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Hierarchy of a School System
Superintendent
The superintendent is the chief executive officer of the board and the educational leader of the school system and, as such, is responsible for the success of all facets of the school operation in the district.
The Education Act provides that the school board may delegate all but a specified few of its responsibilities to the superintendent. If a board does delegate such responsibilities, made pursuant to section 52 of the Education Act, the superintendent then acts as the agent of the board in any decisions made or in any rules and regulations formulated. It is inherent, of course, that such decisions may not violate the provisions of the Education Act or of the collective agreement or any agreement between a board and the teacher and that any orders issued to teachers must be both lawful and reasonable.
Though the powers of a superintendent or any other school administrator derive from the law and from the school board, the manner in which these powers are exercised with respect to personnel will determine the person’s ultimate accomplishments. Sympathetic personnel policies and extensive consultation with those affected by the decisions have come to be musts for any successful school administrator and are probably among the more important determinants of tenure.
Supervisors
The designations or titles of teachers operating at various levels in the hierarchy of a school system change so frequently and vary so much from system to system that it is hard to be definitive about the authority of any one of them. It would be reasonable to assume that supervisors would be appointed by the school board and given certain authority to carry out their duties.
Each supervisor may be involved in one subject area only or may be charged with more general duties in many subject areas. The major role of supervisors could well be defined as the improvement of instruction in their fields. The board and superintendent may delegate to them responsibilities to assist in the determination of competence and evaluation of teacher performance. If so, it is obvious that they would have the authority to make judgments in such matters, but the final decision must remain the responsibility of the board through the superintendent.
Consultants
The name suggests that teachers bearing this designation would be available to consult with teachers in the classroom with respect to the carrying out of their teaching duties. It would seem that consultants should be available to help teachers who request help or who are identified as needing help to improve their teaching skills.
If consultants are to be of maximum value, it would follow that they should not be judges and reporters of teaching competence since this relationship would make teachers reluctant to seek their advice and help. The actual authority and role of consultants would be whatever the board, through the superintendent, defined them to be.
Principal
Section 197 of the Education Act defines some of the duties of principals (see box below). The principal has the authority to make decisions and promulgate rules and regulations consistent with legislation, with school board policy and with the authority specifically delegated by the school board. If a principal chooses to give orders to teachers, these must legally be regarded as orders of the school board to the extent that they are consistent with the authority given, they are reasonable and they are lawful.
As with any other administrator, the success of a principal is likely to depend not so much on the authority exercised as on the manner in which it is exercised and the extent of prior consultation with those persons who are affected by the authority.
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Education Act
Principals
197 A principal of a school must
(a) provide instructional leadership in the school;
(b) ensure that the instruction provide by the teachers employed in the school is consistent with the courses of study and education programs prescribed, approved or authorized pursuant to this Act;
(c) evaluate or provide for the evaluation of programs offered in the school;
(d) ensure that students in the school have the opportunity to meet the standards of education set by the Minister;
(e) direct the management of the school;
(f) maintain order and discipline in the school and on the school grounds and during activities sponsored or approved by the board;
(g) promote cooperation between the school and the community that it services;
(h) supervise the evaluation and advancement of students;
(i) evaluate the teacher employed in the school;
(j) subject to any applicable collective agreement and the principal’s contract of employment, carry out those duties that are assigned to the principal by the board in accordance with the regulations and the requirements of the school council and the board.
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Assistant principals
Though assistant principals are found in most schools, the Education Act contains no provision that requires the appointment of such administrators. In place of such a requirement, a permissive clause [section 203(1)] allows boards to designate teachers to administrative, supervisory or consultative positions within the school. Some collective agreements require the appointment of assistant principals or other designated personnel in schools.
The duties of an assistant principal are not specified in legislation. Rather, these duties are defined by the school board or assigned by the principal. Where there are assistant principals, they must be considered to be deputies of the principal and to have such authority as the latter delegates. It follows that orders given by an assistant principal to a teacher would be lawful orders of the principal and hence lawful orders of the board, provided they refer to areas in which the assistant principal has been given the authority to make decisions.
Department heads
Generally, a department head is considered to be a coordinator of teachers operating in a specific subject area. Teachers, of course, have a responsibility to cooperate with the department head. A department head may have organizational responsibilities within the department in addition to that of helping teachers maintain and improve their teaching efficiency. The department head is, in effect, a type of consultant within the school to whom teachers in the department may go for help and advice when they need it. In the absence of a collective agreement clause, the department head’s authority will be whatever the board, through the superintendent and the principal, has delegated. Department heads have no supervisory function in relation to staff.
Other administrative personnel
It is impossible to forecast what other types of administrative or supervisory personnel teachers may have to deal with. In some school systems, department heads or consultants are given different names. The title is not as important as the job description and the manner in which the human relations tasks are carried out.
A fact worthy of note here is that all administrative and consultative personnel in a school system are there for one purpose only—to contribute to the overall benefit of students by facilitating and improving the work of the classroom teacher. There is no other reason for their presence, and their performance will be judged by the contribution they make in this regard.
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