When I started out as a substitute teacher in the fall of 1994, I never thought that I had put myself on a trajectory toward headship. Looking back now, I can see that every role I have had in schools has added a skill to my toolbox and has given me a breadth of experience that helps me see the big picture by understanding how the granular pieces of the community fit together to make the whole.
We educate students to learn many things, ranging from content knowledge to skills and habits of mind. Of course, we know that content knowledge is extremely important. However, in reflecting on my first year of headship at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child (NJ), it is clear that strong skills and habits of mind are absolutely indispensable for our students, and they need to be cultivated throughout our lives. Along my learning and professional journeys, I have developed several skills and habits of mind that I have unknowingly tapped into during my first year of leading a school, and they have allowed me to work with my colleagues as we lead our school community.
1. Collaboration
As a classroom teacher, whenever I assigned a group project, there would always be some student apprehension—a degree of uncertainty knowing they would have to work with others. Students knew that they would have to sacrifice total control. “Life is a group project,” I used to tell my students, citing that there is very little we do that is truly independent, and as a result, group projects are good practice. Sometimes there was a little bit of eye rolling when I got on that soapbox. Some students were on board for group projects; some would give me a confused look and respond with skepticism—or even a challenge to that notion.I have long known the importance of collaboration, and as head of school, I experienced the value of interdependence in a profound way. Whether it was working with every school constituent to develop our next strategic plan or sitting around the table with the administrative team trying to manage and roll out the next COVID-19 protocol, I realized there’s really no aspect of my job that I can do alone. I am constantly seeking out and relying upon the expertise of my colleagues. The saying “If you're the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room” is a good one for heads to remember. The smartest thing you can do is make sure you have the right people in the room, whatever room that is.
Recognizing that each member of an administrative team is an expert in their field is essential. Asking the right questions and listening a lot is the very best way to gather the information needed to make the best decision. I first learned this as a classroom teacher, realizing the expertise of my colleagues. This sense was further developed as division head when I worked more closely with the registrar, college counselors, and deans, and then even more so as head.
Collaboration as head goes beyond the on-campus population. It also includes working with a board of trustees and having to look at the day-to-day from my desk while also contemplating the next five to 10 years of the school’s future. Pacing change and knowing who to bring to the table for a certain decision is critical. It can be easy to think that everyone needs to weigh in on every decision but that is not necessary and not efficient. However, trying to be clear about what decisions have been made and why is also extremely important.
2. Resilience
As upper school division head, every Sunday, I would write to the students with a thought that might intrigue them. I once wrote about the concept of “knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do.” I explained, “When you are faced with something new or something challenging, instead of shutting down and throwing your hands up, how do you take action and move toward solving the problem and handling the situation? This may mean taking a risk, or asking for help, or researching a solution or an approach. In short, it is about action … not words.”
Nothing in my life has hit home more than that concept during the pandemic. I don’t think there is a head of school out there who wanted a global pandemic to mark the first year of their tenure. This is certainly true for me. I did not want the majority of my communications with families to be about policies and protocols. I did not want our community gatherings to be limited because of space constraints and social distancing. I did not want to lead my community from behind a mask. However, I had to navigate the year as it was, not as I might have preferred it to be. I had to figure out how to do my best despite the circumstances.It was hard to handle the constant uncertainty. At times, it seemed that the only thing we could count on was not knowing what was coming next. Through it all, we had to figure out what to do in a multitude of situations that we had never encountered. To do this, I learned to dig deep and show up and face whatever came next. One way I did this was through writing—to my students and for myself—to reflect and step out of the minutiae of the day and see life more broadly. I would try to use life experiences and extrapolate deeper meaning from them.
3. Managing Time
As a teacher, I always wanted my students to develop the skill of time management. I wanted them to be able to have a sense of how long their homework assignments would take. I wanted them to be able to pace themselves on a single test and to be able to map the elements of a long-term project. As adults, we know how important this skill is.Stepping into headship, I heard many people say to me, “Don’t forget: It's a marathon, not a sprint.” In reflecting on my first year of headship, I have come to the realization that headship is a marathon and a sprint. You need to be able to do both. It's really a marathon with a lot of little sprints. You have to have your eyes one, three, five, and 10 years ahead. Simultaneously, you may need to have a meeting immediately … or get a letter written by the end of the day … or return an urgent phone call. Keeping multiple balls of different sizes and weights in the air is a constant challenge, and the skill of time management is crucial.
One habit that has taken hold is on Sunday afternoons. I look at the week ahead and draft as many agendas as I can and determine what nights I will be out for work, what nights I will be able to unwind, etc. I like to have the big picture of the week heading in, so I have a sense of the pacing.
4. Learning Never Stops
Every school I’ve ever worked or learned in has aspired to cultivate a culture of lifelong learning among the students. This is such an important skill because we are constantly evolving as adults. Kids sometimes think that learning is just a function of schooling when in fact I have learned far more as an adult than I did as a kid. As I’ve progressed through my career, the breadth of topics that I’ve had to become familiar with has expanded, and I have found that lifelong learning is a true mark of my experience.As a classroom teacher, I needed to know things like differentiated instruction, lesson planning, and child development. As a dean, I needed to learn how to manage discipline, and organize the prom, and develop academic plans. As a division head, I had to oversee the vertical and horizontal articulation of the academic program, I had to learn how to pace change, build schedules, and work closely with faculty, students, and parents alike. As a head of school, the scope of my knowledge has expanded even further.
I once asked a seasoned colleague what the first year of headship was like. He told me it’s like drinking from a firehose. He was right. It was overwhelming at times, but it was also exciting and interesting. I have learned new leadership skills such as thinking more long-range, knowing that I am making decisions that will impact the school for years to come, managing expectations and change, and recognizing that my voice has a different weight than it used to. At the same time, I have had to learn about things like impervious lot coverage ratios (how much of our property must remain unpaved and how that impacts facilities planning), search engine optimization trends, and the benefits of two-factor authentication. I’ve loved learning so many new things and am grateful for my colleagues who guided me with their expertise in new domains. We put our students in this situation year after year after year, and it was good for me to remember what it is like in their shoes.
While elements of my first year of headship were anything but typical, I handled many of the challenges with the skills and habits of mind that had been cultivated in me by my teachers over the years. I have rarely been able to see so clearly why we must always help our students learn beyond sheer content knowledge than I did during my first year of headship.
