A Principal's Guide to School Politics - National Association of ...

For example, we know of a principalwho was summoned by the superintendentafter he and a committee ofteachers selected one of the school’sbest teachers to mentor two new teachers.The problem was that two sets ofvery politically savvy parents of childrenin the teacher’s class didn’t wanttheir children to lose her. They went tothe school board and the board sentword to the superintendent to pressurethe principal to choose a differentmentor.As it turned out, the only teacherwho met the superintendent’s criteria—anoutstanding veteran teacherwho would mentor the new teachersfor four periods a week—was the principal’soriginal selection. The issue wassettled quickly, but not before this“mini-crisis” cost the principal a weekof sleepless nights and anxiety.Unpleasant situations like this ariseall the time in schools, but thereare ways for principals to minimizeaggravationand stay outof trouble “Ensure that all yourteachers receivetraining…in suchcontroversial areas ascorporal punishment…harassment, and sexeducation.”when dealing with their variousconstituencies.Parents and Teachers■ Establish uniform disciplinaryprocedures early in the year and makesure they are followed.■ Meet with teachers regularly to“sniff out” potential problems and planways to prevent them.■ Visit classes often so that if aparent complains about a teacher, youcan state that you have observed theteacher performing correctly and beable to describe what you saw. Forexample, if the accusation is that theteacher gives no homework, you cansay that you saw homework written onthe board during each visit to theteacher’s classroom.■ Discuss privately with teacherscomplaints about them that come toyou from parents and children, but trynot to reveal the identity of those makingthe complaints. If you must revealthis information, make sure the teachersdo not punish children for theircomplaints or those of their parents.■ Make certain that teachers understandthat they are never to leave aclass unsupervised. A teacher who wassued for negligence when a childbroke his ankle in the gym was able towin the case when she could prove thatshe had told the class three times asthey left the gym to stay in line. Theboy had ignored her instructions andreturned to the gym to shoot basketswhen he was injured.■ Teachers should also be told that12Principal ■ January/February 2005www.naesp.org