Leading a Middle School
As a longtime middle school educator, I’ve learned quite a bit about leading and learning in middle school. These four things have helped me in my work with students, and I share them with you here in the hopes they will help you with your students, too. As the school year comes to a close, now is the perfect time to reflect on what you as a middle school leader can do differently next year.
1. Remember That Every Behavior Is an Opportunity to Teach.
As Psychologist Paul Watzlawick said, “Every behavior is a form of communication.” And boy oh boy! Middle school kids can communicate in all kinds of ways! As middle-level educators and leaders, it’s important that we see behaviors as opportunities for us to teach students how to handle situations differently. Middle school is a time when kids are trying to figure out who they are, who they want to be, and they are definitely trying on all kinds of behaviors. If we help our teachers recognize that teaching behavior is as critical as teaching content, we will see our students thrive. To that end, encourage your teachers to take the time to teach students how they could have responded differently when minor misbehavior rears its ugly head. This is a paradigm shift for many educators given that the teacher mentality is often “I teach geography,” and “Administration handles behavior.”
As administrators we must close the loop with our teachers when dealing with challenging behaviors. After a teacher removes a student from their class, it’s vitally important that we communicate with the teacher what the consequence was and what strategies we introduced to the student to handle themselves differently next time. Being diligent in closing the loop builds trust with your staff.
2. Be Consistent.
We know that predictability helps keep our students regulated and helps create a classroom environment where students feel safe. When students feel safe, we see fewer discipline issues, and teachers/staff feel more empowered, which in turn makes our lives as leaders much easier. To create consistency at my school, we did this during a professional development day to align ourselves on certain student behaviors: Tier 1 (behaviors that are only distracting the student themselves); Tier 2 (behaviors that are distracting two to three other students); Tier 3 (behaviors that are distracting the majority of the class); and Tier 4 (major behaviors that require support from administration). Having your staff determine the behaviors, versus administration, gives ownership to the teachers on how certain behaviors will be addressed and helps create consistency among your staff. The conversations your staff will have regarding behaviors and the tiers they fall in will no doubt impress you.
Also, remember to examine policies. At many schools, there are policies that staff members either don’t know about or don’t even attempt to consistently enforce. Every three years at our school we as a staff review our policies. Our purpose is to re-adjust and focus on areas where we need more consistency. Prior to beginning this exercise, administrators let staff know that this is not an “I gotcha” moment but rather an opportunity to be more consistent as a staff.
Encourage your teachers to take the time to teach students how they could have responded differently when minor misbehavior rears its ugly head. This is a paradigm shift for many educators given that the teacher mentality is often “I teach geography,” and “Administration handles behavior.”
We put each policy on a large Post-it note and then put the Post-it notes up around the meeting room. We then give staff the following stickers: green for policies they consistently enforce; yellow for those they sometimes enforce; and red for those they rarely enforce. Every time we do this, we find our staff wanting to primarily focus on one or two major policies. For example, the first year we did this exercise, we agreed as a staff that if we see the cell phone, staff will take the cell phone. Because the majority of our teachers are consistent with taking phones, our students comply and move on very quickly. Our staff decided to hold each other accountable on our cell phone policy and we are seeing great success. Next year we will go after the earbuds.
Staff members also need support in creating consistency for students. The behaviors I saw after the pandemic were like nothing I had ever seen before in my 15 years as an administrator. It was like I was playing Whac-A-Mole all day long. To help our staff maintain consistency and keep students in class, we created a Student Engagement Support Team (SEST). This team consists of paraprofessionals we hired to be in the halls to take what we call “push ins.” Staff members who have tried to help students get back on track can call a main number and one of our SEST members will come into the class and help regulate the student. SEST members might sit next to the student, take them for a walk, or have a quick hallway chat to help them get back into class. SEST members handle all Tier 1 and 2 behaviors. Only administrators help with Tier 3 and 4 behaviors.
3. Create a Culture Where Failure Is Our Friend.
I believe many educators are perfectionists. Don’t get me wrong, perfectionists get the job done and the job done well. But I also think perfectionists can sometimes stymie growth, limit risk, and hinder what could be in education. In order to make changes in our schools, we as leaders must model failure, embrace failure, and even at times encourage failure.
Pose this question to your staff, “What would you do as an educator if you couldn’t be stopped?” Allow your staff to brainstorm, dream big, and think outside the box. When our district leaders had each of our principals ask this question of their staff, new ideas emerged. For example, we now have two elementary schools with an outdoor classroom, my school became a community school, and our sister school created an interdisciplinary program for students who were not engaged in traditional school. Ask your staff this question and find out what they would say.
Remember to use the term “pilot.” Regularly ask your teachers for their innovative ideas they would like to pilot. Then move over and let the magic happen. Teachers are some of the most creative and hardworking people. Be that administrator who helps your staff see what’s possible.
Finally, create a failure finger. I’m currently working with a school in Oklahoma where the principal is trying to help her staff be innovative and embrace failure. She found a statue of an index finger sticking up, and she told her staff, “Any time you try something and fail, come tell me, you will proudly get to have the failure finger and a large cinnamon roll to share with your colleagues.”
Every day, we ask our students to try something new and possibly fail, whether it’s asking a child to respond to a question, walk into a classroom, or try to play an instrument. It’s time for education to try new things, and that will only happen if leaders encourage and model handling failure.
4. Seek Joy.
The work most certainly has its challenges. And when challenges are the greatest, we can’t forget to find the joy, make the joy, and be the joy. What is important for any staff and leader is creating an environment where everyone can find pockets of joy and laughter. As a matter of fact, I believe teachers will stay in the profession if they feel connected to their colleagues, if laughter is commonplace, and if they enjoy being together.
To bring joy to your building, it can’t just be you. Given all the demands on school leaders, the stress and work commitment is palpable every day, so bringing joy must be a shared endeavor. I suggest creating a fun group of staff who want to put a quick happy hour together; we call ours “the Garden Club.” Find someone to organize fun games for colleagues or simply hang out in the hallway talking to kids and teachers.
Another idea? Play games with the kids. Every month at my school we have class meetings with each grade level. After discussing a brief positive message, we play a game in which staff participate and compete with the students. Watching the staff and kids “play” together is priceless and most certainly uplifting.
Finally, take a mental health day. Yes, I said it. Remember that we, as leaders, are human and must take care of ourselves in order to be our best selves and lead a community of learners. No guilt allowed.
Kim Campbell is a middle school teacher and dean of students at Hopkins West Middle School in Hopkins, MN. An educational consultant, she will speak at UNITED in July.