (e.g.: Social-Emotional Learning and effective tech tools were my focuses this year).  This helped staff to have a clear picture of where we were going to place our efforts, and helped me have pointed discussions during post-observations about progress in those areas.