and a reasonable quorum policy determined. At the time, Mr. Chen did
not realize the positive impact this would have years into the future. When
he saw the issues many of his colleagues were having with their SLTs, he
realized how lucky he was. Newly appointed principals may inherit over-
sight teams with a different history of bylaws and procedures. They have
a “honeymoon” period that sometimes gives them significant latitude in
reforming school procedures. They should use this time to examine the
operations of this team.
Once such a team is in place, how does the school leader ensure it will
support his vision for the school? Most members of the team have little or
no idea about how a school operates or how a budget is determined. It is
the responsibility of the principal to teach the members of this committee.
The principal lays the groundwork by being a master teacher.
If the new school leader makes use of a standard ritual for the first
meeting of her leadership team, meetings for the rest of the year will flow
more smoothly. Ms. Valletta had such a ritual. She scheduled the first
meeting as early as possible in the school year and contacted all members
at least two weeks in advance to be sure there was a quorum. She sent out
a standard first meeting agenda: introduction of team members, selection
of team chairperson, review of the Comprehensive Education Plan (this
may have a different title in your district), review of school statistics,
planning the agendas for future meetings. This agenda laid the ground-
work for the rest of the school year.
At the first meeting, Ms. Valletta gave all attendees a hefty folder of
materials. These contents could be adjusted according to the specific
needs of any school and district.
- The names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of the committee
members - The bylaws of the leadership team
- The district’s document on “conflict of interest” as it applied to the team
(in New York City there had been some monetary hanky-panky in some
schools) - The previous year’s Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP), usually a
hefty document - The latest school report card generated by the district, usually one year
out of date
102 Chapter 8