The Learning Leader is the Leading Learner 

Mrs. Brendy Siev

I hope I don’t bore you by opening with this truism: The leader casts a long shadow. It’s so important that it merits repeating: The leader casts a long shadow. Each day, the principal’s behavior, decisions, and communication profoundly impact a school’s culture and staff morale. This does not mean that a principal must be perfect at all times. But it does mean that a school leader’s actions and outlooks can make the school a protected, positive space for the staff or, alternatively, cast a pall over the organization. It means that the leader’s actions and values impact the entire school. 

Since schools are, by definition, learning institutions, every person in the building must be a learner. And since the leader casts a long shadow, he or she must be the lead learner, modeling, whether consciously or not, what it means to be curious and to be growing through learning.  

The Learning Space 

I remember my seventh-grade science teacher telling us something remarkable about a cup of water. While to us the line between the water and the air above seems obvious, in truth, the teacher said, there is a constant flux of evaporation and condensation happening on the surface of water. At this interface, there is a microscopic exchange of liquid water turning into gas (water vapor) and vice versa. At the time, I found this completely unbelievable and went home to confirm with my father, an analytical chemist, that the teacher was wrong. She was right, of course. (I send her my sincerest apologies.) What seems completely still is, in fact, dynamic. At any given moment, the water molecules at that seemingly defined border are shifting from one state to another.  

This serves as an apt metaphor for the classroom learning space. At any given moment, when we peek into a classroom, we see a teacher leading the learning in that space. The teacher may be the guide on the side or the sage on the stage. To the observer, the teacher is in charge: teaching, while the students learn.  

But upon looking closer, it becomes clear that the teacher is also modeling what it means to be a learner. The teacher is learning from the students and making small tweaks and shifts in instruction based on what he or she hears from the class. Open the classroom door and walk inside. Listen closely and observe more deeply. The more curious the teacher is, the more dynamic the exchange of ideas becomes. Does the learning seem fresh and exciting? If so, chances are the teacher is a lifelong learner, consciously or subconsciously inspiring students to learn. Like the space where water meets air, a classroom is a dynamic learning interface. 

This lovely and idealistic picture is about the teacher. But we began with the idea that the leader casts a long shadow. The implication is that the principal, too, needs to be in this teaching and learning space. It is the principal who, by his or her curious and inquisitive stance, will set the tone for the teachers. How can the principal, the instructional leader, become the learning leader and the leading learner?  

The Principal as Teacher 

For the school leader to mentor teachers, the principal needs to teach. This does not mean that the principal teaches a single upper-level seminar to highly motivated students. On the contrary, the principal should teach even a basic weekly class to students of different grades or levels. Fundamentally, this helps the principal know the students as they are in the classroom. The principal will also, on another level, encounter the students’ strengths and challenges. (This does not necessarily mean behavior challenges—one would hope that students would be on their best behavior with an administrator in the room.) The principal will understand the students’ backgrounds, styles, and social dynamics.  

Moreover, the principal will gain teachers’ trust. So often we hear teachers frustrated that the principal “does not understand the students of today” or “does not believe me about the level of this class.” But if the principal is also teaching, he or she understands the students and will believe the teachers. This helps ensure that teachers are receptive to principal feedback. Furthermore, the principal and teachers will be able to brainstorm as a team about how to help individual students, improve a class’s dynamic, and convey information to a particular cohort.  

Over the past few years, aside from my assistant principal duties and regular classroom teaching (I teach three sections of high school English), I have been overseeing a once-a-week Homeroom class for ninth-graders. This class has given me a birdseye view into the students, their interactions with others, their executive functioning, and their skill levels. I get the added benefit of knowing the students from the time they enter our school. When I discuss certain students with teachers, from ninth grade on, the teachers know that I know these students and how we can approach working with them.  

The Principal as Team Leader 

Once the principal is in the classroom, he or she becomes a natural empath toward the staff. And this is key. Just as students need a safe space to learn—and we encourage our teachers to make classrooms safe spaces so that learning can happen—teachers need to feel that they can turn to the principal to brainstorm how to work with students or how to convey information to them.  

We all know about teacher supervision. The questions are how to supervise and toward what purpose. No matter what method is employed and the principal’s fine-tuned goals, the trick and the tricky part about teacher supervision is to supervise without micromanagement in order to bolster and not diminish confidence. Yes, the principal needs to visit classrooms, even if it’s just a peek through the window and a quick drop-in. And we know that when the principal does visit the classroom for longer, the principal should tell the teacher in advance.  

Most importantly, though, the principal must emphasize: I am looking at the students more than I am looking at you. After the observation, when discussing the class with the teacher, the leader should approach the conversation from the student’s perspective. This can mean statements like, “I noticed that some of the students needed clarification on that concept. Are they usually challenged about that? I’m wondering what we can do to help them grasp it more easily.” In this way, the teacher feels supported. The dynamic becomes that of a team leader and team player. And, most crucial, the students’ learning improves.  

The Principal as Leading Learner 

But where does the principal get the understanding and methodology to share with teachers? How can anyone have all the answers? Here’s where we come back to that dynamic glass of water: the principal must be a learner.  

To be a lifelong learner means to be eternally curious and to model that for our teachers and for our students. Years ago, when I first started working at Bais Yaakov of Boston, Rabbi Tsvi Levin, shlita, purchased membership for me to the ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), a membership that included a subscription to their excellent Educational Leadership magazine and a number of books that I could choose from their catalog for free. I read those magazines and books from cover to cover. That year also marked the first year of my subscription to The Marshall Memo, a publication I have been reading religiously for years. When I read about other interesting articles, I share them with my staff.  

Not only that, but I have also continued taking courses in education over time. Many of these courses ask us to create lesson plans and implement them in our classes. This means that when I share a method with a teacher, I can either say, “I read about this. What do you think?” or “I tried this and found it helpful. Here’s how to make it work.” This means that I can share ideas and discuss with the teachers how they feel about implementing different methods. Our staff understands that the instructional leader understands the craft and is also working to learn more about it.  

The Principal Nurturing Learners 

The principal’s job, and the learning leader, is to help each staff member grow and develop personally and professionally. In a school where everyone is a learner, professional development is key. But simply getting up in front of teachers to share ideas the principal has learned, or hiring a one-time speaker, does not work.  

What is key is to create an environment of learning. Principals should talk to teachers individually, asking them about coursework or training they would like. They should review the offerings through the local department of education or intermediary unit and share these opportunities with staff. They should forward all those emails about different webinars that come into their inboxes. Encourage teachers to let the principal know if they participated and to share their ideas with the entire staff. Teachers should be asked to share how different methods worked when implemented in the classroom (and if the principal is a teacher, he or she should try them out based on the teacher’s recommendation).  

The Long Shadow 

And here’s where the school truly becomes a full learning space. A principal should tell not only staff but also students about the courses he or she is taking, the books he or she is reading, and the ideas he or she is studying. The principal can ask students, in kind, about what they’ve been learning. They can encourage teachers to share with their students that they’ve taken a class or read a book on methodology. In this way, the long shadow of the leader creates a learning environment for everyone. 

Several years ago, when I started taking a memoir-writing class at our local adult-education school, I came into my English classroom invigorated and intentional. I used some of the methods my college teacher had used with my own students. I showed my students some of my fellow classmates’ outlines (with their permission, of course) and talked about the feedback I received from my teacher. The point was as much about emphasizing that we are all learning, and always learning, as it was about taking a fresh approach to my practice.  

No one is an absolute expert in every subject area. No one is the perfect teacher. No one has all the solutions for instructing the 21st-century child. But if school leadership casts a shadow of safety, learning, and nurturing, the principal is no longer just a supervisor, but the school’s leading learner and learning leader.  

Brendy Siev is the assistant principal overseeing general studies at Kosloff Torah Academy in Philadelphia. A seasoned educator with more than 20 years of chinuch experience, she served as director of general studies at Bais Yaakov of Boston High School and taught English and mentored new teachers at NSU University High School in Florida. A graduate of Bnos Chava Teachers’ Seminary and Barnard College, Mrs. Siev has a master’s in curriculum and instruction from Nova Southeastern University. She has also completed post-graduate programs at the Harvard Principals’ Center, Framingham State University, and the Yeshiva University School Partnership.  

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