Public School Personnel Management

 It is also his job to make sure that his staff is just as aware of these laws as he himself is.  It is crucial that he communicates the legal and political trends, issues, and potential changes in the environment in which the school operates.  The administrator and his staff will have to work together within the framework of policies, laws and regulations that are enacted by local, state, and federal authorities.  By acting accordingly to, and enforcing such public policies, the administrator and staff will be able to provide quality education for all students.

Due to the legal implications that come with this standard, it will be of great concern to the administrator to constantly assess himself and his staff on the enforcing and abiding to such legal, social and political values.  It will be important for the staff and administrator to accept the fact that there will be varying degrees of ideas, values and cultures brought to the school setting, and that they must uphold each within these legal, social and political constraints.  If they haven’t done this, accordingly, they will know quickly when the school receives a contact from a legal advisor representing a student and their family.

As I reflect on my own beliefs of educational personnel philosophy, one thing keeps returning to me.  In my interview I did with my principal, I asked him what the most difficult part of dealing with school personnel was in his opinion.  He answered by stating that he was unable to spend the time needed to supervise his staff.  He compared his situation to a business.  In a business setting, a supervisor is usually responsible for eight to ten employees.  At this ratio, of manager to worker, there is ample time to observe, evaluate, and work with employees to raise them to the next level.  In a school building, the administrator is the manager of, at the minimum, 30-40 employees.  There is just not adequate time to do the necessary observing, and coaching with this amount of staff. 

I believe this poses a conflict of what is seen as urgent vs. important.  By this, I think it is important to have ample time devoted to leading your staff.  However, there is always more urgent issues that confine the administrator to leaving the duty of supporting and leading his staff behind.  This is when having a strong staff under you becomes very important.  I think a good, seasoned staff, will realize the demands that an administrator faces on a daily basis, and will in turn, do their personal best each day and appreciate what time the principal can give to them as a group and as individuals. 

There will always be the few staff members who will not be able to comprehend why they are not given more support from their leader.  In these cases, it will be important for the principal to provide other sources of support for these teachers.  Grouping the less experienced or frustrated teachers with peers that have more experience would be one way to help in this situation.  Henry Ford once said, “All problems are personnel problems.”  I would have to agree with this.  In today’s educational arena, any problem the school faces will ultimately affect the personnel, and that may be the most complex problem for an administrator to solve.