GSU Blogger - Dr. J. Kahrs

As many of you have read, seen, or heard, the high school head football coach is a very "lucrative" position according to some media outlets. Does it bother any of you that the head football coach is second in salary only behind the superintendent in some counties in Georgia?  What about your high schools? In many high schools around the state, the head football coach is second only to the principal. Is there a problem with our salary structures in Georgia? As school administrators (principals/ assistant-principal) is there a problem in your schools when the head football coach makes more than the assistant principals?

This is the toughest time of year, the transfer process opens next week, and it's decision making time as to who has performed adequately to stay and for those who have not performed adequately, conversations have begun to let these individuals know that they are being considered for non renewal. This is partly one of the toughest responsibilities of the job, but equally difficult is knowing that for 180 days of what should have been an impactful learning experience for our students has not. To think that one teacher greatly cheated 20+ students out of effective instruction is also just as difficult.

Okay, I know this can be a touchy subject, but let's also acknowledge that it's an important one and start a conversation. I've been doing my "Aspiring AP" homework, but that has led to more questions and bewilderment (not to mention disillusionment) than answers, clarity, and hope. I'll start with this: How many of you might be interested in eventually earning a doctorate degree? Well, I just found out that my system (and many others) have decided to no longer pay administrators at the T7 level. So from here on out, even if I earn an EdD in Leadership, I'd only get paid for my EdS (T6) degree...as an AP, I would also get a $3,000 annual supplement.  Now as a teacher, I can earn an EdD (let's say in C&I) and get paid at a T7 level, but then if I move into an AP position, I would revert back to the T6 plus 3K.  Does anyone else see a problem with that? If not, let's consider how many extra days (not to mention extra hours on both ends of the reg...

I have watched videos of Shirley Hord and Stephanie Hirsh (Learning Forward) discuss and demonstrate the members' roles in professional learning communities (PLCs), what they should look like, and how it should be conducted. However, it appears most PLCs are gatherings of information dumping with one person in charge. Is it that these meetings are opportunities to overwhelm teachers with new mandates? Are the PLCs really about building teacher and student capacity through analyzing data?

           Recently, I participated in a book study at our school with a group of teacher leaders who were interested in creating a positive school culture. We read an interesting book entitled, Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division by Anthony Muhammad. In this book, Muhammad shares a few interesting points in which I would like to disclose. Muhammad believes educators are classified into following four categories: Tweeners, Believers, Survivors or Fundamentalists.             First, Tweeners are who we may consider our “new teachers on the block.” As you probably have observed, these teachers typically starts out with enthusiasm and usually comply with administrators’ requests. These teachers can be very vulnerable and easily persuaded. They are trying out new things all the time to see what works best for them.           ...

I know teachers are put on PDP's if they are ineffective, but what about assistant principals? I know of an assistant principal that is simply ineffective. This has been proven in multiple ways. His surveys are always negative, when he is in charge of testing, it almost always, is messed up, he has no connection with his staff, parents, and teachers. Some examples are when he gets on to students they laugh at him and once (I witnessed this) a teacher was explaining an incident to him and he actually shushed her, yet he still holds his position. If he were a teacher and doing this, he would already be put on a PDP. I recently found out that principals are not eligible for tenure but are assistant principals?

Our school began implementing PBIS in the fall. Students earn hornet bucks for showing PBIS expectations. We have posters hung throughout the building that display the rules and expectations of the school. We also have PBIS commercials on our school website that can be watched at any time. Yesterday, I attended part one of a three day PBIS training presented by GADOE. I took away valuable information on how to set rules and expectations and the importance of understanding of what students know and do at home. We watched this wonderful video by Rita Pearson called "Mama Said". I encourage you to watch it. Do any of your schools use the PBIS model, and if so, what do you do to promote positive behavior?

I read an old article by Tomlinson entitled "One To Grow On." The author raved about the best practices of a few good principals. These principals are coined as adding value to their staff. One principal ensures students were assigned to an adult in the building. The other would assist in any area where short handed. The other would be present daily in classrooms. The point is an effective instructional leader is essential to the success of any school. The leader must be able to articulate a vision and have support from his/her staff. The leader must be visible and flexible. The leader must stay current on trends in education.

STEM/STEAM is the new buzz word everyone is using these days.  While I feel we have been doing this for quite some time, we just happen to have called it something else in years past.  Currently, in my county there are three middle schools.  Of the the three, two are doing STEM/STEAM exclusive teams.  My school is in the creating stage of STEM. Our administrators felt we should not rush into something without researching it and everyone is well versed in it ( Happy to be around people who are thinking rationally about this.) Our STEM committee meets to brainstorm what needs to be asked of staff and the committee serves as a spokesperson within their department.  In these meetings there are quite a few concerns and many questions.  My questions to you are the following providing you are a STEM/STEAM school? What steps did you use to start your STEM program? How did you incorporate buy-in from staff, students, parents, and community? What committees we...

When I entered the teaching profession in my 40's one of the first things that I noticed was what I considered a lack of advocacy for the educators in the classroom.  I had come out of the engineering field and was teaching in Savannah Georgia and my thought was, "Who is human resources for the teachers"? On page 20 of his book School Genetics , Lockhart states, "Researchers have proven undeniably that the major contributor to student achievement is the teacher" (p. 20).  He further states on page 21 regarding a leader's relationship with teachers, "Evidence must trump emotions every time in the human resources business.  In other words, it's personnel, nor personal." With a shrinking pool of teaching candidates, and seasoned educators leaving the field in droves, something has to change in the way be care for our educators.  What are some of the ways you care for the teachers that are entrusted to educate the children in your building? ...

We are all accustomed to hearing the stories and reading the literature concerning teachers who leave the profession in the first 3-5 years. I am interested in the literature and stories about assistant principals who leave the profession in the first 3-5 years of their careers. If this applies to you, could you please share why. What are some of the reasons why assistant principals leave the profession? Are their similarities with the classroom teacher? If so, what are they? Conversely, does the assistant principal position doom one to fail? What are the measures of success (going beyond LKES) for an assistant principal?  

My principal shared this article with our leadership team last week, and since I wholeheartedly agree with the premise and research findings, I thought it would be worth passing along to you all. It seems like common sense for leaders...empower your teachers and build their leadership capacity (be a Multiplier). In reality though, too many leaders refuse to share or relinquish any degree of control, and they only trust in their own ability to make important decisions and produce results (they are Diminishers). Most teachers can and do have brilliant ideas and creative solutions to existing problems, and they have the potential to be powerful agents of positive change. Unfortunately, most times their amazing potential is never realized or actualized. Like the article states, "It is the organization led not by the genius, but by the genius maker that taps and unleashes brilliance across an entire school or district. What could your school accomplish if you could mobilize all the ene...

I am in a quandary. My job as Project Manager for my school is only for 2 years (I am currently in my 1st year). When this job was presented to me I was led to believe that wonderful opportunities would be available once my job assignment was over. However, I have since found out that my school will have to reabsorb me. I have no guarantee where I will be placed. The principal has the option to keep me in my current position, but must use discretionary funds. I have since learned that there is a really good possibility there will be several assistant principal jobs available for the upcoming school year. My quandary is I am not sure if I should apply for these positions since I told them I would be PM for 2 years or if I should finish my 2 years and then pray other opportunities will arise. I could go back into the classroom, but I haven't been in there for 8 years and I feel it would be a step back. While I am not asking you to tell me what to do; I would love feedback on what yo...

As we all know as educators there are often times that a school will have visitors in the building in regards to accreditation.  I am a firm believer in having a real view of how a school is run as opposed to the dog and pony show that often goes on.  Today I had to sit in on a panel that discussed school culture and climate.  I did not feel comfortable answering questions honestly in front of my principal so I chose not to say anything at all.  How do other administrators feel in this situation?  I would answer candidly in a survey or questionnaire but did not like having other AP's, my principal, and guidance counselors present when answering these questions.

When juggling multiple things, there comes a time when all that you juggle will come crashing down. That's the time to reflect on the circumstances to find the message in the valley.  While reflecting, boundaries are established and things that really matter will take precedence. Balance.

I had an opportunity to attend Edcamp Savannah this past Saturday (early Saturday morning I might add).  The whole purpose of my attendance is because I'm educational nosy and I had seen quite a few posts on twitter where edcamps were taking place all over.  People were posting pictures and stating they were having a good time and learning a lot.  Of course, I needed to see what the hoopla was all about.  Before sharing my experience, here is a brief history about edcamp: 1st Edcamp May 2010 in Philadelphia  Over 200 edcamps worldwide  Edcamp Foundation formed 2011   The Edcamp Foundation vision is to "promote organic, participant-driven professional development for K-12 educators worldwide.   When they say organic they mean organic.  As a newbie this was a little daunting.  Let me explain. Sessions were created by participants giving suggestions on what should be discussed for the day (If topics were around the same they were ...

This past week I along with one of our counselors had the pleasure of starting a new club at our school "Young Entrepreneurs of Graves" We chose 12 students but only 8 attended which was still a nice manageable group. We will teach students the principles of starting their own business by creating a product of which they will be able to present and sale during an expo at the end of our sessions. The students will learn how to write a business plan, market their product and how to raise money/budget their money for their product. I am looking forward to collaborating with these students and their awesome ideas as we work together to create masterpieces that maybe one day be advertised!

I was sitting at my desk when two teachers entered. The first teacher (a former leader) sat at the conference table and began a discussion about Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and the other waited to tell me about her electronic Due Process Checklist that she planned to complete, print and place in the students’ IEP folders.  After the second teacher finished speaking, the first teacher retorted with her elbows propped on the table, head in hands and face towards the table, “Just get the dang things completed and printed. Don’t come in here with excuses. Nobody wants to hear that!”  The same teacher turned to me and said, “I said what you were thinking. That’s exactly what you wanted to say, wasn’t it?” I looked at her and said, “No. That was the furthest thing from my mind. That’s not it all.”  She smiled and another conversation was held. Transformational or authoritative leadership – do we really get it? Do leaders really understand when people are verball...

Recently, I had an opportunity to observe a committee meeting on parental engagement.  It was a meeting held via Skype with several parent resource personnel from varying elementary schools.  As the members of the committee gave suggestions about how to engage parents, one member stopped and asked if parental engagement and parental involvement were the same?  Does it make a difference?  And what are some ways to utilize new technologies to involve parents in the education of their children without them having to enter the brick and mortar building? The structure of our families as well as our society have changed significantly over the last half century.  Still, we often hold on to old notions and definitions of the involved parent.  What do you think?  What are some new ways that your school is using to partner with your parents in the education of their children?

In  my school, we have a total of three Assistant Principals. One does curriculum and testing while the other two handle discipline. Is this normal for a high school of approximately 1600 students? I am concerned about the role (pigeon hole) of our Assistant Principals. I would love to learn all of the roles of our APs but I feel like if I became an AP in this setting I would never do anything more than discipline or curriculum. I would love some feedback on the various roles some of you APs play in your schools.  

          This past Sunday I was among a group of assistant principals who are all a part of the GAEL Aspiring Principal Program. One of the many topics discussed was the alarming teacher attrition rate in Georgia. I am sure many of you, if not all, heard about the teacher survey that the GaDOE suggested educators take in an effort to figure out why so many teachers leave the profession within the first five years of employment. It was reported that almost half of the teacher workforce responded to the survey. Of course, the survey findings were troubling to many including the state school superintendent, Richard Woods, who is diligently searching for answers. Georgia is not the only state faced with high teacher attrition rates. The District of Columbia school system is feeling the pressure as well. In fact, they are taking a drastic approach to teacher retention. Please read the article below entitled, “Keeping Irreplaceables in D.C. Public Schools.” You will...

As the second semester begins and we begin to move forward on a block schedule our principal wants to ensure that all AP's at Hampton High School cross train in areas of curriculum, testing, and special education.  My concern is that as the testing coordinator, 11th and 12 grade discipline admin, and observer of 18 teachers I will not have the time to be cross trained in special education and curriculum.  If I make the time I worry that testing and assessment responsibilities will suffer.  The goal for next year is to move myself to curriculum, special education administrator to testing, and curriculum administrator to special education if that makes sense.  Also the other two administrators are in their first year as AP's at HHS so they are still learning the ropes of their designated responsibilities.  I will do whatever my principal requests I just worry about moving to early and having our areas of expertise suffer.