School Community Leadership

It is the role of every school leader to provide an environment for education and learning to happen inside the classroom. He/she must embrace the responsibility of guiding and imparting the proper amount of skills and programs necessary for growth and sustainability. Seeing this complex and difficult relationship, school community leaders must strive towards achieving the overall goals of educational institutions. In the end, school community leadership is the way a principal or head balances the challenges of the school and community to provide changes for the better by possessing the skills and traits to do so. Looking at the concept, school community leadership can be defined to be a process wherein the principal addresses the issues surrounding both school and the community. â€Å"In a nutshell, school community leadership concentrates on the things a principal should do to develop and nurture culture, climate and vision of the school that is supportive of all stakeholders and helps them succeed† (Wilmore, 2003, p. 12). Looking at the definition, it is first to implore on the community and how it affects the way decisions and programs are made. By doing this, readers can better comprehend the importance of such trait towards growth and sustenance The concept of community is an important definition to tackle when dealing with the idea of school community leadership. One important facet is that the community continues to shape and develop various school issues. Since schools are part and partial components of a community, leaders must create a striking balance towards partnership and harmonization of both experience and practice (Glanz, 2006). By fostering such relationship, educators can devise models and plans to synchronize the goals and objectives of both the community and school towards students. Another important concept to consider is the relevance of leadership towards educational development. It can be argued that there are various leadership styles that can be used and applied towards the achievement of the goal, however due to this; the concept becomes elusive in nature. This can be contended because though there have been numerous improvements in the literature surrounding leadership models, â€Å"contemporary theories of leadership represent authoritative opinion that is not supported by scholarly research† (Spry and Graham, 2006, p. ). Due to this, the challenge of educational leaders is to find the appropriate style suited for both the community and the learning environment of students. There are several important traits a school community leader must possess. These include (1) effective communication, (2) openness to change and improvements, and (3) participation. Communication is vital in the process of harmonization and practices because it enables process es to be effective and efficient. Without communication, there shall be disparities between what is being taught and practiced which could later spell troubles and difficulties. On the other hand, openness to developments is also another trait a leader must posses in this field. Realizing the constant diversity and continuing changes in the environment, educational leaders must be adaptive to these changes so as to foster continued sustenance and growth (Spry and Graham, 2006). By doing this, they can make the overall system dynamic and susceptible towards change. Lastly, participation is another vital process to consider as it provides avenues for improvement and change. This process of partaking with both the community and school can help put into practice the needs of both parties. To conclude, the challenge remains for educational leaders to promote school community leadership. By realizing the importance of such attribute to both students and society and by applying the necessary traits and skills, only then can the process of sustenance and growth can be achieved by both parties.