a conversation with…
Joann Hipsher
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Positive communications help leaders to keep focused on the big picture while managing the details
Joann T. Hipsher is a 29-year veteran of the Mansfield City Schools and recently completed her final year as principal of Malabar Middle School. She has also taught in the classroom and served as an elementary principal. Aside from her training in educational administration, she has an undergraduate degree in music and a graduate degree in special education. Joann served on the steering committee for the OSU/Urban Schools Initiative that conducted professional development in four central Ohio districts. Joann has been involved with the Principal’s Office since its inception in 2000 and is a frequent contributor to the monthly updates of the website.
Joann recently sat down for a conversation with the editor of Principal’s Office to discuss the topic of delivering positive communications to staff, students, and parents.
Principal's Office: According to NAESP, principals must be instructional leaders, disciplinarians, evaluators, decision-makers, facilitators, and more. With so many demands on their time, principals must be able to handle stress. With more than 30 years experience in education, including nearly 20 years as a principal, what advice do you have for principals, especially new principals?
Joann: The key to time management is good communications. As a building leader, you can't just focus on one audience. You have to communicate with parents, teachers, students, etc. A building leader needs a vision, the big picture, but delivery of the details helps you arrive at the desired outcome for students. Staff may support you, but the face-to-face meetings, paying attention to detail, and how you deliver messages to people moves you forward. For example, a parent had some questions about the school before she enrolled her children. She had an appointment, but was not able to make it. Despite this, she sent her children to school, and I was able to observe her son in a classroom situation. I decided to call the mother to tell her that her child had a great day at school. This effort to communicate a positive message made a difference to that family.
Principal’s Office: How do busy principals find time for communicating the details?
Joann: Don’t put things on the back burner. When you have a quick idea, do it right away, instead of putting it on a to-do list. For example, when I do a walk-through (a quick teacher observation), I like to give the teacher a positive comment immediately as I leave the classroom, as long as this is not interrupting the lesson. An additional benefit to this is that it also models for teachers the kind of feedback that they should be giving their students.
A suggestion for getting into the habit of positive communications is to start small by setting a goal to make two positive comments a day. Model this to teachers and parents.
Another technique for managing your time so that you can make good communication a priority is to empower the people you work with to make decisions. You'll have fewer interruptions and the day will go smoother.
When principals communicate well with teachers, they feel supported, morale is maintained, and the result is a more productive, successful school. An example of a way to offer positive communications during staff meetings is to give out a random “door prize” at staff meetings. Of course school money cannot be used for this purpose, but the principal can donate a modest prize for the meetings, or appoint a “climate committee” to get donations from local businesses to give out at staff meetings.
For further reading:
- Leading with a Vision for Effective Collaboration: Discusses ways to expand an administrator’s collaborative efforts to improve communication and cooperation with staff members (November 2007)
- The “Vision Thing”: How to create an appropriate vision and the elements that make your vision inspirational and effective
- Communicating with Parents: Ways to encourage parents to address their issues or concerns about a school to the administration and staff, and how to implement changes based on those ideas (September 2006)
- What’s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship, Part 1: Overview of text outlines how a principal can fill the roles needed as administrator and leader of a school business, but also can keep the focus on education and learning
- What’s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship, Part 2: A continuation of the previous article; focuses on fundamentals of the job of principal
- Job Performance: How to Be Your Own Best Friend: Sample goals and activities in four main areas of principal job responsibilities
