Unexpected Gifts: Discovering and Nurturing the Strengths in Every Child

Ever wonder what it would be like if our schools solved their current economic challenges by eliminating the job of the principal? According to an April 11th article in the Arizona Daily Star, some schools across America are beginning to think about the economic benefits of operating a school without a principal.

Currently, schools without principals are in existence in the U.S. and functioning quite well. There are 14 teacher-led small charter schools in Minnesota, a dozen in Wisconsin and several in California. The success of these schools is catching the attention of those interested in transforming our current American school system and the Arizona Daily Star article indicates that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has “just donated $1.2 million to EdVisions Schools – one of the front-runners of the teacher-ownership model – to strengthen its national network and to support the creation of another 100 innovative high schools.”

It’s an intriguing and new idea to many of us in education – schools without principals – and one that makes sense for a variety of reasons to quite a few people already. Certainly it prompts us to think about the need to change the current role of a principal and even if the role of a principal is relevant anymore if we truly hope to transform our schools to meet the needs of 21st century learner.

Yet, I certainly think that a school requires leadership and vision and an effective principal can provide that leadership and motivate his or her team. However, those in leadership need to consider a new model of leading that involves more than periodic classroom observations and evaluation of teachers and a close examination of student test scores. Principals need to be equally in touch with the strengths and needs of the teachers and the strengths and needs of the student and parent community.

Perhaps a leadership model like Southwest Airlines – where there is a customer service focus first on listening to the ideas and meeting the basic needs of the employees – would lead to the transformation of our classrooms. Certainly it would give teachers a voice, a sense of trust and ownership in the vital job they do that will ultimately result in the relationships that need to be built among administration, faculty, students and parents before any improvement in student learning will take place.

So perhaps, out of this economic meltdown and now the glimmer of economic recovery we are seeing this week, will come some cost-saving efforts that will lead to a new way of running schools without principals. While this might be unlikely to happen in a large urban or suburban district, perhaps you can start a conversation with your principal about changing the leadership model to one that is more collaborative and shared and one truly that honors both the ideas and voices of teachers, students and parents. If this happens, then schools with principals like this could finally be every teacher’s dream.

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