involved in good decision making. And
they make clear what each person’s role
will be (“I’m gathering as much information as I can from affected parties, but I
will make the final selection” or “The
faculty will vote or reach consensus after
we’ve heard everyone’s views”).
Goal Setting
Principals who want to encourage
collaborative leadership need to help
teachers look at tough situations head
on and set realistic goals together. One
new principal found herself in such a
situation at Johnston Elementary
School. When she arrived, the neighborhood surrounding Johnston Elementary
was dramatically changing. Many small,
privately owned homes were being put
up for rent or undergoing foreclosure.
Neighborhood diversity was increasing,
and more families spoke English as a
second language. Meanwhile, Johnston’s
test scores were falling, and it had been
labeled a “failing school.” The recently
hired superintendent was calling for
significant changes in curriculum and
instruction.
Far from being united and proactive,
teachers were confused and angry. Older
teachers felt that no one respected their
past successes or the school’s longtime
traditions. They often blamed the
changing population for their students’
academic distress. Younger teachers—
overwhelmed by discipline problems
and the sometimes confusing new
curriculum—didn’t know where to
turn.
PHOTO BY BRUCE BENNETT
As her first year drew to a close, the
principal realized that she needed to
help her faculty focus on new learning
rather than on past inadequacies. And
she sensed that when principals and
teachers develop goals together, teachers
become stronger and student learning
accelerates.
This leader used the last staff meeting
of the year to help her staff mutually
agree on three or four goals for the
following year. First, she distributed to
teachers (a week before the meeting) a
packet that included district goals, data
on student achievement and discipline,
and academic areas Johnston needed to
address. She extended the meeting time
and included dinner to provide time to
complete the goal-setting process.
The group used the focusing four
model developed by Garmston and
Wellman (2002) to guide the conversation. The process encourages widespread teacher participation by having
teachers go through four steps: brain-
had slowed down progress in an already
difficult situation began to melt away.
When Johnston’s teachers met again
at the end of the summer, they fashioned action plans, assigned responsibilities, and developed criteria for measuring the effects of their efforts. During
the next year, the principal and her
leadership team organized staff meetings
around discussions of the four goals.
Data reports and conversations focused
on progress toward these aims. Progress
storm, clarify, advocate, and canvass.
Johnston’s teachers were able to reach
consensus on four goals within two
hours. These goals (improving instruction in reading, improving instruction in
math, motivating students, and
increasing parent involvement) mirrored
the goals the district had established. By
going through the goal-setting process
themselves, however, the faculty began
to own the goals. Because the process
was public, teachers realized there were
no hidden agendas. The resistance that
during the following year was slow but
steady and was no longer hampered by
the foot dragging and negativism that
had slowed Johnston’s progress the year
before.
Mutually developed goals focus a
faculty’s energy. As consultants, we often
ask principals how their school developed its goals and how teachers use
them. How schools develop goals
reveals a great deal about their culture.
Principals who develop collaborative
cultures shift from being the person
