Principal Interview

Our principal is genuinely exceptional. He exemplifies many of the traits most valuable in a leader. I admire him for a variety of reasons, but what I appreciate most is his passion for creating an atmosphere in which our paramount objective is to support our historically underserved, and most impacted populations. This passion is also met with a genuine support and empowerment of teachers to take on this difficult work. My interview with him was, unsurprisingly, very impactful and informative.

Mr. Keith is an extremely intentional principal. When asking him to explain the necessary considerations when developing a plan for professional learning, he explained the importance of having a thorough understanding of the needs of students and staff members at the school. He explained that it is also imperative to have a deep understanding of achievement data. He mentioned that it is important to provide supports and training that meet the needs of his staff, and, most importantly, that the prescribed supports must align with the goals of our school, along with district goals. None of his responses were surprising to me. It is very evident that he has high expectations for his teachers, however, those expectations are met with adequate supports and appreciation. Mr. Keith has created PLC documents and protocols that support data analysis, and assessment mapping. He is very thoughtful about the work he asks us to do, and very clear in his delivery. I believe that his high expectations, and explicit directions are only so successful because they are matched with the empowerment of teachers, and constant positive feedback.

Throughout this interview, a consistent theme was, when making changes, when possible, it is critical to move slowly, and respectfully and recognize the hardworking nature of teachers, and the important work they do on a daily basis. He explained that the greatest challenge to implementing professional learning systems, is that this work has to happen when teachers are outside of the classroom. He expressed the importance of having an adequate balance, and to be realistic and respectful of everyone’s time. As our interview progressed, it became very evident that he is very methodical when approaching professional learning. He explained that all staff members can be in far different places in terms of need for professional learning. He explained that, “It is critical to create opportunities that benefit the greatest number of people.” An additional challenge mentioned was simply that our critical PLC time is limited. Mr. Keith strives to help leaders structure PLC segments in meaningful ways. It was evident that he believes that our time is valuable, and as a result, he will create worthwhile, productive learning opportunities for all staff members. When discussing recommendations, he would give to a new principal he communicated the important of acting on most pressing needs first, while making changes incrementally. One of his most meaningful quotes during this segment was “if you are going to make people uncomfortable, or suggest a change, you need to be able to come back and show that they were successful. He also referred to integrity, in the sense that he would never ask teachers to take on work that he will not also be doing.

When asking how to leverage the teachers at the school to improve success, he explained that it is crucial to persuade teachers that the work that they are doing is the right work, and to demonstrate the importance of the work. He achieves this goal by regularly using data to empower teachers, and demonstrate that our work is effective and successful. He referenced the importance of enlisting a group of teacher leaders and empowering them to help implement new systems in a cautious, respectful manner. As one of his teachers, I believe his consistency, and thoughtful nature is what makes him so effective. Seemingly every training, meeting, and protocol he has delivered has been sifted through to only include the most important and necessary components. I have never felt as if my time has been wasted. Throughout our interview, it was very evident that he has deep respect for teachers, our time, and our work. I believe that any professional performs more effectively when they feel valued and supported. Another element that contributes to his success is that his message, and values have remained consistent. Ask any teacher in our school, and they will be able to clearly articulate that his greatest passion as an administrator, is to improve student achievement, particularly the achievement of our most impacted students, through professional learning communities, and intentional interventions. From the first staff meeting I attended, until now, four years later, his message, and belief in teachers has remained constant. His consistency has allowed people to believe in him and trust his message. I think above all, he is effective because he makes teachers feel valued and supported. This is not necessarily by being exceptionally warm, or friendly. In fact, initial interactions with Mr. Keith often seem cold and intimidating.   He is supportive in how he allocates our time and resources. He is supportive in the way he is intentional, and only schedules valuable professional learning opportunities. He is supportive in the way that he uses our data to illustrate our successes, and empowers us when improvement is necessary.

Every interview answer was impactful on my understanding of the role of an administrator. As I consider becoming a principal myself in the future, I think the most impactful themes from the interview were to value and support the work that teachers are doing, and to make changes to existing systems thoughtfully, intentionally, and slowly. Teaching is a very personal profession, and it is important to make it clear that you respect the work teachers are already doing, prior to asking them to take on more. It also really resonated with me when he explained the importance of demonstrating why new learning opportunities are important, and being able to prove that such experiences were impactful through measurable data. Teachers are incredibly busy, and it is important to only select opportunities and systems that are worthwhile. The concept of empowerment was also huge for me. Changes cannot be successfully made if teachers do not believe in the changes, and feel empowered, and motivated to take on new work. When teachers do feel supported and empowered, they are far more likely to actively embrace, and appreciate proposed changes.

Theories of Adult Learning

The professional learning opportunities available in my district generally align very well with my understanding of theories of adult learning, particularly when considering our PLC model and supports. I have also participated in trainings that did not seem to entirely support theories of effective adult learning, which has been constructive to my own training delivery.

The PLC structure at my school aligns quite well with my understanding of the theories of effective adult learning. Zepeda (2012) explicates conditions that must be in place to ensure effective adult learning. Among these conditions she states that successful adult learning must “be based on ownership, appropriateness, structure, collaboration, internalization, and motivation” (Zepeda 2012). At my school, I can say without a sliver of a doubt that our teachers have been empowered to hold a deep sense of ownership and pride in our work, which creates an internal, and collective commitment to working tirelessly with colleagues to create the most meaningful and impactful lessons and interventions to support student learning. We feel immense ownership over our grade level PLC and our protocols, and clear expectations allow for us to be highly collaborative and productive. Our mutual commitment to planning interventions to support our most impacted students provides us all with a deep sense of ownership and commitment to our work. We are motivated to work tirelessly to meet our goals, and, to specifically create tools to support and empower our historically underserved populations. This passion, and ownership of our work allows us to work very productively and passionately together. Zepeda also continuously mentions the importance of establishing a productive, positive collaborative environment. We are highly supported and encouraged by our administration, and have cultivated a deep respect for one another. These conditions lay the foundation of an incredibly productive, positive, and effective PLC structure.

Professional development opportunities outside of my professional learning community have not been quite as impactful on my practice. Merriam elucidates the importance of adults learning in context. Learning becomes more impactful when we are able to actively participate, and interact with new learning. Many of my professional development opportunities, or trainings do not necessarily align with the principles of context based adult learning. I have had many trainings in which we were taught a teaching skill, but did not have the opportunity to practice teaching, or interacting with that skill. As adults, we often figure that other adults may not benefit from guided practice, or interaction with a new skill, but this article informs that adults also benefit from scaffolding, and trying out a new activity prior to independent practice.  Simply providing teachers with more opportunities to practice a new skill, while providing specific feedback would strengthen teacher’s understanding of this new skills and will allow them to construct their own knowledge regarding this skill. This also relates to incidental learning. When adults are able to construct their own knowledge of concepts, the learning becomes more profound. During many trainings, we are provided with very little amounts of time to truly interact with new knowledge independently, or with a group. This does not allow for us to consistently make meaning out of new learning. One element of our professional development that inarguably aligns with adult learning theories is the component of community. Adults learn most effectively when they are surrounded my other like-minded adults with similar pursuits and passions. During professional development opportunities, I have always been surrounded by colleagues who are eager to collaborate or learn with one another.

My thinking has changed largely in how I approach the trainings that I lead. Now that I have a deeper understanding of how adults learn, I will alter my delivery approach to best meet those needs. My new knowledge of informal or incidental adults learning, and the profound impacts of this type of learning has shaped the ways I will approach PLC work, as well as teacher trainings to strengthen this component of my practice. When planning a training or setting a PLC agenda, currently I plan every solitary minute to ensure maximum productivity. I prewrite our discussion questions, and dictate the direction of our conversations prior to each meeting. While is many ways, this is the work of an effective PLC team, it also, could potentially take away from opportunities for incidental learning, or for our team to construct knowledge collectively. While I will still plan an agenda that addresses the most critical tasks, and data analysis, I will also create opportunities for incidental learning to occur. In teacher trainings, this could surface through teachers exploring lessons or using manipulatives independently to construct knowledge, rather than to directly model to train them.  Based on what I know about the value of learning in context, I will also ensure that teachers have an ample amount of time to interact with new content, and to practice new skills. I will allow teachers to practice each skill, and support their learning as active participants.

I am very fortunate to be immersed in a PLC structure that aligns with adult theories of effective learning. I have also experienced professional development opportunities that do not align as well with theories of adult learning, that have taught me to very intentionally plan trainings that support how adults learn.