Win!

'Leadership is a quality of those who earn the respect of others through the wisdom of the combination of their words and their actions.'
Walter Grant IV

A school is only as good as the people who lead it; I have, in my time, taught in many schools with fantastic staff but weak management and making any form of progress is virtually impossible. Part of the reason I knew Fairfield was for life and not just for Christmas was because of the exemplary leader we have in Chris Barker. As a teacher there, I feel supported and enthused with possibilities.

Northbridge High School has a shiny new leadership team - here known as 'Administration' - and thus even to those who work here permanently, they are still a relatively unknown quanitity. I was therefore pleasantly surprised today, upon being asked to meet with the Principal, to find that they are also both strong and supportive.

In my previous post, I told of my anger at being called out of a lesson by the local intrepid reporter. As it turns out, he had neither the permission nor the blessing of Administration to do so and furthermore, they will ensure this does not happen again - to anyone. I was told that they support me and if this instance should reoccur then I simply have to make a call and they will deal with it. It was reassuring to hear that they too feel the most importance place for me to be is in the classroom. Additionally, they are highly visible within and around the school - the Principal often 'walks through' lessons and this too is a sign of good leadership.

I shall now relax, breathe and return my focus on the most important people in my working life: my students.