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A Rookie Principal Year to Remember BY REBECCA HUBER
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s a first-year principal, I learned many hard lessons, but none so poignant as what it truly means to put your staff first.
When the pandemic hit, and we were all forced to work from home, I wracked my brain about how I could be the best leader possible. Throughout the year, my staff expressed over and over again the need for professional development in implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) standards and meeting the needs of all students. I knew this would be the time to inspire, enlighten, and lead the team to new levels of understanding. After much research, I found a series of online courses on the subject that the entire staff could take together. I envisioned us meeting online for rich discourse about the learning we all had absorbed and how it was going to revolutionize our approach to students. I sent out an email about the courses, inviting others to join me on the journey and…..crickets. I had one brave teacher who enrolled and let me know a few days later that the material was “extremely dry” and that reading 50 page articles online was, at best, difficult.
tired, and frustrated with the unknown. In pushing my agenda, I had been neglecting their needs and adding stress onto their already overburdened shoulders. It was time to take a step back and put my team first. Instead of adding one more demand on the teachers, I trashed my desire to galvanize the troops and flipped my whole approach. My taglines became, “How are you feeling?” and “What do you need from me right now?” We created a daily on-line hang-out every day at 9:15am, which was not a requirement, but a place for the staff to log-on to troubleshoot all the new technology we were using, to problem solve, to discuss how classes were going, and, most importantly, to see a friendly face. Not everybody logged in, and certainly not every day, but there were a number of staff who did so just to remind themselves that they were not alone in their struggles. We talked, we laughed, we problem-solved, and we remembered how strong our bonds really are.
“Changing my
approach from: ‘This is what
you need,’ to
‘What do you need?’ allowed staff to be
Knowing when it was time to move on, I then went onto the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) website, downloaded some modules, and spent dozens of hours revamping and personalizing them for my staff. I sent yet another email, directing the staff to meet each week for mandatory training, knowing that I would be bringing the magical world of SEL to my staff in a manner that had never been presented before. I would be the most inspiring principal ever.
vulnerable
and honest.”
And then there was reality. In our first Zoom staff meeting, I didn’t see excited faces, ready to absorb every bit of SEL I could possibly cram down their throats. I saw a haggard staff that was scared,
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Changing my approach from: “This is what you need,” to “What do you need?” allowed staff to be vulnerable and honest. It forged a connection more than any of the other actions I took all year. I hope that if in the future, I lean towards the directive and try to force inspiration upon my staff, they will gently remind me of this article and the lessons I learned about putting their needs above my own agenda.
Rebecca Huber just finished her first year as principal of Mound Elementary School in Miamisburg, Ohio. Huber spent the previous 16 years as a Behavior Specialist and Special Education Teacher. Valuing the power of positive relationships above all else, Huber spent this year learning, laughing, and growing along with her students and staff. The author may be contacted via email at rhuber@miamisburg.k12.oh.us and via Twitter at @MoundPrincipal.
