Out on a Limb

 The education profession is just that: a profession of educated professionals. Most teachers have years of education beyond the minimum bachelor’s degree required to enter the profession. We have spent our time and money learning more about learning, learning more about how to do the best possible jobs for our students. Teachers are lifelong learners who seek out education in the form of higher degrees, workshops, networking, and participating in countless book studies, all for the purpose of bettering ourselves and providing the best possible educational experience for our students, for your children.

With this knowledge in hand, why do so many school districts not actually listen to their teachers? Listening is something many school districts claim to do, by offering teachers a few choices about certain things, such as the school calendar.  But these choices often seem to come after someone higher up already made the big decisions and passed down the two most agreeable options to teachers.

I have worked as a teacher in several districts over the course of my twenty-year career. Most of the districts for which I have worked follow the above-mentioned model of asking for teachers’ opinions. There was one district, however, where I felt that my opinion on important things actually mattered and that teachers truly had a voice.

It was a very small district in rural central Missouri, and on certain matters, the major decisions about things that had a great impact on the school began with the teachers, rather than with administrators and board members. At the end of my fourth year in the district, our principal retired and the search was on for a new one. Most school districts allow the upper administration to complete the entire process of selecting a new principal. It was different at this school. My middle school was instructed by the superintendent to form a principal selection committee and all applications for the principal position were sent to the committee, which consisted of five teachers. We met on two occasions to review and discuss the applications we had received, and to narrow down the list to five or six applicants for interviews. Our building secretary set up the interviews, and over the course of one day, the applicants came to our school building and were interviewed by the committee of teachers. There we no administrators in the room. It was us, five professional educators asking questions that we felt were relevant to our school and our students, and then discussing the qualifications of each person with whom we had met. The interviews were conversational and personal, but also professional and serious. We wanted to know the person who we were going to trust to lead us and our students into the next few years. 

After much heartfelt discussion, review, and careful consideration, the committee narrowed our selection down to two individuals who we felt possessed values and abilities that aligned with our hopes for our school. We forwarded these two names and their application materials to the superintendent, who shared them with the board of education. Only these two applicants were interviewed by the board. On the evening of the interviews, the committee was invited to be present outside the board room so that we could be informed immediately when a decision had been made. We as a committee were satisfied that our voices had been heard, our opinions mattered, and that we were being treated as professionals who could make a decision about the direction our school would take. Regardless of which of the two applicants was selected, we had chosen our next principal. Most school districts do not place that level of trust and professionalism with their teachers.

In other matters, such as the school calendar and the salary schedule, similar processes occurred. Every teacher in the district was required to be a member of one district-wide committee, and the decision-making always began in the committees, rather than with the administration. Although this district had its share of troubles and issues, one thing I always felt in the years I worked there was that teachers had a voice that truly mattered. This element is missing in most school districts today. We are professionals. We are educated. We want to be heard, not just consulted after decisions have already been made. It may seem like a big limb for a district to go out on, but with the level of education and professionalism among our teachers, it's actually a strong and sturdy branch. It won't break!