ABSTRACT
You have just been appointed principal to a school of 900 students with a staff of 40 teachers and 12 support personnel. One of the first things with which you are confronted is the assignment of teachers to grades, teams, and departments. As you scan the list of staff members, you begin to consider how to make assignments that will maximize people’s abilities and experience and, at the same time, create effective teams. You become aware that you have a significant number, around 40% of the staff, who have 20 plus years of classroom experience. Many of those teachers “came with the bricks” and are approaching or eligible for retirement. Ranging in age from early 40s to early 60s, these teachers are the mainstays of the school and represent the traditions to which the community has become accustomed. The fact that this is your first principalship at age 38 will not be in your favor when working with the senior members of the staff. They have seen principals come and go and feel that they are the glue that holds the school together. In fact, you admit to yourself, they have provided stability in good times and bad.
