This is one of the most difficult times for a department chair. There are so many things going on that it is easy to become seriously frustrated. There are times at meetings where you just want to scream, FUCK!! Stop talking to me, I have things to do! (Under Pressure, Queen, 2008)

In the days prior to the return of teachers, the hallways are blessedly quiet. A department chair can walk the halls and accomplish tasks. But after that first day, there is no walking the halls. Every doorway becomes a stop along the way. “Can you help me?“, “I was thinking of of doing something like this…”, “Can you believe what we are being asked to do this year? Why are you chairs not advocating for us?”

Don’t get me wrong, I think I have fantastic teachers in my department, but it is difficult to help them all at the same time. It is like snack time in a kindergarten classroom and everyone wants their chocolate milk at the same time.

The best a chair can do is be prepared. You know what it is going to be like. Have your own shit done so that you can devote most (think all) of your time to your teachers. You know that most of the time will be in required meetings, but have a plan to help teachers in the hours outside of the meetings. And don’t candy-coat your responses. If a teacher is advocating for a 50-foot power cord to stretch across the room creating a safety issue, them tell them what you think. Sometimes they need to hear it out loud before they realize that what you are saying makes sense.

Do not make the rookie mistake of trying to get your department to love you. A chair I know spends over a hundred dollars to buy her teachers gifts to welcome them back to school. Markers, post-it notes, a pencil box. This is not the way to get teachers to follow your plan for the year. Not to mention that it makes other chairs look bad when teachers compare notes at the happy hour that first week.

A strong vision for the year, and leading by example are the best ways to get teachers on board with your plan.