“Leading schools by example, through autonomy and accountability”

By: Joaquín Fernández-Castro

School leaders should model excellence, honesty and integrity and provide autonomy to each department and faculty member to achieve the mission and vision agreed upon by the school community. To be effective, the critical role of a servant leader is to unlock the potential for excellence for each member of the school and attract additional outstanding students and faculty. A school leader needs to focus on the development of innovative school programs that are mission oriented, data informed and will bring the school to its highest level of accomplishments. How can leaders achieve a school organization that delivers excellent results?

Each department should be autonomous and accountable within their fields: responsible for innovation, professional development, setting specific benchmarks, and evaluating and accomplishing results in the implementation of the school’s mission and vision. Departmental results should be rewarded for reaching or exceeding the benchmarks. Non-academic and non-teaching departments could use specific benchmarks appropriate for their respective fields and be rewarded accordingly. Excellence is only possible through accountability. To be effective, accountability requires autonomy to devise how to reach or exceed benchmarks and actual results need to be rewarded in a meaningful way.

Accountability must include objective metrics such as student results at national (AP, SAT, ACT or subject specific) or international (IB, PISA) exams but they should be only one of SEVERAL benchmarks. Departments should advocate and decide on additional objective benchmarks, which may include student retention, the actual number of students taking the most rigorous classes, course evaluations, class observations, etc. Other benchmarks could also include subjective students and faculty surveys. If incorporated, these surveys should be accountable to professional standards and methodologies. Subjective surveys should be put in the context of all the other objective measures. Together, these benchmarks can identify areas for improvement, help outline specific and data informed action plans and measure progress in the pursuit of excellence.

Striving for excellence also means hiring the best and most qualified and diverse teachers and staff. This may require a discussion with all the school constituencies about establishing competitive compensation packages and a mentorship structure to attract and retain talented professionals. Inclusivity and diversity should not only refer to hiring practices, financial support and admissions but also to internal procedures, opportunities and support for minority faculty and students to thrive within the school.

All major decisions and changes affecting the school’s future or its mission and vision, should be openly discussed with ALL faculty and constituencies BEFORE a final decision is made. A school cannot be an inclusive and a diverse community unless the voices of its faculty and constituents are heard.  Decisions affecting the school’s future should be made with transparency and after listening to all points of view.

Schools must hire visionary and effective leaders and senior administrators, since the challenges to reach educational excellence are ever present. As difficult as it is to reach the highest level of educational accomplishment, it is even more difficult to maintain it. This requires a committed and clear thinking leadership, able to articulate a vision for the continuous accountability and improvement of the school. A true leader should be ever vigilant of the competition and aware of national and international educational trends.