Last year, Rae Garrison took over as the principal of a school triple the size of any she’d led before, with more than 150 teachers and close to 2,700 students.
The transition to Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah, was hard, but it could have been much tougher if Garrison hadn’t inherited a key resource: a team of five assistant principals, a handful of instructional coaches, and teacher-leaders. They are her “go-betweens” who’ve helped her manage teacher expectations and meet the goals of running a large school.
Go-betweens aren’t a new breed of educators. They can be assistant principals, instructional coaches, or teacher-leaders, who form a leadership layer between the principal and teachers.
The layer isn’t meant to obstruct the flow of information from principal to teacher or vice versa, nor are go-betweens expected to solve every problem teachers bring to them. But a go-between can check in with teachers more frequently, gauge what they’re struggling with, and become a reliable conduit of information for principals like Garrison, who can’t keep track individually of what’s going on in the lives of all 150 teachers.
A go-between’s role is essential now more than ever. Persistent teacher shortages in high-need fields and areas, a raucous and unpredictable political climate, and the threat of financial cuts loom large. New teachers joining the workforce with preliminary or emergency certification may not have the necessary skills or experience required to deal with the complexities of the job.
Even in smaller schools, a go-between can add value. At FAIR High School in Minneapolis, principal Mary Pat Cumming relies on her go-between, Sara Ullmer, a health teacher and instructional coach, to keep her clued in.
It’s helpful for teachers “to have positions like mine where they have somebody who’s not an administrator, but is a go-to for questions and support in a non-evaluative sort of way,” said Ullmer.
Principals need to play a role in developing this second line of leadership, said Garrison. They need to create shared expectations and a vision for the school. When principals delegate tasks, they must learn to let go and not micromanage. Go-betweens, for their part, also need fewer tasks on their plate, to truly have time to help teachers with challenges that come up.
Education Week spoke with principals and their second-line leaders on the essential qualities of a go-between, and what principals can do to support them. Their advice is distilled in the following downloadable.
