Have you noticed that teachers have quite a few online resources to support their work, and principals have resources and networks upon which they can call as well? Central office administrators, however, have few.
But Central MATTERS, and as central office administrators we handle a lot of MATTERS.
Coordinators, directors, and assistant superintendents need more online resources to help them with their daily work, I think.
Over the years that I have been a central office administrator, I have often been tasked with creating new programs or implementing new initiatives. So where to start? Often, I spent a lot of time in research, trying to learn all that I could and find best practices around my project.
Other times, I wasn’t starting a new project, but an existing one needed a re-start or overhaul. I have often found myself looking for better ways of doing something that we typically have to do each year – a better way to deliver test training or streamlining the school improvement process for example.
Sometimes a principal or instructional coach has asked for information on a specific topic or issue. As CO administrators, our role is to support principals, teachers, and schools. We are often their ‘on-the-spot’ resource center.
Few of us arrive in the central office with much experience in most of the areas that we will be called upon to provide support. Really, how could we have expertise in all the areas we may be asked to support or provide leadership?
But what about our graduate programs, you ask. Did we not learn what we needed to know through those many months of toil? My answer is no, not really.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking our Higher Education partners, because I do believe that most graduate programs will prepare us for leadership roles from a big picture perspective. For example, a Master’s in Education program will provide an educator with an understanding of the broader ideas in education, what is involved in being an educational leader, but the program will probably not yield explicit knowledge and skills for someone who must manage the day-to-day responsibilities of an accountability program or a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program.
The real education begins once you are in the position, and you realize there are some nuts and bolts that must be assembled – every. single. day.
Those of us from small school districts often have the ‘multiple hats’ problem, too. In larger districts, central office administrators tend to have one main area of responsibility. Administrators in smaller districts might direct multiple program areas. Sometimes we must take off one hat (e.g., curriculum) and don another (e.g., testing).
I call this the central office shuffle. Okay, maybe I only call it that in my head, but I bet a lot of you know exactly what I am talking about here. Each day we must decide which department, program area, or project has the immediate need and prioritize our to-do list accordingly. The struggle is real.
Because of our varied responsibilities, we sometimes lack the time to research a topic, program, or process. Staying on top of the periodicals and education newsletters that pertain to our areas of responsibility is daunting. I know some of you out there have a messy stack of Education Week issues on your desk, touched only when you carried them from the mail room to your office. No? Maybe it is just me then.
Often, it would help just to know what our colleagues in other districts do. Central office administrators often work without the support of a learning network, especially in smaller districts.
I have found that the best information often comes from others who have already tackled a similar project.
Listening to and learning from my colleagues in other districts is rewarding for me personally and extremely helpful to me professionally. I enjoy local and regional job-alike meetings, as well as state and national conferences.
I do not purport to know much, but if the little that I have learned in the past thirteen years in the central office can help a colleague, then I am happy to share what I’ve learned, both successes and those pesky ‘opportunities.’ And I look forward to learning from you, too!
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