If teachers are leaving left and right, is it the principal's fault?

[Anonymous]

Sometimes it can be the principal. But sometimes you can have the most amazing principal (like mine) and folks are just burnt out anyways. In my case, it's the stupid district policies or lack of good polices and so many difficult kids. And because I'm very close with my principal, I know that she would like to leave the field too.

[Anonymous]

Do these good principals get recognition for being good? Does anything happen to the ones who are not good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do these good principals get recognition for being good? Does anything happen to the ones who are not good?

Principals receive little recognition and are constantly placed in hopeless political and emotional situations involving students, parents, and staff. It is a wonder that any principals survive more than a few years in any given school. It does not take long to spend all of their political capital, and the days are far too busy to develop quality relationships for the long term (at least in my experience) due to putting out so many little fires all day, every day. Can you think of another supervisor in the private sector who is asked to effectively evaluate 50+ employees? If you have a great principal (as a teacher or a parent) definitely send them a nice holiday card of appreciation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it can be the principal. But sometimes you can have the most amazing principal (like mine) and folks are just burnt out anyways. In my case, it's the stupid district policies or lack of good polices and so many difficult kids. And because I'm very close with my principal, I know that she would like to leave the field too.

What a shame that many of our best are leaving K-12. Through state policy and local control we've turned a professional about helping people into something so time intensive and joyless that it seems that only the bottom 10% of college classes are heeding the call.

[Anonymous]

It’s definitely a major factor in many cases, but teaching conditions have become increasingly untenable in the past almost-three years, with unreasonable, ever-escalating expectations, screaming, entitled parent behavior and short staffing leaving those still working to have no planning periods (so increasing greatly the hours they work at home) and often babysitting extra classes (or having those classes dumped into, and doubling, their own classes) for whom there are no subs.

So this school year in particular, I wouldn’t assume it’s the principal alone, unless you have other corroborating evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do these good principals get recognition for being good? Does anything happen to the ones who are not good?

Principals receive little recognition and are constantly placed in hopeless political and emotional situations involving students, parents, and staff. It is a wonder that any principals survive more than a few years in any given school. It does not take long to spend all of their political capital, and the days are far too busy to develop quality relationships for the long term (at least in my experience) due to putting out so many little fires all day, every day. Can you think of another supervisor in the private sector who is asked to effectively evaluate 50+ employees? If you have a great principal (as a teacher or a parent) definitely send them a nice holiday card of appreciation.

Um, yes, I can actually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it can be the principal. But sometimes you can have the most amazing principal (like mine) and folks are just burnt out anyways. In my case, it's the stupid district policies or lack of good polices and so many difficult kids. And because I'm very close with my principal, I know that she would like to leave the field too.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ultimately, no, it is on the kids & parents.

Kids were bad before the pandemic but afterward? Their attitudes and overall lack of care about anything other than what they specifically want to do are totally reprehensible.

99% of the parents don't care. When a problem is brought to them, their attitude is "it's your problem when he/she is here so deal with it." The Admins have their hands tied because there's only so much they can do, at least in my district, discipline wise.

In-school suspension had so many kids in it this year that they had to upgrade them to a larger space. And why wouldn't a kid want to get in-school suspension? They get to sleep the day away, listen to music, or play on their phones. Shouldn't the teacher in charge reprimand them? Yes, but there isn't one. There's a sub...just like last year. Because when we had a permanent person in that position, she quit after being verbally abused nonstop by the kids.

I just had my second interview today for a corporate job. Everything is looking good and those I interviewed with told me I'd have an answer tomorrow by COB, and one told me he was sure I'd have an extra happy Thanksgiving this year, so that really tells me something. If so, the moment I sign the letter with the new job, I'm out.

I didn't sign up to be verbally abused by kids and their parents or physically abused by kids. I'm treated like a free babysitter by most parents and that's also not what I signed up to be.

My school has lost 2 teachers since the school year started and I know of a handful of other colleagues who have been out "sick" for interviews. I can see there being a real educational awakening in the next 5 years. The downward trend of test scores is not going to rebound as some experts believe now that kids are back in classrooms full-time.

100% this ^^^. I was also verbally abused by students who simply didn’t give a f*ck, and who spent the days being as disruptive as possible. I lost my voice from trying to be heard and kept getting sick from the stress. At one point, I was in tears in the principal’s office and instead of asking what they could do to help, I was simply stared at. I quit the following week. I was told by a former colleague that they got a great long term sub in who only lasted a week because of these kids. She left too, and I don’t blame her a bit. I really wonder whose side the administration is on. They seem scared to death to involve the parents, suspend the kids, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's more complicated than just the principal.

Yeah, sometimes it’s not.

[Anonymous]

What school?

[Anonymous]

IME working in schools, the people who leave mid year are either retiring and need to hit a certain age, or are truly miserable. And most of the people I know who are truly miserable are so because of admin. Could be principal, AP, other department head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's more complicated than just the principal.

Yeah, sometimes it’s not.

+1. A toxic or indifferent principal makes or breaks a school. Someone asks whether the good principals get any recognition. I don't know the official answer to this, but the unofficial answer is that nowadays everyone knows which schools in particular regions have terrible principals. There's a reason why some schools have high turnover and some barely have any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's more complicated than just the principal.

Yeah, sometimes it’s not.

+1. A toxic or indifferent principal makes or breaks a school. Someone asks whether the good principals get any recognition. I don't know the official answer to this, but the unofficial answer is that nowadays everyone knows which schools in particular regions have terrible principals. There's a reason why some schools have high turnover and some barely have any.

Agreed. Toxic people in almost every situation ruin good people.
I would hope that good principals are held up as role models and mentors for new people, so they learn to do it right.
As a parent, our principal, Chris Smith at Daniels Run seems like a good school leader.
Who else deserves a shout out this Thanksgiving?

[Anonymous]

This sounds like Shrevewood in Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

Parents vote for school board.
School board pick superintendent.
Superintendent picks the principals.
Principals lead the teachers.
This school, that school, good teachers are leaving......