Leadership Experience Principal Shadowing

For the principal shadowing assignment I was fortunate enough to be able to observe my principal on three separate occasions. I sat in on meetings as well as accompanied him on a walk-through in the building. I gained tremendous insight into the world of being a principal.

            First I sat in on a meeting with a staff developer about procedures for documenting mentoring hours online. My principal heard all the concerns that the staff developer had about the logistics of accessing the mentoring hours online. He controlled the pace and the direction of discussion as he seamlessly moved on to the next matter at hand. He delegated full responsibility to Penny to plan and schedule the second rollout of the Common Core State Standards for a PD in November. I learned the importance of making decisions by yourself. In a system where results are expected, it is necessary for teachers and staff in general to make some executive decisions on their own using their best judgment.  A good leader facilitates the circumstances that allow for you to make decisions and supports you if you need it.

            For my next meeting, I sat in on my principal and ELL service providers Paul and Farah There was a conflict with the Special Education ELL numbers being too large. It seemed to become a conflict for both schedule logistics and the interests of the students. The problem was that there were students that were classified as ELL that speak English well but cannot pass the NYESLAT because of their Special Ed needs. The legal issue here is: a particular population of students is required to receive services up to eight times a week in addition to Special Education services. This increases the amount of times a student is removed from his or her classroom and doesn’t best serve the needs of the student. My principal knows this too well and said “Off paper and on paper are two entirely different things.” He will not take away services the students need, but will make sure it’s the correct service. I learned being flexible is essential to this job and the curve balls it throws your way.

            Lastly I did a walk through with my principal to observe what was going on in the classrooms. His focus he said was to see if the students were engaged with the lessons. He simultaneously increases visibility and sees what’s going on. I saw that some teachers became nervous and asked him questions- he told them to proceed. He didn’t seem to be judging them instructionally at all. I learned that not all teachers enjoy having visitors! That they can and do at times feel territorial, defensive and question the reasons for visits.

            Overall, I had no idea how many different aspects my principal has to handle each day in school. I look forward to learning more about what lies beneath the surface. These observations have reaffirmed for me how important being flexible, making decisions and finding innovative ways to serve the students first really is.