School principals! Here's what teachers wish they could tell you

A high school English teacher with 20+ years experience gives six dos and six don'ts for principals to consider. Principals, what do you wish teachers knew about your job? Teachers, what's a great thing a principal did/said to make your school life easier or better?

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[robhutchins]

To be honest teaching a class once a quarter should be part of a principals annual evaluation.

[shannonpitt]

My favorite principals have been the ones who stood by their teachers and supported teachers' judgement and decisions. They did not cave in to parent demands for better grades or consequences. You really felt like they had your back.

[emmawolf-saxon]

I had a principal who knew one of my student’s parents was super intense (she would threaten a lawsuit almost weekly) and he told me never to open a email from her just to forward them directly to him to deal with. It was an amazing service both to me and the student (great kid). The principal’s intervention meant the parent behavior never came into the classroom to mess with my teaching.

[jstraw]

The best principal I ever had was a master at chain of command. She wouldn't speak to any parent until the parent spoken to the teacher about a situation. She was one of only 2 in 16 years that didn't usurp my authority when it came to parents and my classroom. My other "best" principal trusted my teaching skills. He would come in and observe and do a little write up about it. But, his attitude was, "You're the mathematics professional, I taught history. I can't really tell you how to teach math. If you're struggling, we can send you to a workshop to talk to other math professionals." Man it was so nice to be treated as the professional I am, which sadly doesn't happen often in education.

[shannonshore]

The best principals I have worked for believed in me as a teacher. They allowed me to do what they hired me to do...TEACH. If they noticed what I was doing in my classroom for my students was working, I was given an opportunity to share with my peers. I also learned so much from principals who believed in building rapport with students. They understood that the relationship was the key I needed to unlock so many layers (especially with challenging populations) Mrs. Bratton, Mr. Watts, and Mrs. Rogers will always be principals I admire.

[jenniferdixon]

I really appreciate your efforts here! I retired last year (2020) from teaching high school English. One item I would like to add is principals must avoid making their students and teachers feel that the only value they hold is based upon standardized test scores. The attribute I most admired about one of my principals who served for 15 years at my high school was her constant presence among the students. At student drop-off/pick-up, she was out there every morning/afternoon during peak traffic greeting the kids. Then, she would move to the commons area. During ALL lunches? There she was in the cafeteria. Between EVERY class change?There she was walking the halls. What was she doing? Besides monitoring behavior, she was chatting with everyone. New haircuts or new shoes were noticed. Last night's ball game was quickly dissected. A passing grade or new job was celebrated. And so forth. Granted, we were a small school (850-1000 students), but it still amazed me that she knew most of our kids by name. Though she had her flaws as we all do, nobody ever questioned her devotion to the staff, students and community of our school.

[jmcdhome]

I like the principal getting to know the students. Btu they should try to get to know them all, not only the jocks and cheerleader and the problem kids. But the in-betweeners, who often feel left out.

[beckyhall]

Principals who micromanage drive me nuts. Whether it’s standing by the door at arrival to catch folks who come in 2 minutes late or second guessing decisions you ask teachers to make, trust your staff to be professional. Then deal with those who aren’t in a private setting. The best principals I’ve worked with have trusted me and let me do my job.

[craigcavaliere]

Inner circle: That's a reason I think promotions should not come from within. Teachers looking to become admin should go to a different school.

[kitsune]

Lots of common sense and wisdom here..purchased at a great price no doubt. Teaching has degraded into a numbers game. I decided to fold in 2014 rather than implode on myself. I have no idea how people still show up to work every day in K-12 now.

[myxochi]

My best principal was the one who got out of the office to meet the students. He was seen not just at school games/events but at local events. We were a country community and he was from the city, but he really worked hard to know the families and the students. His name still echoes with good comments and memories.

[kitparker]

I LOVE that my principal can remain calm MOST of the time when dealing with situations that she knows just needs more clarification. She doesn’t get mad at mistakes, and she has time to chat about things when asked. She is a champion for kids, but she is also a champion for teachers, and when we have kids that struggle in regulating their emotions, she uses as many tools as she has, or gives us more tools to use, so we can do our jobs.

[fashionlane]

Principals need to become true defenders of their Teachers! Less noise; more empathy for us during Covid.

[susanhatcher]

Before landing my current job, I subbed for a couple of years in my local school district. One day, while I was teaching a music class to a group of 4th graders, the principal walked in. She went quietly over to the whiteboard, drew a little smiley face, and wrote "my compliments." Then she quietly walked out. She has been my hero ever since! What if every principal did something like that for each teacher every year!

[rosestewart]

My principal gave our Eng dept. a free day for grading that you could take any time during the semester. So helpful. One thing that I wish would be addressed is PLCs ... I luckily have had a great partner and we really do great collaboration during that time but the endless documentation and “data” analysis is whack. I say “data” bc what ends up happening is busy work not true analysis. We ARE collaborating and making our classes better. We are discussing grades and scores. We don’t need to fill out 100 forms about it.

[Beesmakelifegoo]

Principal Pontecorvo,
Had cancelled her observation, I questioned
It, she apologized and came to observe, the outcome was wonderful.
She became principal when the founder passed.He used to visit classes and stayed after school to help teachers who needed
legal advice.
Most of the principles that served during my 30 years were good.
A few not, they broke rules had unethical ways and even broke the law.
Wonderful advice.

[cheryl-lynnmehring]

My mother was a teacher. Most of her principals were "failed teachers." They always took the side of the parents, (even when the parents were wrong)!!!

[LeilaniLight]

The custodian from my jr. high, was the custodian when he was a science teacher, and he said that he had no respect for the principal because the kids were out of control and spitting spit balls on the ceiling! And this guy was at the helm of the ship and our leader! Others, seemed interested in pushing us around, and were addicted to micromanaging or bullying as the "boss". Teamwork was not a word in their vocabulary. It made me wonder if many sought out being a principal for more money and for assuaging their ego!

[jessicawebber]

What's oddly comforting about this video is the universality of these do's and don'ts. I've taught high school English for 16 years in Maine, and each and every one of your statements could apply to every principal I've had also. The two best principals I've had always did two of your do's. One was constantly on the move in the building, sweeping the halls and randomly popping in to classrooms, just to see what was going on. This had so many benefits, including letting the kids know that the principal could appear around any corner at any moment, but also letting teachers know that they better be on their game because he could show up at the door at any moment. The other always protected us from the garbage. I would find out months later that he just dealt with something and never even brought it to me because he knew it wasn't worth my time (usually some ridiculous parent outrage). This showed me that he trusted me as a professional educator and that he was willing to have my back, even without having to get my side of the story. Thanks for your videos - it must be so freeing to say these things!

[xuxagirl]

That last “do” struck a cord... I’ve legitimately been told that a parent was threatening legal action over something ridiculous. No constructive support. On a Friday afternoon. Yeah I cried all weekend