The Vault presents prior posts from Teach & Serve.
Supporting the Cast
Of the many responsibilities educational leaders carry as part of their work, support of the teachers and staff is very, very near the top of the pyramid of the most important of them. Schools that foster positive environments for students and families do not work simply because they have excellent mission statements or have installed the proper policies and procedures. School culture that invites and welcomes and comforts does not result from inattention. Rather, this type of culture arises when educational leaders recognize the value in offering true and genuine support to the teachers whom they serve.
Educational leaders who effectively support their staffs value:
- their co-workers as individuals,
- collaboration with the broadest possible constituencies,
- admission of mistakes and misjudgments on their part,
- acceptance of opinions other than their own,
- granting down time, creative time and recovery time and
- knowing the stories of those with whom they journey.
The cast of characters with whom we work in our schools is a diverse one and each and every one of them comes to “the office” with different concerns, different priorities and different needs. Excellent leaders recognize that their job requires an understanding of and empathy for their staff. They understand that, in order to support their staff, they ought to know them, value them and care for them.
Leaders who grasp the idea that support of their staff is crucial to the health of the school not only will see a happier community of adults around them, they will see a happier school overall and a staff that supports students at a higher level because they feel so well supported themselves.