Being a School Principal

By David Shavit,
Rechovot Campus

2010 was the third year that Orot Israel College Israel offered an educational management training course for future school principals at the Moreshet Yaacov Campus in Rehovot, and the second year at the Elkana Campus. The following are excerpts from the speakers at the Orot Israel College Rehovot Campus 2010 graduation ceremony.

"He who is all kindness risks anarchy
He who is all wisdom risks skepticism
He who is all faith risks extremism
One needs kindness, wisdom and faith." (Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa)
- This is the essence of being a school principal.

Orot's Educational Management training course prepares a cadre of candidates for elementary and secondary school principal positions for the near and distant future. 64 men and women are presently studying in this course.
When we started planning the course curriculum, we started with three basic assumptions, following developing trends in the education system:
• The school principal, as the central figure leading an educational institution, must possess the image of a professional educator.
• The job of a school principal is very complex and requires extensive knowledge of management and leadership skills, as well as an ability to initiate and lead change as the head of the staff.
• The school principal must be an educational leader with a clear educational-ethical philosophy, and must possess the ability to design and implement complex educational processes.

The course exposes students to the theory of educational management so that they are ready to deal with the real world – actual management. The course continuously stresses the connection between theory and practice by exposing the students to actual situations that school principals must address. Students meet with experienced teachers, leading school principals, senior figures in the education system, and more.
Students devote many hours to practical field work. In the first year students visit schools and meet with seasoned principals, observing and learning according to a pre-designed curriculum. In the second year the students' field work experience involves leading a task independently under professional supervision, as assigned in conjunction with the school principal.
As a result of the two-year course of study, our graduates have come to use a different lexicon when discussing education, fully incorporating prominent concepts from the fields of education and management. Students experienced a personal transformation as well, from an apprehension of management and leadership to an eagerness to take responsibility and be on the cutting edge of Israel's educational system. Many of our graduates already serve as school principals and still maintain contact with the college.
We expect that studies in a religious educational college like Orot Israel will help the students formulate a worldview based on faith, and help them develop a personal and educational identity on both a theoretical and practical level. We expect our students to develop as professionals and leaders who know how to listen to and involve others, while leading them to create an educational environment with a creative vision. We expect our graduates to know how to inspire their colleagues to take responsibility for the implementation and results of their school's curriculum development.
We pray that this task that the college has taken upon itself, to prepare Israel's next generation of educational leadership, will serve as a catalyst for the enhancement of the entire educational system in the years to come.