Education Week - November 15, 2017 - 23

Time Is a Principal's
Most Limited Resource

By William Sterrett

EMILY PHILLIPS GALLOWAY is an assistant professor of education
at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human
Development. PAOLA UCCELLI is a professor of education at Harvard
University's Graduate School of Education. CHRISTINA DOBBS is
an assistant professor of English education at Boston University.

ligions, nationalities, and economic circumstances around common democratic values
and give them an equal opportunity to develop their talents.
To create a more robust conception of
education reform, we propose four pillars
of equal importance upon which our public education system should rest. Teachers and unions in school districts across
the nation are already putting these pillars into practice, and each one can be facilitated by policymaking at the federal,
state, and local levels.
1. Promote learner-centered schools.
If schools are going to prepare students
to be college-and-career ready, as well as
thoughtful citizens, then they should be
safe, learner-centered spaces focused on
serving the needs of each individual student.
2. Professionalize teaching. If teachers are the most important in-school determinant of student learning, then teaching
must be celebrated as an important profession rather than denigrated. Accordingly, our
teachers have worked for the widespread
adoption of peer-assistance and -review
procedures that reflect this importance-in
which accomplished teachers are recognized
as the best people to assist struggling teachers, provide support, and ensure quality
within the teaching profession.
3. Promote equity alongside excellence. If schools are going to tap into the
talents of all students, then education initiatives must be inclusive. Any changes in
education must be accompanied by changes
in other systems that affect students' lives,
including health care, juvenile justice, job

Making language
a mechanism for
empowerment
rather than
division begins
by honoring the
skills students
bring to the
classroom."

training, and housing.
4. Support agreements between district leaders and teachers' unions to
improve student learning. Contrary
to the notion that collective bargaining is
a hindrance to improvement, labor-management agreements are a fruitful way to
make promising ideas a reality. In addition
to focusing on traditional bread-and-butter
issues, the scope of collective bargaining
should be expanded to include instructional and educational issues that enhance
opportunities for student learning, such as
smaller class sizes, fewer standardized
tests, and the hiring of more librarians,
nurses, social workers, and counselors.
Some of the network's unions have also
pushed for the creation of "teacher powered" schools and other innovative school
structures that help local communities
meet a diversity of needs.
The perspectives of progressive teacher
leaders can help rejuvenate today's stale
policy debates and counter oft-heard stereotypes of teachers' unions. By listening
to the collective wisdom of teachers and
by embracing research-based policies that
teachers know work in practice, schools can
refocus on achieving the goals of public education on which our pluralistic democracy
depends. n
ADAM URBANSKI was the founding director of the
Teacher Union Reform Network, an independent
coalition of teachers and union leaders. TOM ALVES
and ELLEN BERNSTEIN served as co-directors of
the network, which now continues within a group
of several regional networks facilitated by the
Consortium for Educational Change in Lombard, Ill.

Getty

Educators should then recast themselves as listeners
and facilitators. This encourages students to speak up and
sharpen their ideas. At the same time, teachers must model
respectful dissent by reiterating important ideas and pushing
students to explain their thinking. Finally, teachers should
help students agree on a few norms for discussion. The goal
is not to reach a resolution, but to learn to hold competing
narratives in ways that are respectful and move beyond simplistic binaries.
The ongoing national conversation about political and social
issues is an important instructional moment for teachers. A
central piece of this instruction is helping students to become
more skilled at talking, writing, and thinking about issues
from multiple perspectives. Teachers would do well to remember the power of language as they help children find their
voices in a complex world. n

oday's principals are
often quite skilled at
being resourceful.
From ensuring that
teachers have sufficient lab materials to
providing them with
the professional development opportunities they need to be
successful, we have learned to make
the most of the resources we have.
One valuable resource we continue to
struggle with, however, is time.
To be more effective collaborative
leaders, we must be willing to do the
heavy lifting required to move the
school forward. We have to balance the
proactive (planning, vision and mission, improvement, innovation efforts)
with the reactive (the unexpected fire
drill, classroom-management issues, a

within his or her classroom. Some
teachers might prefer to teach a
short mini-lesson involving faculty
participation or may even offer to
host the meeting in their classroom
to showcase how they facilitate their
own learning environment. We need
to engage the whole faculty to highlight the successful learning strategies occurring within our separate
classrooms.
Principals can also leverage volunteer efforts by crafting a slide show
of their top 10 needs. Perhaps some
areas of the school's courtyard garden
need attention, a display case needs
organization, or a playground map
would benefit from a fresh coat of
paint. Host several volunteer orientation sessions for parents, guardians,
and community members to articulate procedures and specific needs.
Log hours (make sure volunteers sign

surprise visitor) without a moment's
notice-all the while ensuring that
students and staff are empowered to
succeed. We must model effective use
of time in the way we plan, collaborate, innovate, share, empower, and
celebrate.
One question I have often addressed
throughout my long career as a
teacher, assistant principal, principal,
and, now, an educational leadership
faculty member is this: How should
principals use their time? Principals
must strive to maximize time to move
teaching and learning forward.
We should thoughtfully carve out
time to spend with our students and
teachers in various learning environments, including outdoor classrooms,
science labs, arts instruction, reading
classes, and more. We need to emphasize all subjects, not just the highstakes testing ones. We must prioritize short walk-through visits with
meaningful feedback and interact
with students as much as possible.
Carving out time in faculty meetings to highlight successes can also
be a time saver; ask a teacher if you
can share a short video clip of student engagement that is happening

in as volunteers, not visitors), and invite them in for a celebratory, end-ofyear brunch where you showcase the
finished top 10 list and celebrate successes. Recognize a "Volunteer of the
Year" and build an ethos of service.
While all this takes time to initially
plan and deliver, the benefits of volunteers investing their time in your
school will have a lasting impact on
the learning community.
Time is indeed a limited resource.
By being proactive in prioritizing
student success, supporting teachers and staff, innovating by example,
and affirming successes, we can be
ready to react when those unexpected
events invariably arise. We can succeed as educational leaders and enjoy
our job (yes, this is important), even
when we are short on time. n
WILLIAM STERRETT is an associate professor
of educational leadership and a graduate
program coordinator at the University of
North Carolina at Wilmington. Previously, he
received the Milken National Educator Award
as a principal in Charlottesville, Va. He is the
author of three ASCD books, including Short
on Time: How Do I Make Time to Lead and
Learn as a Principal?

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Education Week - November 15, 2017

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