Teachers, principals, BOE and governance

The childish tease of “Na Ni Na Ni Boo Boo,” often heard around elementary schools, implies “shame on you” or “the joke’s on you.” I couldn’t think of a phrase better suited for the behavior of two principals on the issue of the Education Commissioner’s termination. Their desire for transparency in the COE’s termination gave me the biggest laugh I’ve had in a long, long time. I don’t think they stopped for a minute to realize that their complaints are the same complaints teachers have had about principals for years. I’m not happy about the COE loosing his job by any means and I am also sad that he lost his job. But we must move on as the BOE chairwoman said because I do know it means a chance for a new beginning and possibly a new direction, which keeps my hopes alive.

The protest by the principals is not all the principals’ fault and I want to make it clear I’m not against any principal but we must examine the facts surrounding the outcry of certain principals. I’m also doing this in a joking way to keep from being too upset. Principals speak of “sharing leadership with the BOE” but when have principals truly shared the leadership decisions of schools with teachers? Principals even had some 20 teachers to help them fight for the COE but where were these principals and teachers when I was fighting for teachers? The reference to the COE as the principals’ “buffer” illuminates the protection and the power that principals have received from the COE’s office but where is the buffer for teachers? Principals are asking the Board to “reciprocate” but when teachers ask or demand for principals to reciprocate, the teacher usually has to vacate and that’s common knowledge among teachers at certain schools.

Teachers need to take note of the fact that ACT’s principal who represents teachers has chosen to make her first battle on the behalf of an administrator, with no consideration to all the shortcomings facing teachers. It’s sad joke on teachers. I was so glad to see this Board is not going to hide behind their decisions and face the public head on, which is a positive indicator about the new leadership. While I do understand the concern for some explanation about the COE being fired, principals need to know that only the COE is due an explanation—not the general public. If the COE chooses to protest, then only he can release this information or at his request. But more important is the fact that over the years hundreds of teachers were not renewed by principals without cause—just like the COE. I’m sure hardly any of these teachers “expect to be terminated for unknown reasons with no course of redress” and they were just as surprised as the principals were about the COE. A teacher personally let me read their letter of non-renewal consisting of two sentences: “I am writing to inform you that your contract will not be renewed. This is your 90 day notice & dated ___.” A surprise letter with these two sentences is all teachers get from principals after years of service to PSS, which is why it is disappointing yet hilarious to see principals publicly not walking their talk! How can one principal deem one teacher bad when, after that teacher transfers to another principal, is thought of as great? The sad part is this particular teacher was HQT certified in two different subject areas, meaning it will take two teachers to replace this one. That’s why I laughed so hard at the two principals doing most of the complaining, given the letters of non-renewal they have issued over the years. Their behavior reminded me of the “Na Ni Na Ni Boo Boo” for the two principals leading a protest against the same things they have perpetuated themselves. We call it being hypocritical.

Principals are now seeing the view from the teachers’ side of the table with their leader being terminated “without cause.” But the attitude and behavior of some principals is not all of their own doing, nor was it the COE’s. This problem began over eight years ago when the former COE chose to “guarantee full power and protection” to all principals with no real governance system for accountability other than the COE. To this day, principals are still protected by the COE when they should only be protected and governed by policy like everyone else. Having the COE to speak up and defend decisions on behalf of a principal in opposition to a teacher(s) is a no-win scenario for teachers, staff and the system. I witnessed it first hand and I proved it with PRAXIS. I have personally heard a certain principal hired by the previous administration still bragging today that “they are not accountable to teachers and they only have to answer to their boss, the COE.” Well, news flash, your boss is gone now and I hope the lesson has been learned. I know this attitude is not shared by all principals but it does illustrate to the Board that we have a problem but at least we know a good place to start our repairs on the governance system for principals.

Some of the very people that have been perpetuating a policy of “no accountability and no transparency” with employee relations and non-renewals without cause are now the most vocal against it when it happens within their ranks. Now that I think of it, I can’t ever remember in the past 16 years of a principal not being renewed without cause and I have never seen or heard of a principal speaking up or fighting for teachers! But I’ve been saying for years in so many words that, “What’s good for teachers is good for principals and what’s good for principals is good for the Board and what’s good for the Board has got to be good for the system.” In academia we call it governance and leadership through teamwork but most people call it common sense. Teachers, principals and the administration are supposed to be governed by policies, not preferences, that set the conditions for a “symbiotic working relationship” to accomplish the goals, standards and expectations set by the Board through policy if the system is going to function properly for the best results.

Teachers can’t be responsive to student needs without principals being responsive and supportive of teachers’ needs and request. A teacher’s job is to teach, the principal’s primary job is to establish an education environment and to get the teachers what they need to do the job and that includes “before & after” school curricular related services and activities. The principal should hold the teacher accountable for teaching and the teachers and staff should be able to hold the principal accountable for leading. Teachers and staff shouldn’t have to depend on a COE that hardly visits the campus and never takes any kind of assessment input on the principal from teachers and staff. This form of accountability is commonplace for academic performances and presentations throughout academia yet we don’t apply this simple accountability check on the most important person at the school level—the principal. I know from being on the Board that the administration and the board have never given teachers’ voices the weight and concern that was proper and necessary, which is why I keep getting the opportunity to say Na Ni Na Ni Boo Boo.

But I’m sure this Board has a very different attitude from previous Boards and it was evident in their desire for the next COE to be a risk-taker because if we are to ever catch up with our counterparts on the mainland, we can’t depend on traditional schools of thought. We must learn to think and execute outside the box. It is called “breaking paradigms” and it is clear we need to break the old mold and begin with a new one and to do so we must take educated and calculated risks, which I believe this Board is capable of doing. I was also glad to see this Board break away from working for the COE to having the COE work for the Board. Previous Boards allowed the COE to set the vision and the agenda and I’m so glad to see those days go because at least now teachers and even parents may have a say in the future vision and agenda of the Public School System if teachers can ever get ourselves truly organized.

We have a lot of good and even great principals and I also consider some principals my friends. But teachers and principals really need to function under the conditions of a symbiotic relationship with reciprocal accountability driven by BOE policies and not the preferences of the principal or the COE. This is the 21st century model for education governance that we should be trying to achieve. People commonly recognize it as real teamwork that follows rules for excellence. (I wrote this in part because strangely enough it was my Governance in Education professor, Dr. Piland, who said, “Don’t learn all this good stuff about education and not use it,” so I’m just putting it to good use by sharing it with the public and thanks for the continuous support for my letters.)