It is Time to Reexamine the Responsibilities of Supervisors & Administrators
By Jill Levy

“You’ve got mail!” or some other signal on the computer demands your immediate attention. An entire ream of paper lies at the foot of the fax machine. The mailman has left what appears to be his entire mailbag in your office. If you are lucky enough to have several phone lines, they have not stopped ringing since your arrival. Students, parents, teachers, and other staff members are lined up at your door competing for your undivided attention and the school day hasn’t even officially started. Welcome to the world of the principal and the assistant principal.

Today’s school leaders are expected to do more and more. They are held accountable for everything. But being an effective educational leader requires more than just organizing, budgeting, and managing a school. Not only are educational leaders expected to spend significant time in classrooms evaluating teacher performance, they must be able to interpret and use test data and other statistics and provide teachers with the expertise and resources to improve instruction.

In addition to instructional matters, school leaders are expected to maintain a safe and orderly environment, hold meetings with countless committees, effectively “market” their schools, develop and implement a school plan and budget, oversee renovations and custodial services, maintain appropriate records in a timely fashion, community outreach and fundraising, work with parents and answer all of the countless requests for information,and statistics thrown at them. Is it any wonder that more and more principals and assistant principals are saying the job is no longer doable?

It is time to seriously reexamine the roles and responsibilities of principals, assistant principals and other supervisors and administrators. Already there are reports coming from across the country that school administrators feel their working conditions and cumulative stresses are becoming unbearable. Higher standards, critical media attention, lack of support, legislative wrangling over governance and the impact of budget reductions and technology demanding immediate feedback are contributing to the creation of a leadership crisis.

We cannot continue to insist that principals do and be everything. In the private sector, when business leaders set specific goals for their organizations, they acknowledge that a manager cannot oversee the entire operation without appropriate human resources, training, tools and technical assistance. Successful companies pride themselves on keeping their middle level managers well trained. Some even demand that a significant portion of an employee’s annual work time be spent in professional training programs.

Unfortunately, our public schools seem to be doing it backwards. Instead of focusing on needed resources and professional support to encourage school leaders to excel, outrageous expectations and demands are causing principals and assistant principals to either retire or look to calmer and greener fields. This in turn causes aspiring leaders who understand the true nature of school leadership in urban schools to become more and more reluctant to apply for vacancies.

Research has shown that successful schools have principals who are immersed in instruction. Yet, job demands often distract principals from that primary focus. It is time for legislators, school boards, parents and communities to work with school leaders to determine what it takes to run a successful school and to encourage educational professionals to become school administrators and supervisors. Only by providing the support principals and assistant principals need to do their jobs will we insure the success of our students.#

Jill Levy is the President of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators which represents the principals, assistant principals, supervisors, and administrators in NYC public schools and day care directors.

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