Leadership / First Year of Teaching

To renew or not to renew?   That is the question.

Although the weather in the northeast today might belie the fact that spring is a week away, when the calendar reads mid-March, it signals the creation of the upcoming year’s school budget.  This process also signals the renewal or non-renewal of teachers, administrators, and general school staff.  Some non-renewals may be the result of budget cuts, whereas others are the result of performance.

In the case of performance non-renewals, at this point in the year, this should not be a question.  By this time, as the principal, you should know who you are going to rehire.  It is your job to make sure that the employee in question is as knowledgeable about your decision as you are at this time.  There should be no surprises.  Do not mislead someone in a January conference that if you do this or do that, you will be rehired.  Most times these questions are posed to make the principal feel better.  Be honest and do not provide false hope.  Very rarely can an employee do something in the remaining few months to save his/her position.

I started to think about this question and tried to put down several items that for me were clear indicators of a non-renewal.  Not surprisingly, my answers involve the school climate.

The first red flag is the inability to cultivate and sustain relationships with students, colleagues, and parents.  If one cannot build these relationships, it will not matter what type of pedagogical skills he/she possesses or what content knowledge he/she has.  The student will be turned off.  Likewise, if you are this person, you will alienate your colleagues and the parents of your students.   This ability cannot be easily learned. I will not say it is impossible because I have seen some overcome this.  However, it is extremely difficult.  With hard work and practice, supported by coaching, people can develop these skills.

A closely related item is the person’s inability to become part of the culture of the school.  Each person is responsible and a contributor to the establishment of a positive culture and climate.  If you cannot contribute, I will have to ask you to leave.

If someone can develop relationships and tries to be a positive contributor of the culture, in most cases, I would bring the person back for a second year.  I do feel it is my responsibility and job as a principal to be able to coach a person in regards to pedagogical skills or content knowledge.  Someone, on the administrative team or a district academic coach, if available, may be able to work wonders.  I believe that the most personal growth shown by an employee happens between their first and second year of employment.  This applies to both principals and teachers.  Second year educators come back an entirely different teacher or administrator than they were in the previous year.

I conducted some brief action research on this topic and reached out to current administrators to ask them the same question.  I was somewhat surprised to see the difference in responses depending on one’s frame of reference.  When I asked a trusted colleague and curriculum expert this question, the answers supplied were more pedagogical than cultural or climate driven.  Therefore, when this critical decision needs to be made, all decision makers should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each person.  By having this collaborative discussion, one may be forced to see different viewpoints and hence perhaps alter some personally entrenched beliefs.

Listed below are some of the reasons for non-renewal as presented by several practicing administrators:

• Poor observations
• Attendance issues
• Defensive and non-reflective
• Poor and uncaring attitude
• Not willing to be cooperative and seek and accept assistance
• Poor classroom management
• Lack of differentiation of instruction
• Limited teaching strategies
• Poor planning
• No closure or opening of lessons
• Poor content knowledge
• Poor questioning techniques and inadequate wait time
• Classroom expectations and procedures not clearly set
• Poor writing and speaking skills
• Does not take professional responsibilities seriously
• Failure to involve oneself in the life of the school
• Lacks good judgment

One can see that this list is extensive.  I also believe the list probably can be separated into two categories, namely personal / culture building qualities and classroom skills.

I put a significant expectation and responsibility on the administrative team with new teachers.  It is the administrator’s job to ensure that teachers succeed and to not allow them to fail!  Similarly, I expect my teachers to embrace this same attitude with their students.  It is the teacher’s job ensure that students succeed and to not allow them to fail.  The teacher has a personal stake in this process but at the end of the day I think it falls back on the principal.  What type of mentoring program does your building and district have?  Is it legitimate or is it lip service?  Only you can answer that question.  How have you helped that person?  Once again, has your help been real or was it merely a checkmark on some checklist for you?  Have you made your personal expectations clear for the new candidate?  Likewise, have building procedures and cultural expectations been clearly communicated?  If you cannot positively answer these questions, you have not done your job as the building principal.  Likewise, if this is an administrator that we are talking about, then the superintendent has not done his /her job.

For those that read this blog, I do not think it is a hard leap for you to make or draw similar comparisons to your business workplace.  I would not keep a person that could not build relationships with clients and colleagues and likewise did not fit in with the culture and climate of my business.

Being a teacher is hard work.  To be successful, a teacher must possess a cadre of skills that involve both technical expertise and personal development.  When a new teacher is rehired, this should be a reason to celebrate.  They achieved a significant milestone.  When tenure is granted, a more significant milestone is reached, and it is another cause to celebrate.  Yet I am not convinced that our profession does a good job celebrating these milestones and perhaps we take them too much for granted.  We can change this.