Hi, this is my third question on here, and so I want to start with a thanks for the previous guidance I've received, as it has been invaluable. After the last piece of advice over two years ago, I spent two years at an IB MYP and DP certified school teaching mathematical studies and a few other classes. Two years of students graduated under my instruction, and while their mathematical ability was in question prior to my instruction, they ended up doing pretty well, particularly in the school year that recently ended. I then attended one of the recommended Search Associates fairs this year and got a new job at what would be considered a high tier 2 school. I feel I've more or less followed every piece of advice I've been given exactly, and I've been very fortunate to have gotten the opportunities that I have. Again, thank you to those of you who advised me. Without this advice I would not have known what to pursue for my teaching certification, what job fairs to attend, or what experience is most valuable for my career.
My question now is what to do next to best set myself up for the future. My current plan is to try to teach more advanced levels of mathematics (DP SL and HL) to expand my experience and help me to be more easily employable in the future. Then I would like to attain some leadership position, most likely starting with head of a mathematics department, and later move on and up. To give a little more background on myself, my teaching certification is in mathematics, my undergraduate degree is not, and I don't have a masters degree. I plan to take an active role outside of the classroom as well coaching sports, leading extracurricular activities, etc., anything that will show my desire and ability to succeed and lead.
So, what steps should I take in order to best set myself up for leadership positions? Should I pursue additional education? If so, what should I pursue additional education in? Lastly, I know this is probably very school-specific, but could anyone recommend what activities I should involve myself with? Any other advice is greatly appreciated as well.
Question from an international school math teacher
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Heliotrope
- Posts: 1169
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am
Re: Question from an international school math teacher
I'd recommend obtaining a M.A. Educational Leadership. There are many places that offer online courses for this.
Climbing the ladder will be easier with an M.A. (most senior leadership has one), and the Educational Leadership M.A. makes most sense.
In addition, it might make most sense to stay at your Tier 2 school instead of moving to a Tier 1 school, since the lower tier the school is, the easier it will be to rise through the ranks. Once in leadership and having some experience there, move up to Tier 1 (if that's where you want to end up of course – nothing wrong with being at Tier 2 or 3).
Climbing the ladder will be easier with an M.A. (most senior leadership has one), and the Educational Leadership M.A. makes most sense.
In addition, it might make most sense to stay at your Tier 2 school instead of moving to a Tier 1 school, since the lower tier the school is, the easier it will be to rise through the ranks. Once in leadership and having some experience there, move up to Tier 1 (if that's where you want to end up of course – nothing wrong with being at Tier 2 or 3).
Response
First, I wouldnt suggest you get to good and thus valuable as a maths IT if your goal is to transition out of the classroom into leadership. If you do, you may become to valuable to internally promote into leadership. Its easier to find a coordinator or AP/VP/DP than it is to find a great upper secondary and SLL maths IT.
Second, ASPs arent valuable in terms of leadership, they are still student roles. You need roles that give you reports, peer deliverables, or resource budgeting and allocation.
Third, having only taught for two years you are doing well moving into an upper tier 2 (assuming its tier 2) IS, you are ahead of the curve, but its a very lite resume for leadership. Not that it cant or doesnt happen but while youve been successful the odds are not in your favor, and this is assuming you could talk the talk and spin a narrative that leadership would buy even if it was theory.
Fourth, At this stage you are going to want to start looking at graduate programs and obtaining a Masters. There are senior and executive leadership without a Masters but they are at very small and lower third tier ISs. The obvious choice is a Masters in Ed.Ld, it could be a M.Ed, an MA, an MS it really doesnt matter. You will also want to add an administrative credential from the US or one of the NQ (National Qualifications) from the UK. The easiest route is the DC Administrative Services credential. The most flexible route will require a Masters degree (any subject) and an 4 years of teaching experience (which you will have after the typical 2 years pursuing a part time online/distance Masters degree) and lastly passing the the ETS SLLA exam, the credential is renewable and valid for 4 years. (You may apply for the initial Administrative Services credential with a Masters and two years experience. The initial credential is valid for 2 years and may not be renewed. You can apply to transition the initial to the standard after two years of experience and passing the SLLA exam).
Fifth, There are 3 general avenues into leadership:
1) Grow In: You start at an IS as an IT, you work well with leadership, parents and ownership, and then when there is an opening you get the job because ownership trusts you and leadership and parents like you. This pathway is faster at lower tier ISs, where there is a lot of turnover and longevity often means your only one of the few staff to renew.
2) Work In: You get a M.Ed in Ed.Ld, you add a credential, you build some leadership or management experience and you work your way up into leadership. This may and often requires some work in DE. This is the pathway that accounts for the majority of leadership. Candidates were leadership in DE, and they were hired as leadership in IE.
3) Edge In: You make friends and build a network, maybe you marry into, but someone in ownership likes you and gives you the job, or someone in leadership helps you get into the job. This is the least common path into leadership.
The initial break into leadership is the hardest and why I dont recommend you stay in second or higher tier. There are far fewer upper tier ISs and their leadership tends to be more stable and longer staying. You could be waiting a decade or years for an opportunity to arrive and when it does there will likely be much more competitive candidates who at the core of their resumes will have leadership experience and not only an abundance of classroom experience. You are more likely to move into leadership after obtaining a couple years in your second tier IS and completing your advanced degree and credential and then aiming for third tier ISs to get that first break.
Second, ASPs arent valuable in terms of leadership, they are still student roles. You need roles that give you reports, peer deliverables, or resource budgeting and allocation.
Third, having only taught for two years you are doing well moving into an upper tier 2 (assuming its tier 2) IS, you are ahead of the curve, but its a very lite resume for leadership. Not that it cant or doesnt happen but while youve been successful the odds are not in your favor, and this is assuming you could talk the talk and spin a narrative that leadership would buy even if it was theory.
Fourth, At this stage you are going to want to start looking at graduate programs and obtaining a Masters. There are senior and executive leadership without a Masters but they are at very small and lower third tier ISs. The obvious choice is a Masters in Ed.Ld, it could be a M.Ed, an MA, an MS it really doesnt matter. You will also want to add an administrative credential from the US or one of the NQ (National Qualifications) from the UK. The easiest route is the DC Administrative Services credential. The most flexible route will require a Masters degree (any subject) and an 4 years of teaching experience (which you will have after the typical 2 years pursuing a part time online/distance Masters degree) and lastly passing the the ETS SLLA exam, the credential is renewable and valid for 4 years. (You may apply for the initial Administrative Services credential with a Masters and two years experience. The initial credential is valid for 2 years and may not be renewed. You can apply to transition the initial to the standard after two years of experience and passing the SLLA exam).
Fifth, There are 3 general avenues into leadership:
1) Grow In: You start at an IS as an IT, you work well with leadership, parents and ownership, and then when there is an opening you get the job because ownership trusts you and leadership and parents like you. This pathway is faster at lower tier ISs, where there is a lot of turnover and longevity often means your only one of the few staff to renew.
2) Work In: You get a M.Ed in Ed.Ld, you add a credential, you build some leadership or management experience and you work your way up into leadership. This may and often requires some work in DE. This is the pathway that accounts for the majority of leadership. Candidates were leadership in DE, and they were hired as leadership in IE.
3) Edge In: You make friends and build a network, maybe you marry into, but someone in ownership likes you and gives you the job, or someone in leadership helps you get into the job. This is the least common path into leadership.
The initial break into leadership is the hardest and why I dont recommend you stay in second or higher tier. There are far fewer upper tier ISs and their leadership tends to be more stable and longer staying. You could be waiting a decade or years for an opportunity to arrive and when it does there will likely be much more competitive candidates who at the core of their resumes will have leadership experience and not only an abundance of classroom experience. You are more likely to move into leadership after obtaining a couple years in your second tier IS and completing your advanced degree and credential and then aiming for third tier ISs to get that first break.
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Thames Pirate
- Posts: 1150
- Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am
Re: Question from an international school math teacher
Another option is to look into leadership roles within IB--senior examiner, leading workshops--which can get you positions like HOD or DP/MYP coordinator much more quickly. Those coordinator jobs are a nice pathway as you often sit on leadership teams and can learn a lot. If you can request a training and set yourself up for being "groomed" for a specific position--CAS coordinator, for example--you are more likely to advance quickly.
Discussion
I disagree with @Thames Pirate, there are differences in IB coordinator roles. Leadership roles are defined by reports, peer deliverables, or resource budgeting and allocation. CAS coordinator isnt a leadership role its an IT role. IB/PYP/MYP/DIP coordinator can be some where between leadership and IT. It depends how much time you spend in an office and how much in a classroom. Typically, IB coordinator in a sizeable IS in a IBWS is a leadership appointment either junior or senior leadership. A PYP/MYP/DIP coordinator that manages a full teaching load with some release time or TLR isnt leadership so much as an IT with clerical duties. A coordinator role can lead and even serve as a grooming appointment for leadership but you need to have a detailed understanding of the coordinator role within the specific IS.
Re: Question from an international school math teacher
Thanks all for the quick replies. It's good to have this answer about pursuing further education, because I really don't want to invest the money if it's not worthwhile, but it sounds like it can be in the future, and I do believe I have some educational leadership courses available. I am happy to hear that my tier 2 IS will offer good opportunity to advance through turnover, this makes a lot of sense. Other roles within IB that can be good such as examiner and leading workshops are some good ideas that I've considered but haven't yet done myself.
The idea of dropping back down to a tier 3 IS, which is what I came from is something to think about. I didn't have direct opportunities to advance at that school for the two years that I was there, and I guess it was possible that something would open up, the turnover for people in those positions really wasn't very high, the math department head has no sign of leaving, and even if he did, the most qualified person under him also had no intent of leaving. The school had Chinese government affiliation which also meant that most leadership positions were held by Chinese teachers (perhaps former teachers in some cases). All in all, I think the school I'm going to may offer a good combination of a school worth staying at for many years that also values its teachers with ambition to have leadership positions and provides the opportunity for them to do so. From talking to former teachers and leadership it seems like something they try to do and are somewhat able to do due to turnover.
In any case, you all have given me a lot to think about in the upcoming years, I'll probably be able to use this advice for the next 2-3 years building myself into the best possible candidate. Thank you again.
The idea of dropping back down to a tier 3 IS, which is what I came from is something to think about. I didn't have direct opportunities to advance at that school for the two years that I was there, and I guess it was possible that something would open up, the turnover for people in those positions really wasn't very high, the math department head has no sign of leaving, and even if he did, the most qualified person under him also had no intent of leaving. The school had Chinese government affiliation which also meant that most leadership positions were held by Chinese teachers (perhaps former teachers in some cases). All in all, I think the school I'm going to may offer a good combination of a school worth staying at for many years that also values its teachers with ambition to have leadership positions and provides the opportunity for them to do so. From talking to former teachers and leadership it seems like something they try to do and are somewhat able to do due to turnover.
In any case, you all have given me a lot to think about in the upcoming years, I'll probably be able to use this advice for the next 2-3 years building myself into the best possible candidate. Thank you again.
Reply
@NoWhy
I dont think your tier 2 IS will offer much opportunity for advancement. You will lilkely be waiting a lot longer before even a vacancy in senior leadership opens up and then how do you compete with candidates with leadership experience on their resumes. Its just scale, the opportunities in tier 2 are much, much smaller than tier 3 because tier 2 is much, much smaller overall than tier 3.
I hear all the time about someone who ran something somewhat edu related like a ESOL ES and had a stronger application for moving into IE leadership because leadership in an ES or a edu charity or a head start or ASP organization is a lot more management orientated than an IT moving into leadership. Leadership tasking doesnt have a lot of transitional skills from classroom IT positions. One of the easy question when interviewing leadership candidates is too ask how they handle IT discipline and if it sounds like student discipline, thats a candidate with a very small tool bag.
Your tier 3 IS sounds more like it was split between locals and foreigners and for the foreigners the position was probably what they were going to retire out from and there wasnt anymore of a path for them to advance or grow. Third tier is pretty large, theres always movement between regions, cities, locations and better ISs even within the tier. If you want to move up quickly find a third tier IS in a hardship location and look to see who the leadership team is, if the site is poorly doesnt and leadership is a foreigner and their small, thats the ideal IS to approach if your looking to grow into a leadership roll.
I dont think your tier 2 IS will offer much opportunity for advancement. You will lilkely be waiting a lot longer before even a vacancy in senior leadership opens up and then how do you compete with candidates with leadership experience on their resumes. Its just scale, the opportunities in tier 2 are much, much smaller than tier 3 because tier 2 is much, much smaller overall than tier 3.
I hear all the time about someone who ran something somewhat edu related like a ESOL ES and had a stronger application for moving into IE leadership because leadership in an ES or a edu charity or a head start or ASP organization is a lot more management orientated than an IT moving into leadership. Leadership tasking doesnt have a lot of transitional skills from classroom IT positions. One of the easy question when interviewing leadership candidates is too ask how they handle IT discipline and if it sounds like student discipline, thats a candidate with a very small tool bag.
Your tier 3 IS sounds more like it was split between locals and foreigners and for the foreigners the position was probably what they were going to retire out from and there wasnt anymore of a path for them to advance or grow. Third tier is pretty large, theres always movement between regions, cities, locations and better ISs even within the tier. If you want to move up quickly find a third tier IS in a hardship location and look to see who the leadership team is, if the site is poorly doesnt and leadership is a foreigner and their small, thats the ideal IS to approach if your looking to grow into a leadership roll.