Thank You, Administrators

Some teachers want to be administrators, thinking that it must be easier to work in the office than in the classroom.  This has NEVER crossed my mind.  There's not enough money in the world to make me want their job.  Between student teaching and my career, I've worked in five different schools under 9-21 different administrators (depending if you count only the top guy in charge or all of the principals and assistants as well).  As you can imagine, I've taught under some great ones and some poor ones.  It makes a huge difference.

My first principal was the perfect person for me to have as a first-year teacher.  As you can imagine, I screwed some stuff up during my first year.  I said the wrong things and did some things that weren't wise because, when you make five hundred decisions a day with no experience, you are going to make some poor ones.  Mr. Matthews always had a story that would make me feel hopeful that the foolish decision or mistake wasn't fatal.  He had done something equally bad during his early years, and he was a much-loved principal.

The day to day support of administrators helps create school culture, make teachers feel safe, and protect the overall vision of the school.  That also means that a poor administration creates a negative culture, makes teachers nervous and insecure, and keeps the school from proceeding with a unified goal.  The administration matters every day.

Then, there are the special days, the days when the quality of the school administration matters even more than it usually does.  They are days when we look to them for guidance most, and that is when there is a tragedy.  Whether that is a national tragedy, like September 11 or a school-specific one, like the death of a student, the administration sets the tone. 

My school lost a student almost a month ago, and I have been in awe of our administrators.  When our head of school called us together to make the announcement, he couldn't have been more genuine, showing students his own emotion.  Our principal allowed everyone to do whatever they felt they need to do, from going back to class to staying together if we needed to.  She announced to students that there was help available.  Our administrators called in local pastors to help with counseling students, reminded teachers that our insurance provided counseling, and sent emails of support.  They provided all of the support we needed, but they were never intrusive.  I cannot imagine how they did all of this while managing their own grief, but I couldn't have asked for this situation to be handled more perfectly.

Thank you, GRACE administrators.  You are awesome every day.