Teachers are known within their community.  Reputations are built child to child, parent to parent, event to event.  All of us know taxpayers who advocate for public employees to live in the districts and communities where they work. But, we also know how valuable a bit of privacy can be when grocery stores and doctor's offices and restaurants become only an extension of the office for those who see us and want to talk to us or about us. In a majority of cases, teachers are part of the school community long before the leaders arrive, and remain long after leaders move on. But it is the responsibility of the school and district leaders, no matter the length of time in the district, to clarify, define or redefine the narrative, to create the lingering perception, and to influence the reputation of the school(s) in the community. In the best of cases, this joint effort of leaders and teachers is done so well that if and when the leader leaves, the system carries them forward to the new leader as he or she takes the helm. Extensive leader turnover complicates this process leaving the definition of the schools and their values to teachers and boards.Changing public institutions bound by regulation and tradition is difficult enough without a revolving door at the helm. So while leading schools and districts through a continuous change process, how does the narrative of the district get written and communicated?  How does the story get told?     Read more...