School & District Administrative Support of Arts Programs

Guest Post by PSAE Board Member:
Bradley Wingate
Director of Visual & Performing Arts
Greenville County School District

We all know that it takes a village to develop and sustain a successful arts program.  That includes having a highly motivated and competent teacher at the helm, student buy-in, support from parents, support from the community and support from school and district administration.  If any one of these components is lacking or missing it is likely that achieving success, whatever that might be defined as, will be hard to come by.  In our blog today we are going to take a look at support from school and district administration – what it looks like, is it given or earned, developing professional relationships and how to handle situations where you might not feel supported.  

What is Administrative Support?

School and district administrative support for arts programs is going to look different from district to district, school to school, program to program and teacher to teacher depending on the scenario and a million different variables.  That means there is not just one clear cut answer.  What one district or school can do to support teachers might or might not be possible in other places.  However, here are universal supports that can be provided by school and district administration, in my opinion.

• Be visible – visit classrooms, rehearsals and attend performances.
• Be available to meet if needed.
• Provide financial support.
• Be willing to listen with an open mind – even if you can’t fix the problem.
• Advocate for arts programs at the local, state and national level when appropriate.
• Provide honest feedback to teachers that articulates your expectations.
• Provide adequate facilities and supplies.
• Work to ensure the arts are scheduled with fidelity.
• Provide access to content specific professional development to teachers.
• Protect instructional time.
• Respond to emails, phone calls or conversations in a timely manner.
• Be a cheerleader for arts programs – celebrate successes and be encouraging.
• In difficult situations always have your teacher’s back if they are right and help them understand and navigate situations if they made a mistake. 
• Be open to expanding arts programs.
• Have extremely high expectations of your teachers and the quality of their programs.
• Ensure the highest quality personnel is hired to teach your arts programs.
• Be consistent in all things you do.
• Provide explicitly clear communication.
• Ensure that each school has a cohesive master calendar that does not allow for overlapping, conflicting events where students and parents must choose.
• Treat all teachers with respect – even in difficult situations.
• Make equitable decisions.
• Be 100% Professional, 100% of the Time.

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Is it possible for every administrator to provide all of these supports to all teachers every single day? Of course not.  However, it is a great place to start and a good way to do some self-reflection as an administrator to see if you are providing support to arts programs in the way it’s needed the most. 

Is School and District Administrative Support Given or Earned?

The answer is very simple.  BOTH!  Some of the supports listed above are simple and come very natural to administrators.  However, many of the supports listed above only come with trust.  Trust is built when teachers demonstrate over time that he or she is highly competent, dependable and a team player.  Remember, actions speak much louder than words.  If you want a high level of trust and support from administration you’ve got to be sure you are 100% professional, 100% of the time too.  Be on time, be organized and always be willing to be a team player.  That means that you are willing to work with others outside of your arts area and do whatever is needed to be done.  One last thing that will help you earn the trust of administration is to be FLEXIBLE.  That can sometimes be hard for arts teachers but your flexibility helps the administration carryout initiatives that are important to them.  Your willingness to help and your flexibility will make you a valuable team player.  In the long run that builds credibility and trust and as a result you will feel valued and supported by school and district administration at a higher level.    

What Kind of Relationship Do You Have With Your Administration?

​Get to know your school and district administration.  Communicate with them on a regular basis about all of the great things going on in your program.  They should hear from you, know you and know your program long before a problem comes up.  Watch this great video to hear more about this from a teacher’s perspective. 

What Can You Do If You Feel That You or Your Program is Not Supported by School and District Administration? 

This is not a concrete list and I’m sure all of you could come up with just as many if not more suggestions.  However, here are my thoughts on what you can do if you feel that you or your program is not supported by school and district administration.

1. Always work hard and do your personal best, no matter what! Often your work speaks for itself and even though the administration might not shout it from the rooftops they really are very proud of what you and the students are accomplishing.  
2. Always communicate in a kind and professional manner.  Be able to clearly communicate your vision and what is needed.  Do your very best to leave emotion out of professional conversations.  Understand that Rome was not built in a day and it is most likely going to take time to achieve all of the great plans you have in place.  Work together with your administration to achieve those plans and be open to achieving the goals they have in mind too.   
3. Find ways to positively interact with your administration.  This will go a long way in building a two-way reciprocal professional relationship. 
4. Know where your program is at the moment in terms of achievement and develop a clear plan of where you want to take them over the next several years.  Have a good understanding of what is needed in terms of financial and administrative support.  Share the vision and what you will need with your administration (via email) and ask if you can meet so you can discuss what their vision is for the program.  In the meeting have an open, honest discussion where you find common ground and hash through things that might be in conflict.  Then get to work towards meeting those common goals.  Be sure to communicate with your administration as you meet the goals.       
5. Ask for ongoing honest feedback in terms of teaching and learning, the development of your program and any other input your administration might feel is important for growth and expansion.  However, you must but be prepared for the sometimes raw truth.  Even the strongest of strong teachers has room for growth and improvement.  Don’t take their feedback as a personal attack – view it as a learning opportunity for you, your students and the well-being of your program.  
6. Take the time to educate administration about what achievement looks like in your arts world – don’t assume they know.  Be knowledgeable about local, state and national measurements of arts programs and regularly compare your program.  Be sure to share that information and how you stack up with your school administration.  They love to see growth and improvement.  
7. Understand that sometimes things works out in your favor and sometimes they don’t when it comes to the support you expect from school and district administration.  Keep a good attitude, keep working hard to ensure the success of your students and eventually everything will fall into place. 
8. Understand that you are a piece of the pie – not the whole pie when it comes to the school environment.  Work to be viewed as a team player who is willing to work for the greater good of the school while you are building your own program.  Volunteer to work on committees, volunteer to cover classes during planning if needed, volunteer to do the things that no one else wants to do.  This will pay huge dividends in the long run.  It will give you a much more global perspective of the school environment outside of your program. 
9. Take every opportunity to showcase achievements your students have earned – big and small.  This will build a reputation of excellence for your program outside of the 4 walls of your classroom, it will boost student morale and will create a since of identity for your program in the community.  This helps administration tangibly see the fruits of what you are providing for students and makes it easier to support you.   
10. Understand that administrators really do want strong programs.  Sometimes they need your help in understanding what strong arts programs look like.  Have open and honest conversations with your school administration.