Today's VCR for School Admin - Lessons Learned from the AP Experience

The NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series continues with a post from Jon Williams, a 23-year educator who just stepped into his first principalship this summer. After serving as an assistant principal for the last three and a half years, Jon is taking over as principal of Dalton L. McMichael High School in Mayodan this fall. Prior to entering administration, Jon was a high school social studies teacher for almost 20 years, 15 of which he served at McMichael. Jon is also a Wake Forest guy (another reason I like him!) who won the WFU Marcellus Waddill Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013.

Be sure to connect with Jon on Twitter (@JonWilliamsEdu) and help him continue to grow his PLN. As he steps into the principalship this fall, Jon's blog post reflects on what he learned as an assistant principal that has prepared him for this new role. Jon sums it up with the acrostic "VCR" ... visibility, collaboration, and relationships. I hope you enjoy Jon's post!


Today’s V.C.R. for School Admin: We’re Not Talking About What Replaced the Betamax! - Lessons Learned from the AP Experience Going into a New Principalship

Experience! Experience! Experience! It’s all about the experience that makes you grow as a leader. Currently, I am entering my first principalship with only a few days behind me on the job. So, this post will focus on the practices I learned that made a difference for students at the two schools I used to serve (Ellis Middle School – Davie County Schools & Walkertown High School – Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools). These lessons are ones that will serve as a foundation for my leadership as the new instructional leader of McMichael High School. 

The Big Three – Visibility, Collaboration, & Relationships!

Over the course of the last three and a half years, I have discovered a different lens as a school administrator and a new kind of “V.C.R.” As an assistant principal, I experienced early on that to be a successful instructional leader required this new V.C.R. mentality, which includes Visibility, Collaboration, and of course Relationships! Here is just a brief look at what I am talking about.

Visibility

I put visibility first in my order of attributes essential to school administrators because I believe YOU have to be seen to accomplish anything for teachers, students, and other school stakeholders. It can be a very easy thing to sit in your office all day and take care of the managerial tasks that behold you. There are a multitude of tasks to accomplish that require your attention, but they don’t always require your immediate attention. Early on in my admin career, I was fortunate to stumble upon the “21 Day Instructional Leadership Challenge” on Twitter. I was intrigued. Upon further investigation, I studied and completed the challenge that was started by Justin Baeder at The Principal Center (great person to follow and a great organization to subscribe to - @eduleadership). The challenge is all about conducting classroom walkthroughs, giving feedback to teachers, and having conversations about improving lessons to benefit students. In essence, a school admin schedules time on his or her calendar and sticks to it. This, in my opinion, is the number one way to be “visible” in the schoolhouse. Teachers, students, and other staff see that it is a priority for you to be in classrooms, and this habit you establish will lead to numerous other benefits in your leadership practice.

By being visible in classrooms, discipline goes down. You are able to interact with students as they are participating and learning in the classroom. When students see you out and about, they are less likely to act out. Also, if teachers know you will be a regular in their classroom, the after effect is almost always them “stepping up their game” to ensure that they are doing a good job - a win-win for students and teachers. Being visible in the classroom shows teachers that you care for their success and being supportive is a priority to you. My goal is to get in to three or more classrooms a day, and this will again be common practice for me and my new admin team in the new year.

Another powerful practice in “visibility” is being in the hallways during class changes. If you are in the halls on a consistent basis, students know to look for you. Again, this helps to alleviate discipline situations, and this is a time you can get to know your kids. Visibility is key to being a strong and impactful instructional leader.

Collaboration

Collaboration comes next on the list. As a teacher, almost all of my principals stuck to an isolationist leadership style. They made decisions behind their desk with little or no input from others on staff. As many of you probably all know, this practice is not what is best for kids. In order for your school culture to thrive, a school leader must be inclusive and “collaborative.” I have seen how School Leadership Teams can be a powerful vehicle to drive change in your building. Great things happen for kids when a diverse School Leadership Team is working together, analyzing data, and working to make the classroom experience better for their students.

Other successful collaborations I have witnessed were through Professional Learning Communities. If organized and facilitated correctly, teams of teachers can talk about what is most important… the kids! And, they can look at data, talk about trends in their classrooms, and take some action steps to address individual student needs. While it is good to look at the “big picture” when talking about student data, PLCs must talk about specific students and what can be done to help them be more successful in one or more classes. Ideally teachers should be leading this work with the Admin present and available for support. Admin redirection is sometimes needed to keep PLCs on track for what they were set up for.

Relationships

Visibility and collaboration are vital components for the most important piece of the educational puzzle – relationships! Being seen in the hall during class change, getting involved with classroom lessons, going to ball games, attending concerts, riding the bus home with students, and just making time for the students you serve are all ways I have found to strengthen and build relevant relationships. Students notice this practice and you gain tremendous credibility. You also can meet your parents and community members by being present and attending various events. Word gets around very quickly that you are taking the time to talk to and interact with students and other school stakeholders at these school outings.

The same goes for teachers. I built some strong relationships with teachers at my previous school all because I was making classroom visits. In fact, when my classroom walkthroughs weren’t as frequent this year as the previous year, I heard about it! The teachers wanted me to be in there and give feedback and support to help them grow as educators.

So, today’s V.C.R. may be very different than previous years, but just remember that you will not go wrong with increasing the big three in your leadership style – Visibility, Collaboration, Relationships! I know these habits will serve me well in my first year as a principal.

Jon Williams is the principal of Dalton L. McMichael High School in Mayodan, North Carolina.