In Big Picture
Schools, leadership is shared and spread between a strong, visionary
principal and a dedicated, responsible team of advisors. The leadership
of the school community functions as a democracy.
Principal
Leadership:
All Big Picture School principals
begin their training a year before their school opens through
our TYBO program (The Year Before Opening). This program uses
current Big Picture School principals as mentors, as well as Big
Picture Company coaches and the Co-directors (Dennis Littky and
Elliot Washor). Principals are trained around Big Picture principal
leadership criteria as delineated in our materials through mentor/intern
relationships with other Big Picture principals and coaches including:
human relations and communication; moral courage; vision; flexibility
and efficiency; life-long love of learning and leading; and, public
support.
The principals participate in on-going year-round professional
development, and are supported in the start-up years of operation
by The Big Picture Company. They are part of and actively participate
in the Big Picture network of schools nationally and in their
locale. Principals are both the Big Picture cultural/instructional
leaders, and the CEOs/entrepreneurs for their schools. They are
the liaisons to districts, The Big Picture Company, and their
own staff. Overall, the success of the whole school and the advisors
in particular is the responsibility of the principal.
Advisor
Leadership:
All advisors are trained by Big Picture trained principals and
supported, through the principal, with Big Picture materials and
coaching. Advisors take great responsibility in the day-to-day
organization of the school, the successful managing of the school,
successful implementation of the curriculum, and, the success
of all of the students in the school. In addition to formal professional
development, advisors learn from other advisors on a daily basis
by serving as each other's mentors and mentees. Each year they
talk about what they're learning and teaching. Much of the learning
about how to be an advisor is done by interactions and the collegial
relationship with other advisors.
Essential
Elements of Leadership Include:
Principals trained by The
Big Picture Company with mentor/intern relationships
Essential leadership qualities
of distinguished principals
Advisors learn from other
advisors on a day-to-day basis Essential
Leadership Roles of the Principal:
The principal has two distinct
and important roles: outside the school and inside the school
Outside the school, the
principal is the visible spokesperson for the school, the fundraiser,
the political and community networker
Inside the school, the
principal is the manager of a team of advisors and an instructional
leader
The principal organizes,
plans, and runs consistent staff development at school, including
staff meetings and retreats
The principal supervises
staff and provides regular feedback, including yearly written
evaluations Essential Leadership
Roles of the
Advisor:
Advisors share school leadership
and management responsibilities with principal
