Building strong relationships with your campus and district administrators is one of the most important steps to running a successful music program. From improving working conditions for teachers to acquiring additional resources for students, administrators have the ability to support you and your program in countless meaningful ways. If you do not feel like you have the support you need, or if you are not sure what support looks like, start by assessing the needs of your program and formulate a plan to communicate those needs to your administration. Those needs are most easily communicated when a relationship and a level of mutual respect exists between the two of you.

Communication is key, and administrators need to hear about your successes as well as your needs.

• Let them know when you receive a grant or an award.
• Let them know when you hit an enrollment milestone for your program.
• Let them know about your competitive victories and your students’ individual accomplishments.
• Be consistent in your communication and don’t only reach out when you have a problem.
• Drop in just to say hello when you are near the front office.
• Invite them down to the music room when you know that you have an exciting lesson coming up.

You wouldn’t believe the number of heavy interactions that a campus administrator has with students, parents, and teachers all before lunch on most days. Let your interactions be a bright spot in their day, and let your classroom be the place they want to come to get away from everything else.

(Steubing Ranch Elementary Choir) with soloists (from the Churchill HS Choir)- by Jason Gatell, NEISD

Administrators within a Fine Arts Department at the district level can serve your organization in a variety of ways. They not only support teachers in maintaining programs, but they also assist campus administrators by serving as liaisons to foster collaboration with their teachers. In my role as a Fine Arts Director for a large school district, I often get questions from campus administrators about their music programs: “Why can’t we place all of these choir students in the same class period? Can you tell me more about this workshop that my teacher wants to attend? Is this expensive instrument a necessary purchase?”

Having conversations with campus administrators allows me to share important information with them about the music programs on their campus and also allows me to better understand the issues they are facing. For example, it can be really difficult for a principal to approve a professional development travel request and find a substitute teacher for your large music classes on a Friday. Moving an AP Music Theory class to a different period may benefit the band program, but can have a ripple effect in the master schedule and impact lots of other students and teachers.

Not every school is fortunate enough to have fine arts representation at the district level. Sometimes these discussions can only happen at the campus level, and it is crucial that you put yourself in a position to advocate for your program when necessary. If you have a poor relationship with an administrator, that can be a hurdle for your success. Especially for younger teachers, it might seem intimidating to be around your administrator and you may feel the need to act like someone you’re not. Be authentic and try to make sure that all of your interactions are genuine. This will make it much easier for you both to foster a trusting relationship.

Staffing

One of the most impactful ways an administrator can support a program is to ensure that it is properly staffed. In many school districts, students and parents fill out course selection forms which are counted and used to appropriately staff each campus and program based on the number of potential students enrolled. Schools are ‘allocated’ a set number of teaching positions and campus principals have the impossible task of ensuring that every content area is fully staffed and that every teacher, dean, and department head feels as if they are getting total support. Some of these decisions are made at the local/campus level and some are made using a formula at the district level.

Staffing for fine arts is different from core subject staffing. There is so much specialization within each content area and music teachers and directors have unique backgrounds and certifications. For example, most band programs try to have brass and woodwind specialists when possible. Some cluster feeder campuses share a percussion specialist when possible. It is important that campus principals understand that all music classes and music degrees are not created equal. Some districts have fine arts representation that can advocate and influence music programs from a central office, but some rely solely on their music teachers to inform their campus administrators of their needs. Every city and state is different, but it would be helpful if you gathered some data from neighboring regions and districts to show how other comparable programs are staffed. Your state music association should have resources and data you can use.

Scheduling

The strategic placement of music classes within the campus master schedule is a key component to the success of the programs and to the efficiency of the instruction. There are a number of items administrators must be aware of when building a master schedule such as classroom usage, specialized ensembles or auxiliary groups, travel times to feeder campuses, and much more. Communicating your needs early and often will give you the best opportunity to influence the placement of your classes within the daily schedule.

Along with athletics, fine arts are often the largest programs on a campus. Many counselors and administrators who are responsible for creating the master schedule will begin by placing these programs in the schedule first, then filling it in with other courses that are offered over multiple sections. I recommend suggesting this to your administration. When singleton classes and Advanced Placement courses are scheduled for the same periods as large music classes, students are forced to choose between staying in their music program or taking a class that could offer college credit or an honors multiplier to their GPA. I watched it happen every year that I taught, and I know how frustrating it can be to lose one of your best kids to a scheduling conflict, especially if the conflict could have been avoided with some prior discussion and collaboration.

(from the LEE High School Marching Band)- by Philip Flynn, NEISD

Administrators are tasked with utilizing all available teachers and staff in the most efficient way possible for their campus. That objective may not always align with your goals as the teacher of a music program. Would your program benefit if you were able to visit your feeder programs regularly within the school day? Absolutely! (Which programs and sports wouldn’t benefit from that arrangement?) Does your campus have the staff and proper coverage to allow all program directors the ability to leave campus regularly? Probably not.

I had a great assistant principal who would schedule each of the large program directors to come in for about an hour the first week of the summer while the administration was still on contract. They were hard at work wrapping up the current school year and planning for the next one. We were each allowed to share our “dream sheet” with ideal class placements and could sit down with the administration to work through conflicts in real time if the schedule did not allow for a certain placement. By building relationships with your campus administrators you can advocate to have a “seat at the table” when these scheduling discussions occur.

If you are invited into that type of planning session, ask questions about the process and listen more than you speak. Find out what your administration views as the priorities within the master schedule, and what they believe the roadblocks are. Share your knowledge about your own program and be willing to compromise when necessary. In my experience, your flexibility and understanding may be rewarded down the line

Rehearsals

Rehearsal time is arguably the most important resource to a successful program. This time allows our groups to learn the skills that are necessary to make music and to perform at a high level. You may have to find a way to communicate the importance of rehearsal time and even your rehearsal space to your administrators throughout the year. If they have never been invited to a winter guard rehearsal or performance, it would be really tough for an administrator to advocate for that group to have rehearsal time in the gym when all of the winter sports are campaigning for more time in that space.

Collaboration

Collaboration and mutual respect between directors and coaches across the campus are crucial to the success of your programs. Teachers are often able to work together to share students and spaces, but occasionally they may need the help of an administrator to step in and mediate a disagreement. When you have two passionate teachers who both feel strongly about the importance of their program, sometimes conflict is inevitable. If you find yourself in a situation that requires administrative support, be sure that you arm your administrator with everything they need to make a fair decision by sharing your handbook, calendars, weekly emails, and other important communication.

Performances

If you have an expectation that an administrator will be present at one of your performances, then it is important that you are deliberate in sharing your dates with them. If simply sharing a calendar isn’t giving you the results you desire, then find other ways to get them involved. Ask them to narrate one of your selections, hand out the award at the end of the performance, or sit in on a performance if they have even the slightest musical background. Even if you don’t get a chance to speak to them at the event, simply acknowledging them on the mic at the start of the performance and asking your students and audience to thank them for attending will go a long way in encouraging that administrator to visit again soon.

For years, my program hosted the regional round of our state’s concert band festival on our campus during the school day. I would share the schedule with our administrators early in the spring and then get frustrated when not a single administrator would make their way down to the auditorium to watch our performance. It was the most important thing to me and my students that semester, but as I look back, how did I expect my administrators to know that?

I began sharing a more detailed schedule the week of the performance. I outlined exactly when and where on campus we would warm up and perform, and I listed exactly how long our performance would take, so they could plan to join us in the auditorium and arrange coverage if it meant they were missing one of their many campus duties. I also started bringing the trophy up to the front office after the contest so the entire administration and front office staff saw that it was important to our program. A few simple changes on my end led to a much better feeling during that stressful part of the year.

(Vineyard Ranch Elementary Folklorico Dancers) – by Jason Gatell, NEISD

Closing Thoughts

It is important to know that some administrators are not inherently understanding of our programs. While music teachers may appreciate the importance of these programs, some campus leaders may subscribe to an outdated philosophy that fine arts and other elective classes simply serve as a place for students to go while core content teachers have their conference period. When you acknowledge that not everyone may share the same passion for your program, it may be easier to talk with your administrator about your goals and priorities and meet them where they are, rather than assuming you are both starting on the same page.

Like you with your program, your administrators are trying their best to make decisions for their campus and their district while also trying to please students, teachers, parents, and stakeholders. It is important for teachers to have the ability to zoom out and occasionally view a problem from 50,000 feet. Just as the best music teachers do, administrators wear many hats. They are expected to be the campus experts in core content, master scheduling, hiring, state policies, special education, human resources, and so much more. It is sometimes easy to forget that your administrators were also teachers, directors, counselors, or coaches not long ago.

Your relationship with your administrator is one of the most important relationships for you to develop if you want to be in the best position to serve your students and your program. In my experience, the vast majority of administrators are eager to learn more about the programs they serve. Remember that you both share the same common goal of providing great experiences for children. You and your administrators have much more in common than you may realize. Much like a savings account, when you are deliberate about paying into the relationship with your administrator it is easier to make a withdrawal when you need their support.