Administrators

Why Administrator Turnover Matters More Than Ever

This year alone, nearly one-third of Oregon’s 197 school districts are being led by superintendents who are new to their roles. Twenty-five districts brought in new leadership in 2023, including large and influential ones like Salem-Keizer and Hillsboro. In just five years, over 150 superintendents have either stepped down or been replaced. Some districts have cycled through multiple leaders in that time. When leadership changes frequently, so do priorities, leaving teachers and students caught in a constant state of transition. Educators are being asked to adapt over and over again, without the consistency that deep, meaningful progress needs. Some of the reasons are obvious: the pandemic's aftershocks, intense political pressure on school boards, and a grueling workload that often comes with little support. Nationwide, about 11% of principals left their jobs between the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years, with experienced leaders leading the exodus.

So what does that mean for Oregon?

Educational administrators wear many hats: they are leaders, problem-solvers, managers, disciplinarians, cheerleaders, and sometimes even crisis responders. Every decision, big or small, seems to pass through their office. From budget cuts and staffing shortages to student behavior issues and parent concerns, the pressure is constant. We need to invest in real support for new and aspiring leaders through mentorship programs, leadership academies, and strong professional communities. We need to diversify the leadership pipeline by actively removing the barriers that often keep underrepresented educators from rising into these roles. We must train school boards on effective, nonpartisan governance to reduce friction and keep the focus on student-centered outcomes. If you're an educator, parent, or community member, consider this: administrators need support, too. A check-in, a word of appreciation, or even just acknowledging their effort can go a long way. And if you're an administrator reading this, know that you're not alone. Reach out to peers, build networks, and take time for yourself. Leadership doesn’t have to mean isolation.

Harvey Hazen, former administrator and member of EDHaven reminds me to dream big.

Harvey is one of our community members. He is an expert in his field with compassion to seek out new leaders and help them grow. He grew up on a small farm in Oregon. I had an opportunity to learn about his growing up with hard-working parents who earned a living from the soil. In Harvey’s own words, he explains,

“We never had much and the plan for me was to be a farmer to take over the family farm and follow what had been the multi-generational family business.  Would I have been happy doing that?  Probably, but we’ll never know.  We’ll never know because of several teachers who ignited in me a unique ability that human beings have. The ability to imagine.  Imagine something beyond where they are, beyond the expectations others have of us, even beyond the expectations we have for our own daily lives. 

We should be excited when children show imagination.  It is natural, perhaps the most natural of human intelligences.  Imagination is the basis for setting goals, it is the basis of creativity.  It is the tool we use to plan, create, invent, and innovate.  Yet too often we hear adults say things like “be sure to color within the lines”, “Johnny’s mind wanders too much in class he can’t stay on task” or the classic parent statement “don’t make up things” or the report card comment “Susie has an overactive imagination”.  Some others that we commonly hear are “that’s not realistic”, “that’s just your imagination”, ‘don’t daydream”, or “get your head out of the clouds.”

If we accept the fact that imagination is responsible for all human progress, which I believe it is, then why do we work so hard to try and squash it?  Shouldn’t we be celebrating it, directing it in positive ways, and using it to make the subjects we teach come alive?  I believe it’s in large part due to the old paradigm that we still struggle with.  That paradigm dictates that teachers impart knowledge and students learn (memorize) that knowledge.  I blame, in good part, our testing program for this fault.  Most tests are still knowledge-based as opposed to demonstrations of the ability to apply information and create new.

So, the question becomes how do we integrate this superpower into our classrooms.  First of all, we need to become cognizant of the language we use that causes students to withdraw from using their imagination.  Second, we need to find ways to integrate the use of imagination into our lesson planning and our daily responses to student questions.  This involves questioning strategies that encourage the use of imagination.  Last but not least we need to change our view and approach to children that we may perceive to have overactive imaginations.  Many times, these are neuro divergent students who suffer the most from a lack of understanding of why their minds appear to wander when in fact they are creating in their own way.

So here are some ideas for a shift in the way we structure our planning for lessons.  Mind you this does not negate the need for facts, dates, formulas etc.  What it does do is change the mindset about the application of information it moves the paradigm form memorization to application and changes the students view from irrelevant information to relevant experience.  Here are just a few uses of the idea of imagination.  Notice that I have been careful to not use the word imagination. It becomes redundant and repetitive after a while. 

If you could change one thing about_______________what would it be?

What would it look like if___________________________?

What is the most creative solution to this problem you can think of?

If you could start from scratch, how would you (design, solve, improve, change) this_________________?”