Get out of Your Office

Get Out of Your Office!

You Can't be an Office Troll

How can a school administrator efficiently create the positive culture within the school community and manage from their office? About fifteen years ago one of the points that bothered me as a teacher was when I found myself trapped at my desk. Emails, phone calls, grading, planning, and sometimes speaking with students I would find myself trapped for thirty to forty-five minutes in one specific place; my desk!

Embedded

As a classroom teacher I made a concerted effort to get out of this trap. Gone was the trap of the desk-I taught amid the classroom arrangement. I changed the arrangement constantly and would even make the seats into a maze. I would sit next to students, on the floor, working alongside during projects, read and write with them, and sometimes just talk as we worked. Students would be assigned to sit at the teacher's desk, and this became a place of honor for many...some would even claim that they were the teacher for the day. What I found was I connected on a more personal level with students. I continued this practice up to the day I finished my tenure as a classroom teacher. You can actually get a feel for the pulse of the classroom when you are embedded in the classroom. 

We expect our teachers to engage their classes. How are we modeling this as administrators? 

I have heard of principals taking the desk out of their office and placing it in a commons area. I think this is a great start, but why even take our desk? In today's world of education we can have our office with us. I have either my laptop, iPad, or phone with me when I am out of the classroom. Think of the benefit of meeting the students and staff where they are with nothing between them and you? I am a big guy, and do not fit well in our elementary seating. If I can sit at a student desk or table, then almost anyone else will be able to! There is always the option of sitting on the floor.

Three years ago in 2014 I started meeting everyone where they were. ( Luke 10:5-8 speaks of doing this on a religious and spiritual level) The assistant principal and myself take the morning arrival duties, lunch duties, share recess duties, and do dismissal all so that we are with the students. We talk to the students. We build relationships! Many would see us as having a good time, and we are. This past year I had a third grade student asked about what a principal does, and he replied, "Mr. B acts busy and has a good time with the kids." I am glad our students have that perspective and not one of a stressed out manager. 

Change for the Positive

One of the biggest opportunities that we have is to tell our school's story. How can you tell a story if you are not involved. Telling a story as an observer and not a participant changes the perspective in how we can tell the story. The past two years we have worked hard at getting the word, our story, out to our local community. We have found that our story's reach is going well beyond our local community. Our school has four hundred plus students. some of the posts we put out on social media have over fifteen hundred views. Those are 1500 people hearing a positive story that we are writing as we improve. We post pictures and comments on social media about the great things we see students and teachers doing while we are with them. We call parents and let them know what their students have done well. Many times these calls are done within minutes of the engagement in the classroom. 

Be We

The administration team teaches when the opportunity arises. We all look for those teachable moments. We help with differentiation. We help with standardized testing of individuals or small group when needed.  In the morning we read to the entire school, and we start our day instructing about citizenship and personal goal setting. We eat with students, and sometimes staff (we have great pitch-ins). We are in classrooms mornings and afternoons. Technically these might be informal walk throughs, but we all get to the point that it is missed if we are not in those classrooms. Teachers ask us to come and take part in activities. Students stop us to read us something or tell us something that they have learned. Students share their successes in their goal setting. We make sure we have time to collaborate daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly throughout the year. We are modeling our expectations. We are on the move. We are teachers! Be involved! Be WE; not us and them.