How school leaders can earn respect, not just demand it

Guest-writing at Jose Vilson’s blog, his friend Luz, another New York City teacher, explains what she wants to see from school leaders:

I am not saying that teachers do not have to sometimes refresh their techniques and learn new approaches but there is finesse as to how this is done. It is easy to target those teachers whom won’t fight back unlike those teachers, whom are known not to do their job for various reasons, yet are still working and earning a paycheck because creating a paper trail is an on-going process. If these teachers are detrimental to the students, then make sure that there is a follow through because mediocrity is not acceptable. There is no need to walk around with a checklist to see if your building is in order since as a leader your vision of what the building and classroom should look like is transparent to everyone; but most importantly, the stakeholders of your school, are also aligned to this vision. It is not an easy task to undertake for those who have decided to embark on the path of educational leadership, yet is very necessary in order to transform our schools, inspire our students, and motivate our teachers.

About our First Person series:

First Person is where Chalkbeat features personal essays by educators, students, parents, and others trying to improve public education. Read our submission guidelines here.