This all matters for very practical reasons. No matter where you are in the
world, if you are a leader you need to formally observe your teachers. If you
do not get into classrooms, talk with students and teachers about learning,
and learn along with your teachers, you will lack credibility in your role. And
that means that the feedback you try to offer teachers will fallflat because
they will most likely not see you or your feedback as credible.
However, there is something else which is just as important. Connection.
When adults in the school do not feel connected to their school, there is a
higher level of anxiety and depression. Without connecting as a school
community there will be a good chance our schools will lack an identity. We
become individuals who have forgotten why we entered education in thefirst
place.
This is where Tim Cusack and Vince Bustamante come into the picture. I met
Vince a few years ago, when I was speaking in Saskatoon, Canada, and we
quickly bonded. I met Tim a few months later when I was working in their
district. The two of them had an impactful partnership, and their focus on
growing leaders, especially those in the assistant principal role, was inspiring.
This book is a guide to help assistant principals see a world that they can help
create. Those that feel like victims of their own circumstances willfind some
light to focus on. As leaders and potential leaders reading this book, you will
find standards, stories, a framework, and strategies that you can grab onto
and try out. You will learn about the importance of implementation and hear
stories from thefield—from people who have been in your shoes and
understand what it’s like to be where you are.
However, this book is not just a guide but a connection. I know Tim and
Vince. Their words ring out and I can hear their voices as I read them. They
know how to develop connections, provide hope (and we all need hope), and
help youfind the strategies you need to use as you move forward.
Many years ago, when I was a teacher, my principal spoke to me about going
back to get my master’s degree in school administration. In the middle of our
hallway, I said no way. I would never be a principal. What changed my mind
was two retired teachers who I knew from my gym. They asked me,“What if
you could be the principal you want to be, and not the one you have to be?”
Don’t just read Tim and Vince’s guidance, research, and strategies through
the eyes of what is, but try to read them through the lens of what could be.
Find your entry point and move forward.
—Peter DeWitt, EdD
x LEADER READY