National Principals Month: A Message for Principals

Voiceover (00:00): She was a teenager working in the fields. What did one science teacher say that changed her path? What fills a principal’s bucket when the job feels thankless? It’s National Principals Month, and today we’re talking about how great principals partner with teachers from a principal who started as a biology teacher and never forgot it. This is Thought Leader Thursday, Episode 1019.

Announcer (00:26): This is the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.

Vicki Davis (00:29): It’s so exciting today to talk to Raquel Martinez, principal of Sageview High School in Pasco, Washington. She’s been in education for 18 years, first 10 years as a biology teacher, and also has had a position as a bilingual facilitator. She’s been a member of the National Association of Secondary Principals Board of Directors, but she was the first Latina president of that organization. So congratulations, Raquel. What is your big message to principals?

What message does a national principals leader have for school principals?

Raquel Martinez (01:01): That leadership is difficult. It’s important that we surround ourselves with others who are of the same vision and the direction that we’re going to support each other. But most importantly, I would say that we have a voice as secondary principals. Oftentimes, we get caught up in our own whirlwind of everything that’s happening in our buildings. I think sometimes we damper our own understanding of wanting to speak out and on behalf of principals.

And so we have a voice. It needs to be heard. That’s probably my biggest thing. Here’s how we do it. Here’s how we can advocate and here’s how we can come together, that the information that we do have to share is important. And others around us should be taking that into consideration. And so it’s that piece of it. And there’s others around us who demonstrate talent and potential. I truly do believe that it’s also growing opportunities to instill leadership in others and grow them as well.

How we do that is probably my biggest message to share with principals.

Vicki Davis (01:56): Mentorship is so important. And some of that comes from great principal-teacher relationships. Somebody mentored you. What did that process of leadership development in your own life look like?

How do principals mentor teachers into leadership roles?

Raquel Martinez (02:09): I was not a good listener originally. It took a, when I say the word tapped, I know a lot of people use that term, that someone tapped me on the shoulder. It wasn’t a tap for me. It was more like a, I don’t know what I did. It’s like a grab to me that actually convinced me that, hey, this leadership is your next step in your career. And so mentors that really instilled that within me, I think of several that consistently showed me the way, spoke to my life about, hey, here’s how we do it.

Consider this reflective question, guiding me along the way without any judgment. So free of judgment, invested the time necessary to help me in that leadership path. And so 100%, Vicki, I agree with you that it’s that principal-teacher relationship and recognizing those around you that have that talent and potential, and then really investing that time and energy to coach them through the process. It’s already there. They have those skills. They have the heart and are willing.

It’s just, let me show you how to do that. And I’m very grateful for all of those who have been able to help support me in that process. And they still do.

Vicki Davis (03:14): Take us back to where the light went on and you started realizing your future as a leader in a school.

How does a teacher know when they are ready to lead?

Raquel Martinez (03:21): Probably my third year. The building principal and one of the assistant principals at the time kept talking to me about, hey, you know, the quality work that you’re bringing, like you have to be, let’s say, the science department chair. All these chemistry teachers and physics teachers, and I’m like, I’m just a biology teacher. And they’re like, we need you to lead this department. And I’m like, that’s not me. That’s not me.

That’s someone else, someone else with more experience. And I remember the building principal like, I, you don’t have a choice. Like, you have to do this. So you will now be the leader of this department. Yes, sir. Yes. Yes, I will.

Vicki Davis (04:01): Yes. So I want you to travel back to teenage Raquel, but I want you just to kind of think of yourself as a teenager and what you saw in principals that made them great.

What did a teenager working in the fields need from her teachers?

Raquel Martinez (04:12): My parents were migrant workers and I was working in the fields, and my parents very much telling me like, hey, education is important. Like teachers coming alongside and saying, no, hey, you know what, you’re going to play basketball. And then my science teacher in high school saying, hey, have you ever liked science? You’re really good at it. And no one had ever shared that with me, and I went into science, you know, or pre-med actually initially.

As a teenager, you know, I didn’t think of principals in that regard, honestly. It’s really about the staff that was around that was impactful.

Vicki Davis (04:43): So how do you encourage principals to have that positive relationship with their teachers?

How can principals build positive relationships with teachers?

Raquel Martinez (04:49): First and foremost, you know, we have to believe that we’re one team, that we’re building this team together, and we’re all moving in the same direction. And so that’s the first thing, is like my mentality and how I approach a staff member in our building. You know, how we show up in our building is reflected. And so how do I inspire and how do I communicate? It’s based off of how I treat others, honestly, and how I would want someone to treat me and my kids, my own personal kids as well.

And so… You know, when I’m talking to other principals, it’s helping them understand that it’s not, like what you were speaking to, Vicki, it’s not us versus you versus them. It’s how can we come alongside each other.

Vicki Davis (05:41): Part of your job has got to be advocacy for students who have English as a second language. And so what’s your message there? We’ve come a ways, but surely we have a ways to go, right?

Is learning a second language a deficit or an advantage for students?

Raquel Martinez (05:54): Yeah, I would say we need to not look at language as a deficit, learning a second language as a deficit, but really as an advantage. And as students are acquiring more languages, changing our mindset. So it’s not a bad thing. Like we, you know, so as we test our students in their native language, right, they’re still scoring very high, you know, and so we need to look at our students as multilingual learners.

We need to look at, hey, you know what, they cognitively are there. It’s really just the language that we’re having to, they’re gaining a second language right in there, right? And so really understanding they’re multilingual learners, and changing the philosophy and thinking of others and helping them understand that it’s not a deficit. It’s really an advantage.

Vicki Davis (06:41): Absolutely. I just think of the students I’ve taught when I’ve worked, say, for example, with a science teacher and said, okay, so yeah, you have 150 words, but this student, you know, English is a second language for him. And how many of these words are necessary? Because he’s not only having to understand the meaning of the word, but these are new words to him that he doesn’t know what they are. And is there a different approach that we can take to respect the fact that, you know, you want to teach him science, but there’s also language in there.

So it’s not as simple as, it’s not exactly the same thing when you have someone who has English as a first language in a science class, for example, with 150 vocab words for their AP class, and a student who has English as a second language who has those 150 words, right?

How can science teachers help English learners with academic vocabulary?

Raquel Martinez (07:26): Science in general is a whole language in itself, right? And then really unpacking, even for our students whose first language is English, is also unpacking the language for our students. Like, how many of them need to know what ATP means? Oh, it means adenosine triphosphate. Well, how, why is that piece of it? Why do they need to really unpack what that actually looks like? And it has to be unpacked for all of our students, not just our multilingual learners, but all of our students.

It’s, you know, teaching our staff really the strategies necessary to be able to have our kids maintain their first language and then also continue acquiring a second language in multiple content areas. So I’m also very passionate about it, and hopefully others can start seeing that it’s an advantage. Learning another language on top of your first language is a huge advantage and a difficult process, but it’s an advantage.

Vicki Davis (08:22): As we finish up, you know, sometimes being a principal can be a thankless job. So what’s your thank you to principals?

What fills a principal’s bucket when the job feels thankless?

Raquel Martinez (08:29): Well, it’s National Principals Month, you know. I will say, I’m so encouraged every time I get to meet other principals, and I understand that it is a thankless job. And I understand that what fills our bucket is when we see our staff get something, understand it, and it impacts our students.

Where can principals find support so they don’t lead alone?

Raquel Martinez (08:53): I would honestly just offer some words of encouragement that, number one, you’re not by yourself. There are thousands of principals who are going through the same thing you are, that we are, and it’s about networking and meeting other principals that are going through those same things so that you have someone to depend on. You have someone who can help and support you along this journey, so you’re not by yourself. My encouragement would also be to join a network.

They’re all online. Pick the times, the networks that you want to be a part of, and it’s an opportunity to not be by yourself. That would be what I would offer.

Vicki Davis (09:34): Raquel Martinez, past president of NASSP. Just, the way forward is together. So thanks for coming on the show.

Raquel Martinez (09:43): Thank you so much, Vicki. Appreciate the opportunity.

Announcer (09:45): Thank you for tuning in to the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast. Join us here every weekday and subscribe to the Classroom Matters newsletter. See you later, educator.