When I returned from maternity leave our school principal had taken on a position of higher duties and one of our deputy principals was relieving in the role. The deputy principal was doing a wonderful job of managing the school and she knew the community well. But she had made it clear that it was not her long-term aspiration to remain in the principal’s position on a permanent basis. Under her leadership the staff were well supported as the first wave of covid sent schools into the unknown world of home learning. Leading in a crisis environment must have been a big challenge, but this leader had developed trust with staff and ensured communication was always forthcoming. Returning to school was daunting for many, but the staff trusted our senior executive team and their safe and well considered reopening plan.
By the end of the year operations had largely returned to normal and a new principal was appointed. The staff were anticipating big changes, but our new leader wisely took his time to settle into the school and observe the current operations of his new workplace. There was an emphasis on data collection around student engagement and wellbeing. Staff, students and parents were all encouraged to add their voices to the data by completing the Tell Them From Me surveys. Over the next year subtle changes were beginning to take place. Two new formal leadership positions were created, and a distributed leadership style was initiated during this time. A new deputy principal of special education was appointed to replace the outgoing head teacher and a new head teacher Aboriginal Educational Pathways position was created. Expressions of interest were sent out to recruit teachers to informal leadership positions and new teams were established to drive the future direction of the school.
The new year brought further changes to the strategic direction of the school, as the next school planning cycle started. Underpinned by the School Excellence Framework, the Strategic Improvement Plan identified areas for growth and professional development over a three-year period. The informal leaders were made responsible for leading change and developing school wide strategies in the areas of literacy and numeracy, behaviour, attendance and high potential and gifted education. Taking on instructional leadership roles, each of these teams delivered progress reports to staff at professional development days and ensured everyone understood the school’s current operating procedures in their area of expertise. The teams collated data and generated reports each term to understand and track the effectiveness of the school wide changes they were implementing. They periodically surveyed staff to evaluate how the changes are being perceived so they could identify areas of improvement.
In the library, the teacher librarian has become responsible for leading the Student Representative Council. In a servant leadership role, the teacher librarian supports student lead initiatives as they fulfill their leadership capacity in the school. The library is well positioned to communicate directly with the community via the school website and Facebook account about student fundraising events and positive interactions with the community.
The staff have reacted well the gradual change. After having the relieving principal performing dutifully as caretaker, the school was ready for a change in direction. It will take a few years to see all the outcomes of this change come to fruition. The second covid lockdown has interrupted the roll out of these changes, which now poses a new set of challenges for the teaching staff. The leadership from the principal has changed from a very operational style to a more transformational and visionary leader. The principal communicates directly with staff via Zoom each week and seems very mindful of the wellbeing of staff and students during these challenging times. Each week we’re presented with a few possible scenarios as the leadership team plan contingencies for a safe return to school with an uncertain future. I am optimistic that when we finally return to school, everyone will be back on board and following the vision outlined in the school’s Strategic Improvement Plan.
The subject ETL504 Teacher Librarian as Leader, has made me aware of the formal and informal structures operating within the broader context of the school. I am still working as a classroom teacher but learning about the different leadership styles has allowed me to understand how the teacher librarian can lead from the middle in an informal leadership position. I have developed an understanding of what it will take to get the library recognised as a valuable and indispensable resource within the school. Hopefully I get the opportunity to work in a school library soon, so I can work on putting some of these new ideas into action.
