Establishing a school is hard, but managing it is even harder.
The school is an organization that provides instruction as an institution of learning. It sole purpose is to provide education and good learning environment for its student. But in order for any organization to run, it always needs a leader, and in school the accounted is the principal.
The principal is the person in charge in the school. He sets the goal, mission and vision of the organization. He manages all personnel and assets, from staff down to the resources. He provides instruction and implementations for achieving the goals and standards of the school. He has a handful of task, duties and responsibilities vested by the law and prescribe by the director. It was clearly stated in the Revised Administrative Code Section 910 (C); He (the Director) shall prescribe the authority to be exercised by the principal teacher of each school over the teachers, if any, and his duties as teacher actually engaged in the work and instruction and the caring of the schoolhouse and school property.
Having that all in mind, we can say that in order to have an effective school, we must first have an effective principal. But what makes a good and effective school manager.
First, we must know that a principal does not only manage the school or the structure itself. The staff, the students, the faculty members and the non-academic personnel were all under the authority of the principal. In school management, dealing with human element is a factor that contributes to the success of the organization. Coordination of each personnel is pivotal key in achieving or obtaining the goals of an institution. Social skills should be exercised combined with excellent leadership skill set.
In addition, listening is an underrated skill for school managers. But, it is one of the most important macro skills to be practiced in management. Showing them that you are listening in their opinion, thoughts, and feedbacks and considering every bit of idea they have makes them feel more involve and interested to abide in your instructions.
Measures of school’s effectiveness include the achievements, the hallmarks it had. Whether academic or non-academic, competitions or appearances are always a factor. In order to obtain such hallmarks, the principal must be able to develop programs that would hone the academic competency of the students as well as their competitiveness. Also being proactive rather than being reactive would contribute more in the effectiveness of the school. In other words, having a principal who make things happen rather than just letting them would lead to innovation and involvement of the faculty in the development of the students.
Lastly, principal should be able to facilitate and instruct. The school provides instruction and learning experiences to its target learners, thus, the principal is an instructional leader. They are not “bosses” per se but they are the one who is responsible in improving, implementing and conceptualizing the instructions, activities and programs of the school. Their instruction must be in harmony, balanced, creative but with sense and specific but not strict.
It has never been easy being a leader. The standards, the outcomes, the wins and losses all down to you. But having no leader at all is far worse. Being a principal is not easy, it is not a job; it is a responsibility. The effectiveness of a school depends a lot on the effectiveness of the principal.
By: Gleceria C. Mateo Assistant School Principal II Hermosa National High School – SHS
