By: Erlinda L. Rapirap, Principal III
Crisanto Guysayko Memorial Elementary School
Nagcarlan Sub Office, SDO Laguna
“As we look ahead into the 21st century, leaders will be those who empower others,” Bill Gates who is the founder of Microsoft quoted this statement which is very applicable to the role being played by our school heads in the success of the teaching and learning process.
Since the start of the pandemic, the school head’s role has been more difficult as with what happened – school closures and generalized lockdowns not just only in our country but all over the world. From coordinating proper measures with our teachers; guiding them with the proper orders and ensuring learning continuity during those times up until our schools have resumed face-to-face learning setup.
Dealing with all kinds of things in school requires one to exhibit good leadership. Nurturing learning environments for our learners to thrive in, grow, and develop. This might sound easy; however, this can’t be just done with a snap of a finger. To create a conducive learning environment, the school head must be able to collaborate with a network of stakeholders. The keywords are shared leadership and governance. Promoting collaboration with our internal and external stakeholders: teachers, students, parents, communities, non-government associations, etc. will be the bond that shall hold everyone together.
Effective school heads work tirelessly to work on improving the quality of instructions of our teachers to the students. Curriculum instruction is one of the things that they had to focus on as well. Encouraging their teachers to pursue professional development is one thing. Conducting research-based strategies to improve teaching and learning and initiating research-based strategies to identify working programs, projects, and activities that relate to students is another, followed by proper monitoring and feedback. Schools offering quality education will be attainable.
These efforts should not be left in vain. Continuity must be pursued. The school heads are responsible for choosing what is best for the school along with the education partners. One must ensure the provision of academic leadership and strategic vision, and for the quality of the student experience. Continue what is good; revise what is needed; scrape off whatever does not benefit anyone in school. These are the things kept in mind by effective school leaders who know how to choose programs that work. As they always say, quality over quantity.
School heads also work as financial managers. They are the ones who are responsible for budgeting, implementing, controlling, and reporting these budgetary expenses. Transparency and accountability are the two words for the school head to follow in this part of being a leader. In crafting the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) to Annual Procurement Plan (APP), along with working with all internal and external stakeholders, school heads have this responsibility laid on their shoulders.
Managing a school is not easy. As discussed above, the school heads’ role in school-based management centers around the four principles: Leadership and Governance, Curriculum and Learning, Accountability and Continuous Improvement, and Management of Resources. School heads are under enormous pressure to be able to keep track of everything.
As the word suggests – the school head is the head of the school. They are the primary contributing factor to successful school-based management; whereas the teachers, learners, and other stakeholders are the support. Let our school heads be the leader who would be able to empower not only our teachers — as well as our learners and stakeholders — to strive in attaining and giving quality education to everyone.
