Monica Asher has unfinished business.
Students are facing pandemic-related mental health challenges. There are academic gaps to close. Teachers are overwhelmed. Political battles from outside are seeping past the front gates and into schools.
鈥淭his is such a crucial and critical moment in our society,鈥� said Asher, the principal of Orange High School in Lewis Center, Ohio, about 20 miles north of Columbus. 鈥淢y biggest thing is that I don鈥檛 want to look back at this moment and regret not meeting it.鈥�
The profession is observing National Principals Month at a stressful time for those in that frontline role. About 40 percent of secondary school principals said in a survey this summer that they planned to quit in the next three years and another 14 percent said they intended to do so in the next school year.
Asher isn鈥檛 one of them.
鈥淣o鈥攊n case that was a question,鈥� Asher, an administrator for 14 years, six of them as a high school principal, said emphatically. 鈥淭his is exactly what I鈥檓 supposed to be doing.鈥�
But Asher truly gets why her colleagues are stressed out and why the weight of the last three years鈥攁n unending pandemic, changing instructional modes, racial discord, and distrust鈥攊s leading so many of them to say they鈥檙e thinking about packing it in.
鈥淭his work is hard; it鈥檚 really difficult,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n recent years, it has become increasingly more difficult. ... Schools do not exist in a vacuum. We are reflections of our communities. So when you see these large divisions in the community, we often get the brunt of that, and have to figure out how to manage.鈥�
My biggest thing is that I don鈥檛 want to look back at this moment and regret not meeting it.
Add to that, many administrators were just not prepared for some of the challenges they鈥檙e currently facing, and it鈥檚 easy to see why many feel they鈥檝e reached their limit, Asher said.
鈥淚t is definitely overwhelming,鈥� said Asher. 鈥淵ou often feel like you鈥檙e not succeeding. It can be difficult to want to kind of pick up and keep going.鈥�
鈥楾his generation gives me a lot of hope鈥�
The thing is: Many of the factors that are nudging principals towards the exits are the same ones keeping Asher firmly rooted in the principal鈥檚 office.
鈥淚 see so many kids in crisis,鈥� Asher said, adding that she wants to 鈥減rovide a space where they can have support, where you can empower their voice, where you teach them how to communicate, how to disagree.鈥�
鈥淭his generation gives me a lot of hope,鈥� she continued. 鈥淲hen I see them struggle, I want to help them not struggle because I see so much kindness in them. I see compassion. I see innovation. I see a lot of wonderful things in them.鈥�
Asher wants to be a role model for students, in general, at a time when national leaders don鈥檛 always offer the best examples, she said. But she also wants to be a beacon for girls, in particular, who don鈥檛 often see women in the secondary school principal鈥檚 office. (Although the number of female high school principals has been increasing, only 54 percent were female in the 2017-18 school year,
Focusing on staff鈥檚, students鈥�, and families鈥� needs
Asher joined the Olentangy, Ohio, district this summer as Orange High School鈥檚 principal, having spent the last six years leading Chagrin Falls High School, just outside of Cleveland.
She started her education career as a teacher in Las Vegas, before moving back to Ohio for graduate school. Though sports played a big role in shaping her outlook as a student, her first school leadership job鈥攁s an athletic director鈥攚as not the right fit.
鈥淚 hated that job,鈥� Asher said. But once she made the move to an assistant principal position, Asher knew that she鈥檇 found a home.
In her new position, she鈥檚 taking time to learn about the school community and its needs before barreling ahead with grand plans.
But one area she鈥檚 already focused on is strengthening the school鈥檚 MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) to ensure that students and families do not to fall through the cracks when they are facing difficult times.
This generation gives me a lot of hope. I see compassion. I see innovation. I see a lot of wonderful things in them.
The societal and political divisions of the last few years have made school-community partnerships more difficult even as the need for those bonds became more apparent, she said.
鈥淲hat has been interesting in the last couple of years is that parents have definitely been more open about when they are struggling, and they鈥檒l call and want to know what they should be doing to help their kids,鈥� Asher said. 鈥淏ecause kids don鈥檛 come with manuals, and parents are learning this like we are. I think that school systems can figure out a better way to provide wraparound services for families.鈥�
Principals should heed their emotional limits
Asher is not staying solely for the students, but also for the teachers who are their trusty guides.
At Chagrin Falls, she worked with staff to ensure that teachers were able to recognize and address secondary trauma in themselves.
鈥淲hen you are with people all day long who are in crisis, it鈥檚 hard to take care of your own mental health,鈥� Asher said.
The job can extract a heavy toll, and she urged principals and teachers to know their emotional, physical, and mental bandwidths and prioritize their well-being. Networks and mentors can help principals find the right balance, she said.
While a significant percentage of principals have been saying they鈥檒l quit throughout the pandemic, many are not following through. That means that there are lots of stressed out and overworked principals continuing to lead the nation鈥檚 public schools.
鈥淚鈥檝e had to really work with myself and my staff about understanding boundaries with empathy and compassion, so that they aren鈥檛 impacted to the point where they also need that support,鈥� Asher said. 鈥淏ecause if somebody is struggling, and you are so involved in that struggle, and you begin to struggle as well, then we are saving two people instead of one.鈥�
As someone who has put a lot of pressure on herself to hide her weaknesses and imperfections, Asher said she鈥檚 been intentional about showing a 鈥渉uman side鈥� of herself to staff and students to let them know that everyone goes through hard times and it鈥檚 OK to seek assistance.
鈥淚 have to model that, and I鈥檝e gotten much better at being OK with having moments when I am not OK,鈥� she said.
Still, Asher said, she鈥檚 never had illusions that school leadership was going to be without hurdles.
鈥淚f you have a meaningful pursuit in life, if you have something that you believe in, it鈥檚 never going to be easy, and that鈥檚 just the way that it is,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e change the trajectory of a child鈥檚 life. That鈥檚 an awesome responsibility. But the idea that you have the ability to help make somebody鈥檚 life better than it would have been if you weren鈥檛 there is incredibly rewarding.鈥�
