Base Every Decision on Your Superstars

Todd Whitaker describes the superstar teachers that we have in our schools as those that parents often request, would not be replaceable, are respected by peers and are remembered by former students as one of their best teachers. These are the top five to ten percent of our teaching staff, making for only a few superstars in a typical school. Whitaker writes about the importance of these people to effective principals. When making any decision, principals should be considering what their best teachers would think. His studied showed that effective principals routinely consulted informal teacher leaders for input. These teachers are usually happy to share their opinion, can keep conversations confidential (otherwise they would not have the respect of their peers) and have a school or district-wide vision that extends beyond the walls of their own classroom. This doesn’t mean that effective principals do not involve other teachers in decision-making; this is still important to do and gives them the feeling that they are part of the decision. What it means is that the superstars should always be considered or consulted in decision-making that impacts change on the whole school.

Whitaker makes a very interesting and valid point regarding the difference between effective and other principals regarding the confidence to seek input, both in advance and after the fact, from their best teachers. Less effective principals tend to be reluctant to have the superstar teachers in their schools, as they are more conscious of the fact that these teacher leaders are watching. If we don’t have confidence in ourselves, we are uncomfortable having outstanding colleagues around. This applies for teachers as well as principals. However, when we have confidence in ourselves, we relish opportunities to work with outstanding colleagues and use these chances to improve our skills and practice.

Whitaker, T. (2003). What great principals do differently: Fifteen things that matter most. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

It's People, Not Programs

In his book, What Great Principals Do Differently: Fifteen Things That Matter Most, Todd Whitaker outlines a number of things that make great principals stand out from others. One of these is the concept of focusing on the people within the school and not the programs that are running. He bluntly states the two ways that he feels a principal can make significant improvements to a school are to get better teachers and improve the teachers you have. He continues to discuss the fact that programs can make a difference, but it requires good teachers to be in place using those programs. Any teacher who has been teaching for ten years or more, especially if they have been at the same school, has seen programs come and go. Some of these programs are curriculum based, such as reading programs, while others may be encouraging good citizenship. Whitaker states, that effective principals, "see programs as solutions only when the programs bring out the best in their teachers."

In the same chapter, Whitaker also discusses the importance of principals to focus on individual staff development. In his studies, ineffective principals were much more focused of whole-school goals and issues and very little on individual teacher needs and growth. For me, this strengthens the need for individual teacher growth plans that are focused and empowering and supporting teachers to meet their goals that they set out in these documents. Whole school goals are important and we must continue to work on them, but if you have struggling teachers, this will probably not make much of a difference in their classroom. Regardless of the programs that we implement, the biggest difference made is through the quality of our teachers. This needs to be our overall focus if we want to make significant improvement in our schools.

Whitaker, T. (2003). What great principals do differently: Fifteen things that matter most. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.