Clarification: This story has been updated to more accurately describe Todd Dain鈥檚 鈥済o-between鈥� team.
A few months ago, a new teacher at the FAIR High School in Minneapolis walked into her principal鈥檚 office, distraught.
鈥淪he said she was 鈥榡ust done with this student. Just done!,鈥欌�� said Mary Pat Cumming, the principal. 鈥淚 told her we can鈥檛 be done. But we can figure out what鈥檚 bothering you, and what can help.鈥�
As a veteran principal, Cumming is used to having tense conversations with teachers, especially when it comes to student behavior. She advocates getting in touch with parents sooner rather than later if the student continues to misbehave. But it isn鈥檛 always easy to get her message across to teachers to take actions she thinks are important, but could seem tedious, paperwork-heavy, or challenging.
Enter the go-between鈥攁n assistant principal, instructional coach, or a teacher-leader, who has the pulse on what鈥檚 bothering teachers, what鈥檚 hurting their morale, and what strategies work best to make teachers feel heard and appreciated.
For Cumming, it鈥檚 Sara Ullmer, the instructional coach and health teacher, who plays that role.
If a teacher feels upset or ignored, Ullmer is there to listen and provide solutions. She鈥檚 also a conduit of information for Cumming, who, despite her open-door policy, isn鈥檛 able to hear the concerns of every teacher.
It鈥檚 helpful for teachers 鈥渢o have positions like mine where they have somebody who鈥檚 not an administrator but is a go-to for questions and support in a non-evaluative sort of way,鈥� said Ullmer.
A go-between鈥檚 role is essential now more than ever, school leaders said. Persistent teacher shortages in high-need fields and areas, a raucous and unpredictable political climate, and the threat of financial cuts loom large. New teachers joining the workforce with preliminary or emergency certification may not have the necessary skills or experience required to deal with the complexities of the job.
These pressures take a toll, especially if principals thinks teacher morale is better than it truly is. In a nationwide survey as part of Education Week鈥檚 The State of Teaching report, almost half of teachers indicated that their morale would be better if principals advocated for their needs; 45 percent said better communication from their leaders would also improve morale.
But schools don鈥檛 always have the resources for a full-time go-between role. Instructional coaches or assistant principals who fulfill that role have their own plates full.
Go-betweens need support from the principal to find the time to support teachers. Without that, Ullmer said, teachers can feel 鈥渋solated and just spiral.鈥�
Go-betweens tend to focus on new teachers
The go-between role isn鈥檛 specifically meant to help just new teachers, but those are the staff members whom people like Ullmer find need the most support. Classroom management, for instance, is one key area. Dealing with cellphones is another.
A lot of newer teachers don鈥檛 know how to 鈥渄eescalate鈥� behavioral situations with students, Ullmer added. Other teachers haven鈥檛 yet picked up techniques that help them gauge whether students are engrossed in learning.
Karla Bell, who plays the triple role of the go-between instructional coach, music teacher, and students activities coordinator at the Early College School at Delaware State University, a public charter high school, said new teachers haven鈥檛 yet developed a 鈥渢eacher sense.鈥�
鈥淸If] you think standing at the front of the classroom is the ideal place, you might miss that student who has their cellphone under the desk,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou might miss that student whose head is down or something else that may be happening in the room simply because you will not move from the front.鈥�
Bell also prepares new teachers to deal with interruptions during a class. Teachers can build the best lesson flow, but may have to constantly pause because of an announcement over the intercom, a sick kid, or even a couple of computers suddenly dying, said Bell.
Bell coaches teachers to anticipate these interruptions, stock their classrooms with extra supplies, and know the protocols for what to do when a student is sick or absent.
Ullmer, in Minneapolis, plays the role of an emotional anchor when teachers feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks on their plates. For instance, finding the time to contact a parent about a student鈥檚 poor behavior is an additional task on top of a full day of teaching.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know a single teacher who loves calling parents and then recording that work, and then maybe writing a referral,鈥� said Ullmer. 鈥淏ut the phone call has to be made.鈥�
Ullmer helps teachers untangle the long to-do list into digestible bits. Teachers can get into a cyclical trap of juggling too many priorities, she said, and feel overburdened.
鈥淚 tell them, 鈥極K, I hear you. What do you want to do about it? What鈥檚 your next step, and then what鈥檚 your next step after that?鈥欌�� Ullmer said.
Go-betweens are an essential conduit
With their ears close to the ground, go-betweens are a conduit of useful information between teachers and the administration. For instance, Bell noticed that newer teachers in her school鈥攚hich make up most of the staff鈥攏eeded different types of support from veteran ones.
She convinced the administration to host customized professional development in November that catered to teachers with different levels of experience.
鈥淲e got great feedback from it, and we saw changes in instruction,鈥� Bell said.
The school hasn鈥檛 organized a similar PD session since, because its training priorities keep shifting. But Bell is planning to push for the customized PD again with her school leaders.
For the go-between to be effective in their role, said Bell, school leaders also must be open to suggestions, or to the possibility that the status quo isn鈥檛 working for some teachers when it comes to things like curriculum or classroom management policies.
Todd Dain, the principal of Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kan., said when his district switched to a new math curriculum last year, he heard from his four associate principals and instructional coach鈥攈is go-between crew鈥攖hat teachers were having a tough time adhering to it.
In this case, Dain used his go-between team of leaders to pass on the message that teachers had his permission to do 鈥渨hat was right for the kids.鈥�
鈥淭hey could slow [the curriculum] down, reteach portions, and make adjustments,鈥� he said. 鈥淭eachers are rule followers so they were feeling some pressure from the district.鈥�
As the principal of a large high school, with more than 1,500 students and 140 teachers, both certified and non-certified, Dain can鈥檛 manage all crisis situations alone.
鈥淎 lot of principals get caught up in micromanaging. I tried to be everything to everyone,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 do it all myself, so I teach my team to do their part.鈥�
In both large and small schools, it鈥檚 crucial that principals build trusting relationships with their go-betweens. This hasn鈥檛 always been easy for Dain, who has had 14 different associate principals in his 10-year stint as principal.
鈥淭his was the first time in six years that I don鈥檛 have to onboard an associate,鈥� he said.
Cumming鈥檚 school in Minneapolis is smaller, with about two dozen teachers, but she still depends on Ullmer to make sure that her newer teachers are looked after. Veteran teachers, said Cummins, are familiar with her leadership style and can pop into her office with questions. Younger teachers aren鈥檛 as comfortable.
鈥淎m I doing a good job of creating relationships with newer teachers? I would say probably not at this moment,鈥� said Cumming.
鈥淏ut I can count on Sara to say, 鈥榊ou guys are messing this up, or that this person is struggling, and I think you should help them first.鈥欌��
