Each teacher has his own ideas about what an educational institution should be and what a school principal should do. These ideas do not always coincide with reality, even if the teacher has been working at school for a long time and enjoys authority among students and colleagues. Once in the director's chair, even a very good teacher can get confused, because he does not know where to start working in a new position.
Who can be a director
Local government bodies, which include education committees, usually create a personnel reserve of teachers with organizational skills. If the head of an educational institution leaves for some reason, the one who was included in this reserve is appointed to his place. In this case, the new leader is usually not lost, since he completed special courses at the institute for advanced training, learned to understand legislation and financial issues. But it happens that simply an initiative teacher who has no special training is appointed to a managerial position. In this case, the new director needs to at least begin to master these issues. Of course, you will have to do other things in parallel.
Old school or new?
This is a very important question. If the school is old, it already has some traditions, and the teachers have an opinion about what the director should be. You will inevitably be compared to your former leader. Therefore, first of all, it makes sense to talk to him and ask about traditions, teachers, programs. Of course, many questions will be removed if you have already worked at this school for some time. But in any case, you need to talk with the former director and ask to acquaint you with the financial situation, the features of filling out the documentation, the development program of the educational institution, if it already exists.
If you are accepting a new school, you should start with a tour of the building. Look at what state it is in, if there are any imperfections, when approximately they will be eliminated. Start preparing the documentation. Even if the teaching staff has not yet been recruited and the lists of children are not ready, you can prepare some documents yourself. Samples can be obtained from the education committee or downloaded from the official website of the Ministry of Education.
Cadres are everything
Get to know the team. Whether you are adopting an old school or a new one, talk to each teacher individually. Find out what program he is working on, whether he is comfortable with the work of the school, what he would like to do to develop it. Try to establish a calm, trusting relationship with constructive criticism and free discussion of issues. It is quite possible that it is in the conversation with the teachers that the thought will be born on which path the school will take further. After talking with everyone, outline the prospects for development, gather the entire team and discuss.
Certification, accreditation, licensing
Do not forget to find out when the school was certified and accredited, as well as the validity of the license. It is possible that your work as a director may begin by applying for one of these mandatory procedures. If the school is new, the question of how long your educational institution will go through these procedures must be clarified with the education committee.
