Assistant School Principals and School Principals
Plan, organise, direct and support the educational and administrative aspects of schools, including physical and human resources.
A Monday at Banksia Hill
You are the principal of a primary school, and the week begins with a long list and not much time. It is 7:40am on Monday. Staff are arriving, a parent is waiting outside your office and a teacher has just phoned in sick for the third day. School starts in fifty minutes.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I want to talk about my son's teacher. She keeps sending him out of class and I do not think she likes him. I have lost my patience. I want him moved to another class today, or I will go to the education department.
Move her son to another class today to settle the matter, and let the teacher know afterwards
Mrs Pham is pleased, but the teacher feels abandoned without having a chance to explain. Other parents hear that complaints get results, and you have not found out what was actually happening.
Listen fully, say you will talk to the teacher, and arrange to meet again in a few days
Mrs Pham feels heard. You find the boy has struggled with a classroom routine, and a plan involving both his parent and teacher is agreed. A fair process takes longer, but it works better.
Tell her you stand by your teachers and that nothing will change, as you trust their judgement
You support your staff, but Mrs Pham leaves angry and still unheard. Supporting a teacher and investigating a concern are not opposites.
I know you are busy, but I have a problem. Three teachers are away and there is no relief teacher available. I can take two classes together in the hall, but that is too many students. Or we split them among other classes. What would you like?
Split the classes among the others, share the load fairly, and make a plan for the day with the staff
The day runs, though some classes are crowded and learning is thinner. You could also consider stepping in yourself, since a principal can be useful in a classroom.
Take one of the classes yourself, ask the rest of the team to share the others, and update parents who need to know
Your presence in a classroom lifts staff spirits, and the day is manageable. Principals who can still step into the work are respected by their teachers, as long as they do not neglect their other duties.
Send the students to the library for the day with an aide
The library is quiet but learning stops, and parents hear about it. Children are supervised, but you have not treated the day as seriously as it deserves.
The school budget is tight. We can fund a new reading program or repair the roof over the hall, but not both this year. Parents are divided. I think you should make the call, but I want you to be sure.
Choose the reading program, because learning is what the school is for and some parents are asking for it
The reading program starts well, but the roof leaks through winter and the hall has to close. Learning needs a safe place to happen, and a quicker check might have spotted this.
Choose the roof, because it is the most urgent and a closed hall would hurt every student
The hall is safe and dry, but teachers who wanted the reading program feel overlooked. A decision that is right might still need an explanation and a plan for the other need.
Show the council the cost and risk of each, and propose the roof now and reading next year
The council can see the trade-offs and agrees on a staged plan. Parents feel included, and the teachers know when their program will start. Explaining decisions makes them easier to accept.
How it went
By the end of the day, classes have run, the parent has a meeting booked and the council has a plan to consider. A principal leads teachers, students and families at the same time, and balances the people and the paperwork. Could you see yourself growing into a job like this?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The playground rule that divided a school
A fictional case set in a fictional public primary school in a mixed suburb, with about four hundred students.
The situation
Principal Esther Oyelaran at the fictional Banksia Hill Primary was told by teachers that the new playground area was causing near misses. Younger children were being bumped by older ones playing ball games. She proposed splitting lunchtime play areas by age. Parents of older children were upset, saying their kids were being punished for being older. A few younger students' parents were relieved. A petition appeared, and the school council meeting that week was expected to be heated.
What they did
Esther gathered more information before the meeting. She asked teachers to record what happened over a week, and spoke to students from each year group about what they wanted from lunchtime. She shared the findings with the school council, and described the problem rather than defending her first idea. Together they agreed on a trial: zones that rotated each week, with a review at the end of term.
How it turned out
The trial reduced the bumps, and older students enjoyed having a ball zone they could count on. Some parents still preferred the old system. Esther said the biggest change was that families felt part of the decision, and the review at the end of term gave everyone a chance to adjust the rules.
What would you do?
- Why did Esther talk to students as well as teachers and parents?
- How would you feel about changing a plan you had already announced?
- What do you think a principal does that no one in the classroom sees?