[Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6020, Response to Answer for Question # 2

[Matney, Mary]

Molly,
I completely agree that the structure of the administration correlates to the climate & morale of the building. Not much is as frustrating as not having a voice or being heard on matters that directly effect us. I can definitely understand how an administrator could fall into a trap of being authoritative vs. professional, simply because of the pressures from their superiors and the state. Also, I’m sure those personality traits affect how one structures their school, so being cognicent of those undesirable traits and finding ways to combat them is going to be key.  I applaud your principal for giving the staff such an important role in their own evaluation. I hope to be so cooperative as an administrator.  Working together is so much easier than taking it all on your own shoulders. When you stated, “As a result, our staff feels a strong sense of control, self-worth, morale, and professionalism which in turn enables us to follow our administrators when they cast vision or when they do take on an authoritative voice, as is sometimes needed.” it really resonated with me because I have worked for administrators who have been such amazing leaders AND managers, who really listened and worked WITH us.  It’s not just easy, but more so natural, to follow that style of leadership because it truly feels like a team. Sadly, I have also worked for others on the opposite end of the spectrum who, for one reason of another, look at being an administrator as some sort of power over others. Hopefully, we will all be able to learn from the good, bad, and the ugly, and use it to help us be the best administrators.

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Sent: Friday, June 15, 2018 9:28 AM
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Subject: [Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6020, Answer to Question # 2

The structure at Green High School most clearly resembles a professional structure. It's my opinion that this decentralized structure has been created over time by our current administration who places a lot of authority and faith in its specialized staff members. Of course, our system does have necessary bureaucratic characteristics, such as hierarcy, rules and regulations, policies and a normed social process. However, our administration places a strong emphasis on the human resource perceptual lense which allows for the professional structure to prevail. For example, our principal recently placed it in the teacher's hands to create our own OTES walkthrough tool. The system he was using was clunky and expensive. As a district, we are becoming more comfortable with Google, so it was suggested in a BLT meeting that a walkthrough tool be created on a Google form. Around this same time, our district had been deeply exploring DOK levels. Our TBTs and BLT felt like the walkthrough tool could be personalized by department so that our principal could have specific "look-fors" that could help him easily identify what DOK level is being taught no matter what classroom he is evaluating. Our principal simply put it in our hands to create our own walkthrough tool. Within a few weeks, our staff had developed one that satisfied the needs of OTES and our high school staff. This dispersion of power is no exception. Our administration was active, as they set deadlines and checked in with us informally to make sure there was proper completion of this task, however it was up to us to create the tool in our own way and by our own means. Additionally, our administration looks to their employees to maintain their own classrooms by their own authority and to make decisions about student discipline, scheduling, rules, policies, and even state required safety drills. As a result, our staff feels a strong sense of control, self-worth, morale, and professionalism which in turn enables us to follow our administrators when they cast vision or when they do take on an authoritative voice, as is sometimes needed.

The structure at Green High School least resembles a chaotic structure. In my years at Green, there have been very few times that staff have expressed dissatisfaction due to a lack of structure, a sense of disorder, or even lasting dissension between employees. Again, our administration are strong, effective managers who maintain a healthy sense of bureaucratic structure which is necessary to prevent a chaotic structure from penetrating. We have typical procedures, rules, and deadlines to follow as a staff for leave requests, fundraisers, submission of SLO's, and time sheets. Staff knows what is expected of them and we know what to expect from management, as expectations are communicated regularly throughout the building. Administration keeps communication strong by holding quarterly staff meetings and sending weekly blogs and updates from the superintendent's office. Additionally, our building principal takes time to speak to each teacher on a regular basis about our personal and professional goals, helping us move forward to reach our highest potential. Each of these examples show how our administration is made of competent managers and leaders, focused on maintaining orderly day to day operations while developing leaders within our buildings, which allows us to maintain a professional, not a chaotic system.

Molly Sylvia
7th/8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
Jr. High Quiz Bowl Advisor
Youth in Government Advisor
Green High School
4057 Gallia Pike
Franklin Furnace, Ohio 45629
office 740.354.9290 ext. 3212
fax 740.354.9904
BELIEVE
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