Reflective Leadership and Renewed HopeBy: Michele Schmidt, Principal North Shore Middle School (Hartland-Lakeside School District) For many school leaders the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year was filled with optimism and hope that this year would look and feel “normal” or at least a new version of “normal” compared to the previous year and a half. As I reflect on my own leadership journey over the past school year, I’ve often thought to myself, “Is it possible that this school year has been even more challenging than the previous two years?” Through all of the chaos and transformation over the past two years, had I forgotten how truly challenging and complex school leadership was before the onset of the pandemic of March 2020? Had I somehow waned nostalgic and was now reflecting on my pre-pandemic career through the lens of a 1950’s or 1960’s television sitcom? Was I longing for the 'good old days' that in reality were a little more challenging and complex than my post-pandemic self cared to admit? Before the pandemic, I was engaged and committed to all of the same leadership responsibilities you would expect of any school leader. I was focused on instructional leadership, improving student outcomes, closing achievement gaps, increasing teacher collective efficacy and capacity, engaging staff in cycles of continuous improvement, and sustaining a positive school culture. That is the work school leaders sign up for. The work that school leaders are passionate about. The work I was optimistic that I could prioritize more of this year. As difficult as it had been to keep students socially distanced, create cohorts of learners to reduce the spread of Covid, completely upend lunch schedules, create staggered arrival and dismissal schedules, and teach students through the various options that were given to them (in-person, hybrid, virtual), the reality is that the managerial portion of my job was somewhat easier the past two years. I had been in a bit of a bubble. There were far fewer discipline problems and parents were just happy that we were educating their children. Now that we are back to more “normal” routines, with students and staff interacting freely with one another all day long, classroom management issues and student behavioral issues that had subsided have now returned. Multiple studies have analyzed the relationship between high student achievement and highly effective teachers. Research has shown that high-performing teachers can produce three times the achievement growth compared to low performing teachers in a single academic year (Haushek & Rivken, 2010). Although studies analyzing the effects of learning loss on our students during the pandemic raise cause for concern, much less has been written about the learning loss that has occurred with our adult learners due to interruptions in targeted professional development, instructional coaching, mentoring, and quality PLC time. Adults also need practice and supportive structures to apply their learning or loss can occur. Reflecting further, the challenge this year has been to reconcile the fact that our school was not in the same place it was two years ago. I have been blessed with a truly amazing staff, but in revisiting our progress towards school goals and our strategic plan, we have had to admit that we have taken a few steps backwards from our desired state. That realization, coupled with the burst of our strategically engineered social distancing bubble, has made the journey for this school principal feel a little bit heavier this year. In fact there were times that I felt more like a new instructional leader than a seasoned one. It is now spring (although the weather may not mirror the season ) and we are winding down the end of another school year. For every challenge I’ve encountered this year, those challenges have been offset by many, many, rewards. Students are actively engaged in learning again. Teachers are actively engaged in learning again. I am actively engaged in learning again. There are plenty of smiles and lots of laughter. I was “gifted” the opportunity to engage in reflection, in large part by attending the Mastering Leadership Academy through AWSA. I was given the opportunity to honestly assess my own skills as an instructional leader, and more importantly reflect on how my leadership affects the success of our students. I am sharing a few key leadership takeaways that I believe school leaders need to reflect on and leverage as we continue to create our “new” normals and become even stronger instructional and servant leaders.
MLA Performance Culture Index Survey (Source, MLA Academy 2021)
2. Engage in continuous cycles of improvement with your staff. Create sacred time to analyze
students’ work with instructional teams and coaches. When analyzing and assessing learning,
don’t focus solely on student outcomes. Prioritize assessing adult instructional practices
(including your own leadership practices) and the impact they are having on learning.
 (Source: Center for Educational Leadership, University of Washington, 2015)
3. Create an environment that promotes Collective Teacher Efficacy. Collective Teacher Efficacy or
(CTE) is defined as “A staff’s shared belief that through their collective action, they can positively
influence student outcomes, including those who are disadvantaged or disengaged.” (Hattie,
2016). Collective Teacher Efficacy is ranked as the number one factor influencing student
achievement with an effect size of 1.57 (Hattie, 2016). For more information on building collective
4. Nurture your culture. Relationships and social capital matter more now than ever. Surround
yourself with people who will help you exceed your highest leadership vision for yourself. During
times of change school leaders are often concerned about push-back and the negative impact
on school climate. Todd Whittaker (2003), advises that school leaders who are implementing new
policy decisions or rules should ask themselves, “How would my most positive and productive
staff members feel about it?”
5. Finally, take time for your own personal wellness both physically and mentally. Our
students need and deserve healthy school leaders. Thank you for your service!
References Hanushek, E. A., & Rivkin, S. G. (2010). Generalizations about Using Value-Added Measures of Teacher Quality. Hattie, J. (2016). Visible learning. VISIBLE LEARNING. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from Whittaker, T. (2003). Power Plays of Difficult Employes. The School Administrator. *Please note that my use of the word Post-Pandemic in the article is simply referencing the return to in-school learning for all students and does not reflect the state of the current global pandemic. |