These are the Reasons Why Teachers Begged to Work For Me When I was Superintendent

Before you get triggered, since everything online is a "trigger" nowadays, take a step back and understand the context of this article. The only reason I'm writing it is because Principals, Superintendents and K12 districts are struggling right now with recruiting new teachers, retaining the teachers they have and also making teachers lives easier, better and more respected.

Therefore, I'm writing this article to help school leaders overcome the problems of the system. Yes, the inherent problems the education system has set up simply because collectively NO ONE likes to work together.

But I digress.

Being a Leader

It seems that every single school leader thinks of themselves as some sort of leadership guru. They are channelling Peter Senge or something, I don't know.

The biggest challenge facing school leaders is NOT how do you supervise teachers or how do you boost student achievement. The single biggest obstacle school leaders need to overcome is "how do you lead?"

Before I did my research into leadership skills. Before I founded an education think tank in 2013, I thought leadership meant reading John C. Maxwell, Stephen J. Covey and calling it a day.

On my bookshelf was the "One Minute Manager," and I thought - "yes I can do this!"

But then you quickly realize that everything in all of those leadership books, and seminars and even from my Master's Degree program focus 100% on management and leave out everything else that has to do with leadership.

The reason that teachers from across New Jersey were trying desperately to work for me was because I changed the way teachers did their jobs. I changed the requirements of the job. I changed the hours they NEEDED to work. And I changed the way they thought about being a teacher.

What is a Teacher?

Before you jump to conclusions, let me remind you what this article is about. It's about why thousands of teachers wanted to work for my K12 program. This is why teachers wanted to leave their districts, their tenure positions and leave all their teacher friends behind to come work for me.

Being a teacher is a complicated, but simple job.

If you took my Teacher Development Program, you would understand that perfectly. Teaching is hard work. But it's not impossible work.

The problem is that the K12 system has made teaching impossible. Not for teachers, but for everyone. As an observer, I honestly don't know what the system wants from teachers.

Which is also why thousands of teachers wanted to come work for me. I told teachers exactly what I wanted them to do. I was 100% clear about the expectations. In addition, I provided them the best teacher training/prep program in the country.

For some unknown reason it's become accepted and expected that teachers do MORE than teach. I will ask you this question, "Why?"

The truth is that teachers are NOT a student's friend. A teacher is NOT the student's parent and a teacher is NOT a social worker.

When did society get confused about what a teacher does?

A teacher teaches. Isn't that enough?

Going Above and Beyond

Some people realize that teachers talk to each other. If you admit that, then you realize that when something different happens, teachers tell each other about it. I made teacher development a #1 priority in my K12 program.

In addition to the Teacher Development Program that every single teacher went through in their first 2 years, regardless of years of experience, we also ran an annual Teacher Bootcamp.

This 40-hour crash course, not only reminded teachers of the foundations of teaching, but it helped "reboot" them into teacher mode after 2 months off during the summer. (And my teachers RELAXED during the summer).

But more importantly, the bootcamp gave me an opportunity to remind teachers that BEING a teacher is "going above and beyond."

What that means is teachers have NOTHING left to prove.

I honestly don't know why the system doesn't remind teachers they made it. You did it, you became a teacher. The hard work is becoming the BEST teacher you can be.

Unfortunately the system gaslights teachers. If you're a school leader, you need to ask yourself, "are you leaning into this gaslighting? Or are you standing up for teachers?"

During the annual bootcamp, I would stand in front of all the teachers and tell them, "You have nothing left to prove."

School leaders need to calm teachers down. School leaders need to lead teachers. School leaders need to make the job of teaching more manageable for teachers.

Are you doing that in your school or district? Because if you're not--that's why teachers are leaving you. That's why teachers with tenure would decide to leave your school and come to work for me instead.

Focus on the Path Forward

I never thought I would become an education consultant. I was happy and content being an educator. I am a former teacher, principal and superintendent. I have over 20 years of total experience. I am a nationally recognized expert in the field of education.

In 2017, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Public Schools invited me to give expert testimony to answer the question, "how do we fix our schools?"

And in 2020, I was asked to speak at the "Teachers for Good Trouble" virtual summit.

You can't fix every problem in a day. As a school leader, the first thing you need to do is create a new vision forward. Where do you want to go? What do you want to achieve?

When I speak with new districts and new school leaders, my first question is always, "what is your vision?"

To be frank with all of you, you would be surprised how many school leaders CANNOT answer that question directly. So do me a favor right now. Think about that question. And write down your answer. Your vision NEEDS to be 100% clear. Your teachers and your parents NEED to be able to SEE your vision, just as clearly as you do. Otherwise you're hamstringing yourself.

Thus if your plans don't work out - don't blame other people. Don't look for accountability. Your vision wasn't clear - therefore the problem is your vision.

Putting a Plan in Place

Once you develop a clear vision, what's the next step?

I want to save you thousands of dollars on consulting fees. The truth is that most school districts don't need as much consulting as they contract. The problem is that too many school districts and school leaders are trying to swim in the deep end and they are DROWNING!!

If you're in over your head, that's why you need to hire a consultant. But that consultant should SET YOU up for success. They should teach you what you need to know, so you don't NEED them anymore.

There's plenty of work to go around. I simply cannot be in every district all the time, which is why I try and set districts up so they can sustain the hard work we do.

You need to develop a strategic plan and then follow it.

Far too often, I see districts that have a plan, but NO ONE follows it.

Being a school leader can get overwhelming. I'm a former principal and superintendent. I undertook more changes than most school districts EVER attempt to achieve.

I developed a brand new and groundbreaking Teacher Development Program. I developed a brand new and groundbreaking 21st century skills curriculum. I developed a brand new and groundbreaking Principal's Academy.

When I first took over my K12 program, it was impossible to recruit new teachers. I literally had to beg people to work. After we got the Teacher Development Program off the ground, I would receive 100 resumes the day I posted a job opening.

Only insiders know this story, but the Teacher Development Program was so effective at helping teachers become certified experts in the classroom that the State of NJ officials came to monitor my program for a couple weeks.

I have no idea what they were looking at or for, since all education officials are secretive, clandestine and the most UNSUPPORTIVE people in the world, but a year after their visit - they changed the state law for teacher mentoring in NJ.

I do remember one of the officials asking me this question, "Why is this program two years and not one?"

And I told them, "It's impossible to fully prepare a teacher in one year. There is simply too much a teacher needs to know about teaching to accomplish that task in only one year."

I know school leaders are under pressure. I know the job has become more complicated than EVER before. But that's because you're not LEADING, your following.

I know education officials hate when I say this, but they don't know anything. As a school leader, your job is to follow the law, but STOP listening to education officials. Every piece of their advice is not just wrong, but out of touch with reality.

You're the school leader -- you create the agenda.

Summary

I am new to social media. I started my accounts in 2020. Therefore I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my posts, my articles and everything else digital. I wrote this article, because I can't be everywhere and I know there are a lot of schools and school leaders that are struggling.

It's not fair!

I agree with you there. It's simply not fair.

But I hope with this article gives you hope. The truth is that you can overcome all of the issues going on in education. You can overcome all the obstacles the system has put in place.

The key is to IGNORE the noise and focus on what made you an educator in the first place. As the school leader, you really should put teacher development at the top of the list of priorities.

It's time to take a close and hard look at your professional development, and admit that it's NOT doing the job you hoped. Teachers NEED more than a 60 minute presentation on "literacy."

I know that makes people MAD and upset, but I can back up all of my claims and I have the experience to make my statements. Unlike most people on social media - I've WALKED THE WALK!

If you're really struggling and just out of ideas, then I highly recommend you read my NEW book, "Disrupting Education: The Path to 21st Century Schools." (It's available on Amazon right now)

Inside this groundbreaking book, you will learn a couple key concepts. First, you will learn why schools fail and the obstacles that every single school is running into and how to overcome those obstacle.

Second, you will get to see the fundamentals of 21st century leadership skills. This is not your grandma's leadership anymore. When you read this chapter, you will SEE for the first time where old and previous leadership courses, books and seminars are simply no longer viable.

On the surface we admit we live in the 21st century, but then we FALL BACK on the same old ideas, concepts and foundations of old leadership ideas. I'm not here to criticize leadership books and seminars, but recycling old leadership ideas and thinking they will work in the 21st century is a STRETCH!!

After you read my book, you will have that "ah-ha moment" and start to SEE the 21st century for what it REALLY is.