Matt

Cottone

EL 500

Week #11

Transforming Behavior

 Next to the teachers in the classroom the most important person that impacts student learning

is the principal. Their influence on the schools culture, climate, and learning is immensely important.

When a new principal begins their new position at a school, the first few months sets the tone for how

their tenure at the building will go. I believe by taking the insights provided in the book the Fourth Way,

by Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley (2009), provide the framework to what it means to be a

successful change leader. An administrator needs to come into a new position with a plan on how to

improve student learning, enhance the culture and climate, set a vision for where everyone needs to be,

and transform the school into a more production environment.

The hiring process is one of the most impactful and important roles that an administrator has at

a school. Getting the right people on the staff can change a school for the better. My principal told me

that the number one reflection of his job is the people who he has hired. He believes he has hired

teachers who will make a difference for a long time. A principal who does not hire the correct people

will impact the lives of every student that those teachers instruct. When I was hired in at LAnse Creuse

School District, I was hired after my first 45 minute interview because school was beginning in one week.

While I believe they made the right hire by hiring me, I often questioned their hiring process because I

dont believe you can accurately assess a teachers ability in a 45 minutes session. Another teacher was

also hired at the same time and she told me that she was surprised that she was hired because she

didnt know several questions that they had asked. It made me question the effectiveness of the

principal and the district when I realized the lack of importance that they placed on hiring new teachers.

When a principal faces a short notice decision to hire a new teacher, they must make sure that they are

not rushing the decision in order to meet a timeline. A principal needs to hire the best candidate

possible. When I switched districts to Rochester Community Schools, I faced a four part hiring process

that I believe let them understand why I was the right candidate for the job. I have faith in a district that

places great emphasis on hiring the right teachers.

 A cornerstone to being a successful leader is to develop relationships with your peers and the

students. I think that education has been heading down the wrong path by focusing solely on student

assessment and being data driven. I believe that students need to be cared for and nurtured before

they can be taught in the classroom. A healthy and happy student is more likely to be a successful

learner than a student whose health and happiness has not been met. A principal needs to be

cognoscente of the needs of their students and staff.

I have experienced a principal who has strived to change the culture of a school for the

betterment of the students. The principal was feeling that the grades being provided didnt accurately

reflect student learning. Teachers werent always giving assignments that were relevant to the

curriculum or didnt assess student learning. Teachers were also giving out copious amounts of extra

credit, which would inflate a students grade. She provided the staff with a book called A Repair Kit for

Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades, by Ken OConnor, which had the staff think about what was the

purpose of grades. The staff seemed really receptive to what the principal was suggesting, that grades

should reflect student learning. One of the fixes stressed that it was no longer important to have the

most grades in a grade book, rather each grade should be important and assess what the student

knows. This freed up teachers to spend less time grading and more time on improving their instruction.

Some teachers at the school felt that they were tied down trying to grade every assignment that

students turned in and now they made sure that when it was time to assess for understanding, the

assessment accurately determined what the students knew. Before the principal wanted to transform

the grading system at the school, it was common practice to provide extra credit to students who

brought in Kleenex. This example was used frequently to demonstrate that students didnt demonstrate

greater understanding. At first a couple of people felt that some students needed extra credit in order

to pass, while other teachers felt that extra credit provided an unnecessary bailout for students who

should have shown their learning for the normal assessments given in class. Eventually through
examples, more research, and further discussion, the staff came up with a policy towards extra credit

and the purpose of grades. The insight that the principal provided me regarding the purpose of grading

has positively impacted my teaching practice. I no longer am bogged down with trying to fill a grade

book with as many grades as possible, but I make sure that when I assess that I am checking for

understanding.

In the book The Fourth Way, it mentions the importance of reaching out in your community and

seeing them as an ally for student learning and that they are not the enemy. I know the importance as a

teacher to reaching out to the community. As a principal you will have even more windows of

opportunity to reach out to the public. Keeping the community informed will develop a relationship of

trust and support. At Van Hoosen Middle School, the school has an up-to-date website and sends out a

bi-weekly newsletter. The school also offers opportunities for parents to feel part of the educational

experience by creating different activities, positions, and events that encourage parent involvement.

My principal discussed the situation he walked into when he became an administrator. He had

the task of uniting a staff that had spent several years not collaborating and working together. Working

as a team was a vision that my principal had set when he began as an administrator. He believes that

large strides have occurred, but there is always room for improvement. He believes that to be a

successful transformational leader you need to have a shared vision with your staff. Your staff needs to

know that you will support the education of children and you will do what is best to help them.

I believe that I have what it takes to be a successful transformational leader. I have been

privileged to work under a principal that models effective change in a school. Through my discussions

with my current principal I have learned why decisions are made and how they will improve student

learning. I believe that I can gain the necessary trust of the community through my continuing hard

work and dedication to helping students. I believe my vision of helping students learn through
supporting collaboration, hiring the right staff, developing relationships, and reaching out to the

community will help make me a successful transformational leader.

Works Cited:

Hargreaves, A., and Shirley, D. (2009). The Fourth Way: the Inspiring Future for Educational Change.
Corwin, Thousands Oaks, CA. ISBN: 978-1-4129-7637-4