From the Editor: Tips and Strategies by the Numbers
A chef overseeing a culinary staff, a conductor directing an orchestra, a coach leading a football team to victory—there’s no end to the analogies describing the all-important relationship between principals and teachers. Analogies like these are useful because they help explain the transformational leadership model as it occurs in an educational setting. Such a leadership style depends on—even thrives because of—the individual actions of the other team members, much like the sous chef in a restaurant kitchen or the principal first violin in an orchestra. In the recent New Leaders report, “Playmakers: How Great Principals Build and Lead Great Teams of Teachers,” for example, the authors argue that “Just like head coaches who lead a set of talented assistant coaches and team leaders, great principals cultivate and distribute leadership to other school leaders. … to execute a playbook” that improves teacher effectiveness.
Regardless of the analogy used to describe the working partnership, it’s clear that principals need the best resources to help teachers grow. This issue of Principal magazine endeavors to help fill that void, offering practical tips and innovative strategies to use with teachers. Here is what to expect, by the numbers:
5 Tips from Todd Whitaker to get all of your teachers to be like your best teachers.
4 Ideas for improving culture and promoting teacher wellness from an interview with Adam Sáenz.
3 Conclusions from Kurtis Hewson about traditional walkthroughs that led to a focus on teacher teams.
6 Strategies teachers can use to reverse bad behavior from Nancy Rappaport and Jessica Minahan.
In addition to these resources on teacher and staff development, the issue features 10 tips for new principals to make the best of mentoring relationships and 10 points to consider when serving military students. These articles can also be used with your teachers as they consider how to maximize a mentoring relationship or as they seek resources to improve the experiences of military students.
Your comments are always welcome, so send us an email at publications@ naesp.org to let us know what you think about the issue.
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