The relationships between principals and teachers can uniquely affect factors like school climate, how efficiently programs are implemented, and how empowered teachers feel to make decisions. Research shows that a better, more trusting relationship between the two sides has a positive impact on student outcomes.
But fostering a strong relationship, conversation by conversation, can be a messy and time-consuming process, said Jen Schwanke, the deputy superintendent of Dublin City schools in Ohio. Schwanke, an author and a principal coach, advises school leaders to not “rush” the process of building a genuine connection with teachers.
It’s a “slow, steady, daily” process, Schwanke said during an online discussion hosted by Education Week in March. “Principals get this job, and by October, they think everyone needs to trust them. It can’t be done without a great deal of commitment towards the people whose trust you want to gain.”
Principals, especially if they’re new to a school, need to prioritize building these trusting relationships with their teachers, said Rae Garrison, the principal of Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah, and another speaker. Garrison said her current stint as a principal came immediately on the heels of the tenure of two “beloved” principals.
At Copper Hills, a large high school with close to 120 teachers, Garrison said she takes every opportunity—walking down the hallways, during football games, or in teacher-led committee meetings—to check in with her staff and make connections.
“You have to find out what drives people. What works for some people [in building a relationship] may not work for others,” Garrison said.
Creating safe spaces for conversation
Principals need to create conversational spaces where teachers can feel safe to state their concerns, their challenges, or even whether they disagree with a decision, the educators said during the discussion.
Dani Boepple, a career and technical education teacher at McDonald Middle School in Mesquite, Texas, said one-on-one conversations work best when teachers have concerns, or feel like they’re not being heard. Getting teachers involved early in schoolwide decisions, like creating a master schedule, can also help to give them a complete picture of why the principal is making certain decisions, Boepple added.
If teachers feel included in the decisionmaking process, then they “aren’t surprised” if they are asked to supervise band or athletics, for example, during their planning time, she said.
On the other side of the equation, a principal should make sure these decisions, like ones about scheduling, are as transparent as possible.
“There’s no space for backroom deals,” Garrison said, “for some teachers to get on a specific schedule, for instance.”
Schwanke said it’s also important for principals to hear from a variety of teachers and not depend on an “echo chamber.” If principals depend on the same group of teachers to report on teacher morale, for instance, they’re likely to hear a limited view. Instead, Schwanke said, principals should reach out to different teachers on a regular basis to commend them or listen to their concerns.
“If you ask them about how they’re doing, wait a couple of beats for an actual answer,” she added. “If they say, ‘Not good, tough day,’ dig into those emotions in the moment.”
Getting to the ‘why’ is important for positive relationships
Teachers find they often need to build, and re-build, relationships when their schools change principals. This can be tricky.
Boepple said teachers checking in with a new principal, early and often, can help stave off miscommunication in the future.
“Don’t wait until there’s an emergency to build that connection. Even if a small hallway chat is all you get, doing it consistently will make you more comfortable when you have something pressing to bring up,” Boepple added.
For trust to keep building, it’s also important for teachers to know the “why” behind a principal’s decision. If they’re left in the dark, resentment can bubble, said Schwanke.
Principals may also end up making unpopular decisions, or imposing unwanted policies, if they don’t listen to what teachers are trying to tell them, said Garrison.
“I am notorious for taking a long time to make decisions,” she said. “But me just saying, ‘Hey, we’re doing this,’ isn’t going to get us anywhere. If teachers are sitting there thinking, ‘no, we’re not,’ or, ‘I’m not going to, why would we do that?,’ your ship is going to sink.”
The way to navigate this kind of pushback is to understand why teachers may be fearful or uncomfortable with a new initiative, said Schwanke. Teachers are usually worried about how the change will affect them or their schedule and aren’t sure if the principal has factored in their concerns when making a decision.
Schwanke said principals should encourage their staff to talk among themselves about the risks and benefits to any changes. This way, teachers are hearing more voices than just their own, and they don’t risk shutting down a “potentially cool” program for their school without adequate consideration.
Boepple, the middle school teacher, supported Schwanke’s idea, despite the myriad demands on a teacher’s time. If a teacher is concerned about a new initiative, she said, they should check in with their peers to ask how they’re implementing it in their classrooms.
“I think when you have those conversations with your colleagues, you’ll realize that it’s not as scary and not as bad, and it’s actually doable,” she said. “It’s a good reality check.”
