Written by Joycelyn Christmas-John
In our Lutheran community, principals wear many hats. They are usually the first to arrive and the last to leave the school. You can find them doing some pretty odd jobs on the school compound. These jobs range from shoveling snow to unclogging toilets because toys are stuck, from taking apart the projector to recharging the battery of a teacher’s car. Many people may wonder: What is the real job of a principal?
The role of the principal covers many different areas, including leadership, teacher evaluation, student discipline, managing curriculum, supervision of instruction, delegating, fostering relationships in the community, developing/implementing programs, and reviewing policies and procedures (Meador, 2017; Ediger, 2009).
Of these, supervision of instruction through formative and summative assessments is vital. With all their other responsibilities and duties, however, principals have little time left for assessments, and that task is usually pushed onto the back burner.
In WELS elementary schools, the lack of time for supervision is compounded, because many of the principals are also classroom teachers. Demands have been made to increase principal release time to facilitate the need for classroom observation. While some may argue that the principal should not undertake both formative supervision and summative supervision (Mette, et al., 2017) because of lack of time, the principal should strive to promote the success of all students and growth of teachers through instructional supervision comprised of two critical components: coaching and evaluating.
Formative and summative assessments have different purposes and impacts (Mette, et al., 2017). Formative assessment involves coaching teachers and is necessary for ongoing improvements. Summative assessment evaluates teaching and has as its primary purposes accountability and professional development (Tran & Bon, 2015). It is imperative that principals take time to explain the difference between the two to teachers, especially if the principal is the only one who conducts both types of assessment.
Classroom observations are important because they provide insights into instructional strategies and student performance. During classroom observation, principals revert to the role of instructional coach, where their position at the apex of learning serves as an integral support for teachers. As coaches, the principals help the teachers to identify areas of strengths and work as facilitators to guide the teachers into thinking critically so as to reflect and make improvements (Williamson, 2012).
The time spent observing instruction—not the teacher—will provide data for the teacher to know the specific area where improvement is needed (Range, McKim, Mette, & Hvidston, 2014). Even if these observations are 3-5 minutes, the power they have to shape improvement cannot be overrated. In a walkthrough of 3-5 minutes, principals may check for student engagement, curriculum content/standard, objectives, and student learning. Even with all the administrative aspects of the principal’s job, a key role is being an advocate for students’ success by carrying out focused observation for data analysis.
Classroom observation is also a vital part of the evaluation process. Many people do not look forward to evaluation and are of the opinion that it occurs based on one visit. Fair and accurate evaluations happen best through an accumulation of data over multiple visits.
The cornerstone of teacher growth and student success is the instructional leader as a coach. Teachers are more inclined to grow when instruction is supervised. Therefore, principals must be sure to make time for the all-important task of instructional observation and coaching.
Joycelyn Christmas-John (’15) serves at St. John-St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. She is pursuing a Master of Science in Education with an emphasis in instruction at Martin Luther College.
References
Ediger, M. (2009). The principal in the teaching/learning process. Education, 124(4), 572-578.
Meador, D. (2017, March 24). ThoughtCo Lifelong Learning. Retrieved July 25, 2017, from ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/role-of-principal-in-schools-3194583.
Mette, I. M., Anderson, J., Nieuwenhuizen, L., Range, B. G., Hvidston, D. J., & Doty, J. (2017). The wicked problem of the intersection between supervision and evaluation. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 9(3), 709 – 724.
Range, B. G., McKim, C., Mette, I. M., & Hvidston, D. J. (2014). Aspiring principals’ perspectives about teacher supervision and evaluation: Insights for educational leadership preparation programs. National Council for Professors of Educational Administration, 15(1).
Thompson, C. S. (2017). Teachers expectations of educational leaders’ leadership: identifying critical leadership paradigms for the 21st century. Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership, 2(2).
Tran, H., & Bon, S. C. (2015). Assessing multiple stakeholders’ perceptions of an effective principal evaluation system. NCPEA Education Leadership Review, 16(2).
Williamson, R. (2012, February). Educational Partnership Inc. Retrieved July 24th, 2017, from eric.ed.gov: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED538322.pdf
Thank you, Prof. Klockziem. It is so easy to take this focus for granted, and to thus have it fade. Is this possibly an increasing danger as we spend more time, energy and money on the “professional” side of our work and let our Scriptural, confessional Lutheran focus become at least somewhat eclipsed in the process?
Thanks for your encouraging words. The lack of focus on the ministry of our teachers is very concerning.
While some educators may appreciate this article from a purely secular point of view, I find it void of any reference to Christian education. If the principal of the Lutheran school does not inspire the faculty for the ministry with the Word of God and taking captive all philosophies of educational practices to the Word of God, then all the good parts of this article are meaningless. One of the major roles of the Lutheran principal is to be a spiritual leader and distinguish for Christian parents the value of incorporating the Christian philosophy of education in instruction.
Our School Motto/ Branding is “Excellent Education Empowered by Christ” Parents often come to our school for the “Excellent Education” part first and appreciate the “Empowered by Christ” part later.
Is this primarily the Pastor’s job or the Principal’s job to “inspire the faculty for ministry with the Word of God”? What happens when the Principal and the Pastor do not agree on the right path to make that happen?
One would hope that the principal of a WELS school would not want that position if he could not take an active leadership role in “inspiring the faculty with the Word of God”. Otherwise, there are plenty of public and private schools in which to serve. The only reason we have our own separate schools is to focus on God’s Word. Otherwise why bother? There is “excellence in education” elsewhere. We need to excel first and foremost, beginning to end, in grounding and training our students in God’s Word. One would hope that this remains our chief priority and is still understood and actively, earnestly endorsed and pursued, amid all the other aspects of teaching and administering.