_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Report Information from ProQuest

November 08 2014 17:44
_______________________________________________________________

08 November 2014

ProQuest

Table of contents
1. Easing dismissals and non-renewals...........................................................................................................

08 November 2014

ii

ProQuest

Document 1 of 1

Easing dismissals and non-renewals

Author: Painter, Suzanne R
ProQuest document link
Links: Linking Service
Full text: Headnote
Principals need support, personally and professionally, from the central office if expected to take on poor
performers
Superintendents who are struggling with a shortage of qualified teachers to fill vacancies in some fields and
geographic areas may not want to hear the bad news. Looming below the surface may be a much more
intractable and long-lasting problem: the tenuring of increased numbers of unqualified teachers.
During an earlier teacher shortage, a lack of close supervision led to many poor teachers obtaining tenure,
weighing down the system for years or forcing school districts into seemingly endless, expensive and
unpleasant dismissal proceedings, according to Edwin Bridges, author of the widely read 1992 book, The
Incompetent Teacher.
To avoid such a result from the current teacher shortage, school leaders must become more involved in the
supervision of newly hired staff. Whether principals and central-office administrators will do this depends not
only on their skills, but also on their attitudes and beliefs about evaluation in their schools and districts.
A principal who believes little support is provided by the central office for remediation or dismissal of teachers is
unlikely to expend much effort in addressing poor performers. This is true whether or not reality matches the
principal's beliefs. Consequently, top district staff need to know what principals themselves say about barriers to
removing poor teachers.
Asking Principals
My recent research indicates that principals identify several problems with evaluating low-performing teachers in
their school districts. The barriers they identify are largely interconnected: lack of time to work with the teacher,
unduly burdensome evaluation procedures, lack of support from the central office or school board, the
psychological discomfort of confronting a teacher and the inevitable disruption of the social fabric of the building
when the teacher begins to seek support.
In school communities with collective bargaining agreements, principals point to both the contract and the
unpleasant confrontations with union representatives as obstacles.
Asking principals directly about their perceptions is the first step to breaking down barriers. Realize, however,
that perceived barriers may surprise those in central-office positions (or even provoke denial) because from a
more "objective" viewpoint they do not seem like barriers. The goal is not to convince principals that their
interpretations are wrong, but to understand the world as they view it.
Then, consider a two-pronged approach: Remove or reduce those barriers that can be changed and assist
principals to develop the skills and abilities to overcome the rest.
Altering Attitudes
How can central -office administrators uncover a principal's defeatist attitudes and seek to change them? Above
all, re' member that you cannot change another person's beliefs by rational argument. Individuals construct their
own learning.
Here are six suggestions for working toward more productive attitudes.
* Communicate your values.
Michael Fullan, an expert on school change and reform based at the University of Toronto, points out that
leaders must "express and extend" what they value in order to effect change. Principals who are uncertain
08 November 2014

Page 1 of 4

ProQuest

about school district leaders' positions on confronting poor performance are unlikely to take the risk on their
own. They have much to lose and little to gain if their efforts are not supported at higher levels.
Superintendents and their deputies who want principals to hold high standards for teachers must let it be known
in word and deed where they stand. When principals look at leaders' words and actions for clues, they must be
able to assure themselves that central-office administrators will support their efforts to reform or remove poor
teachers. When a principal takes on a difficult case, his or her peers are watching to see how the central office
handles the case-and the principal.
This observational learning informs other principals about the sincerity of the spoken values, about what is
expected and how much support will be forthcoming. It goes without saying that the attitudes of school board
members are critically important, too. Principals look to predict the support they can expect for tough evaluation
cases.
* Protect principals' time.
A principal who was trying to explain the extensive time required to evaluate professional staff effectively put it
this way: "Principals have so many responsibilities that they can't put them all aside to concentrate on
documenting inadequacy."
This is one of the most often-cited barriers to effective evaluation. It takes time to observe teaching and gather
other data, analyze and diagnose problems and communicate feedback (particularly when the teacher is not
receptive to the message). It is easy for principals to postpone these unpleasant tasks. There is always some
other work to be done-some of it as a direct result of district office demands for reports or meetings.
Only when the superintendent and other district-level officials make clear that evaluation is a priority will
principals make it a priority as well. This may involve excusing the principal from some meetings, dropping plans
for other projects that involve this person or otherwise freeing the principal's time to work with poorly performing
teachers.
Boosting Confidence * Help principals gain confidence.
"After a while you begin to wonder, 'Am I the one who is wrong here?' even though you know the teacher is
poor. You doubt yourself"
These words from an experienced principal suggest that some barriers are related to principal confidence,
although these are rarely discussed. Most principals express confidence in their own abilities to carry out the
tasks of supervision. However, it is possible that the confidence is a bravado that masks the fears this principal
was willing to reveal.
Principals will identify easily the barriers that are external to themselves: the union contract, lack of time and
lack of training. It is less likely they will feel safe in identifying other barriers to their supervisors: lack of centraloffice or school board support, uncertainty about processes, lack of confidence in their ability to specify the
particular teaching behaviors that are problematic. They may not even acknowledge some barriers: a lack of
confidence in their ability to confront the teacher or union representative or a fear they may be criticized for the
inadequacy of the plan of improvement.
Having supervisors acknowledge the difficulty of the task, raise concerns about barriers and provide
encouragement, training and coaching in the skills necessary can empower the principals to acknowledge
problems and seek remedies. t Provide training.
Principals may dread the formal proceedings and social disruption of the process. One principal said: "When
you go to the hearing, the administrator is the one on trial."
Many school districts provide training in the legalities surrounding evaluation (statutory requirements and
contract interpretation) and in effective evaluation and conferencing techniques. It may be necessary, as well, to
provide training in how to deal with other difficult social and psychological aspects of evaluation: the separation
of personal issues from job-performance issues (for example, the employee who is the sole breadwinner for a
family), techniques for easing the social disruption on fellow staff members when word leaks out about the
08 November 2014

Page 2 of 4

ProQuest

teacher under fire, approaches for handling difficult union representatives and strategies for depersonalizing the
"courtroom inquisition" that the administrator will face from the teacher's representative in hearings.
While central-office administrators may have considerable experience in dealing with these psychological and
social tensions and consequently may view such training as superfluous, such is not the case for building
principals. The daily life of building administrators is markedly different than that of districtlevel administrators,
and the very qualities of team building, caring and responsiveness to staff, students and parents that make a
successful building leader can work against the principal engaged in a tough evaluation problem.
Contractual Constraints
* Remove contract handcuffs.
"In some districts the teachers' agreement is very restrictive in terms of giving latitude to the administration to
make decisions about marginal teachers."
Many principals, like the one expressing this view, cite the contract and union representatives as the greatest
barriers to effective evaluation. It is incumbent upon those involved in negotiating the contract to pay attention to
contract provisions that cover evaluation-related procedures, including provisions that address the handling of
complaints, the contents of personnel folders and just cause.
Make sure you understand the implications of such language before agreeing to it. If you already have contract
provisions that affect evaluation, work to limit their effects in future negotiations. When explaining the contract
provisions to principals, emphasize what they can do rather than emphasizing restrictions. Principals who hear
honor stories of contract violations leading to the overturning of teacher dismissals are unlikely to be
empowered. An attitude that emphasizes that the task can be done is far more productive.
* Provide social and emotional support. Principals often express their discomfort and regret over disrupted
personal relationships when a teacher is placed on intensive supervision. As one said: "You are always
surprised how popular a teacher becomes when you begin the dismissal process and how unpopular you
become."
Remember that principals will receive little observable support from their own school staffs if they take on the
task of intensive supervision of a teacher. Their primary adult contacts everyday are with the staff members in
their buildings, and they often are tightly woven into the social fabric of the school. Engaging in intensive
supervision disrupts the social structure and is cited by principals as a reason to avoid serious attempts to
improve low-performing teachers. Central-office administrators cannot replace that network but can provide their
own personal support to administrators in this situation.
The Payoff
Considering the attitudes and beliefs of administrators about the likely results of their work in teacher evaluation
is key to providing the support they need. A combination of coherent training and support for building
administrators may empower them to confront the unpleasant task of working with marginal teachers and
benefit everyone in the long run.
The key is looking at the barriers from the principals' viewpoint and responding to their needs rather than
assuming that the barriers are solely procedural. Remember that deep-seated change takes time but produces
the real reform that is necessary for improving instruction. This is as true for principals as it is for teachers.
AuthorAffiliation
Suzanne Painter is on assistant professor, College of Education, Arizona State University West, P.O. Box
37100, Phoenix, Ariz. 85069. E-mail: suzanne.painter@asu.edu
Publication title: School Administrator
Volume: 57
Issue: 9

08 November 2014

Page 3 of 4

ProQuest

Pages: 40
Number of pages: 4
Publication year: 2000
Publication date: Oct 2000
Year: 2000
Publisher: American Association of School Administrators
Place of publication: Arlington
Country of publication: United States
Publication subject: Education--School Organization And Administration
ISSN: 00366439
Source type: Trade Journals
Language of publication: English
Document type: PERIODICAL
ProQuest document ID: 219251268
Document URL:
http://proxy.library.nd.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/219251268?accountid=12874
Copyright: Copyright American Association of School Administrators Oct 2000
Last updated: 2014-05-16
Database: ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection

_______________________________________________________________
Contact ProQuest

Copyright 2014 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. - Terms and Conditions

08 November 2014

Page 4 of 4

ProQuest