What makes an incredible principal or dean of school?

amother

Chartreuse

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 12:54 am

I’m a parent of kids in school and a former teacher.
As a parent I like a principal who sees the whole picture, the whole child. Not black and white rules, but “teaching kids, not subjects”. Someone I feel I could trust and partner with, not feel afraid to approach with issues.
As a teacher, I like a principal who has my back and is willing to mentor and invest in me. I give my all and then some, and if the principal is invested too it’s amazing and the impact is felt by the kids. If not, teacher struggle can lead to burnout quickly.

effess

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 1:18 am

As a parent, I like that my childrens’ principal really knows them and will do anything to help them grow. She sees each child as an “olam malei “ and really works to reach everyone’s potentials.
I also see the teachers have great respect for her so she probably treats them the same.

amother

Blush

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 10:13 am

As a former student
I both respected and felt very comfortable talking to my principal, which was a unique combination. She was open and friendly, happy to just shmooze, and interested in our lives, but at the same time no one would ever defy her. I think a big part of it was consistency. She was never wish-washy, considered every matter carefully, never hypocritical. She didn’t think she knew everything but was very confident in her answers, in her policies. But she considered every question, she did not have rules just because that’s what’s done. Everything had a reason.

amother

Daffodil

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 10:26 am

As a parent I find an amazing principal is one who cares and is in tune to the whole child.

I have a few examples

--My daughter in 2nd grade was falling through the cracks. I got a call from the principal that they had concerns (before I even picked up on them) and she asked what could they do to help. BH 2 years later she's doing much better.

--My middle school son is very strong in math and bored in school. The principal arranged for him to take a supervised self paced high school level math class instead of his regular class.

--I've had meetings (both on my request and the schools) during the summer to discuss what my kids needs are for them to have a successful year. Sometimes it was just matching with the right teacher. Sometimes it was how to boost their self confidence.

amother

Snowdrop

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 11:12 am

I'm a parent in a wonderful boys elementary school. I think if I could identify one thing about the principal it would be that he loves Jewish children and enjoys, cares about, and is proud of his students. Another would be that he sees the big picture not just the right now, and doesn't freak out about poor behavior or lack of skill because he believes that kids can achieve (obviously with the appropriate support). And one more would be that he is fair and acknowledges the way things feel from a students point of view. My boys who graduated go back to the programs and want to say hello. My older one gives his maaser money there. They just really like him and the school.

amother

Blonde

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 11:48 am

Someone who really cares about each child and their well being and makes an effort to get to know the children and their families.

Someone who is proactive and really cares about the quality and effectiveness of their school. Someone learning, updating, and improving the program. Checking in to see what is working and what isn’t and doing something about it.

Someone with a backbone who has leadership skills and stands up for what he believes in.

mha3484

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 12:20 pm

I think its a really unique job that you need two totally separate skill sets. Its a rare person who can merge them together.

1) You have to interact with the kids for nachas and discipline. 2) You need to be the administrator and deal with a lot of adult concerns. In my boys yeshiva, the Menahel is really good at 2 and over time they have been adding more staff for 1 because I think it was not his strength especially the youngest grades. We have a really good sgan menahel for the littles.

I think to be good at 1) You need to see the whole child. You have to focus on their goodness. When you call for an issue don't be overly negative. My 9 year old is really not easy but they radiate love for him and the desire for him to succeed and never make him feel like he cant do it. I was telling the asst principal about a parenting book I was reading and his first response was I have that on my bookshelf.

To be good at 2) You need really strong convictions and a thick skin. You cant care what people think about you. The menahel of our yeshiva has really gone to bat for one of my boys in a way that many schools would not. He was able to get through a really unpleasant bullying situation knowing the school has my back and he emerged stronger. I can come up with more examples but I think that you need to be able to manage a lot of moving parts like rebbeim, english teachers, parents, the board.

They are always looking to add programs to benefit the boys. They have indoor soccer, they are floating a music program, they have a lot of special ed services they coordinate with different providers. So its really complex.

dena613

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 1:43 am

amother Snowdrop wrote:

Wow! Sounds incredible!

amother

Nemesia

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 9:55 am

1. Hires good staff.
2. Has professional standards for staff.
3. Recognizes and respects staff, such that they want to stay and staff turnover is low.
4. Gives timely feedback and counseling to undeperforming staff.
5. Counsels out staff who do not improve in response to feedback and counseling.
6. Runs the school professionally and ethically, with transparency and communication.

I don't care very much whether the principal is personally very warm.

I'm a parent.

amother

Chambray

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 10:29 am

As a teacher-
Someone who is available. Respects my personal life (I was asked to come to a meeting outside of school hours that wasn’t a typical meeting and my boss made my family dinner!).
Has a good rapport with the students, and is able to combine firm discipline with endless love.
Obviously in big school the principal can’t do everything, and be there for all of the students, staff, and parents, while running the school. That’s what assistant principals are for.

amother

Coral

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 11:21 am

-stays in their lane. Don't try to be a psychiatrist or Psychologist. My kid's principal tried to lecture me about something I actually deal with professionally and have consulted doctors about.
- hires people for qualifications and not because they are his wife, child etc.
- if someone has an issue actually try to help. Don't just waive it off "not my problem, talk to X". Um. We already tried talking to them and still have issues and it is your responsibility as you are in charge!!
-doesnt cry poverty for staff you underpay, then go on a long vacation with your extended family to Israel for Pesach...

yjlyar10

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 11:11 pm

1. The humility to acknowledge when they don’t know something or make a mistake. Always learning and adjusting based on the kids’ needs.

2. MANAGEMENT SKILLS - hiring staff is the very first step of running a school. Establishing and enforcing expectations, continued support with challenging students/complicated situations.

3. The ability to address issues proactively.

4. Willing to say hard things and face issues head on.