During my first year leading our new pilot school, I got a call from my HR representative about staffing. A teacher from the district's displacement list was being assigned to us, despite our autonomy to select our own team.
"Sir, with all due respect, our MOU (memorandum of understanding) clearly states we're exempt from these forced placements," I said.
"Well, Mr. Navarro, things have changed. The budget crisis, the layoffs... we have to place these teachers somewhere," he replied.
That night, I sat in my office until 8 PM, lights off to save on electricity, wrestling with what this meant for our school. We'd built our foundation on shared values and commitments. How could I integrate someone who hadn't chosen to be part of our vision?
This was my introduction to what I call "providing cover fire" — that delicate balance of pushing back against district mandates while supporting teachers who are in the trenches with students. No leadership book had prepared me for being squeezed from both sides, fighting for autonomy from above while creating the conditions for success below.
Standing Between Two Worlds
I remember the first time I had to go to bat for a teacher. Kenny was this guy with real teaching talent, but he struggled with classroom management. The district supervisor observed him on a particularly rough day and was pushing me hard: "Write him up. Start the process."
What the supervisor didn't see was how Kenny stayed after school tutoring kids who needed extra help. He didn't see how Kenny had transformed our science fair or how passionate he was about his subject.
"Look," I told my supervisor, "I'm not in the business of destroying teams. I'm in the business of building them. Give me time to coach him."
I spent the next month co-teaching with Kenny once a week. His classroom management improved dramatically. The supervisor grudgingly backed off. Kenny ended up becoming one of our strongest teachers — but it could have gone very differently if I'd just followed protocol.
My assistant principal just got it. “You take the heat from the district, so we can focus on the students,” he'd say. That's what good principals do — create a buffer between district demands and classroom realities. When teachers aren't constantly worried about compliance, they can put their energy where it belongs.
Systematizing School Values
You can talk about values all day long, but if they don't translate into systems, they're just pretty words on the wall. During our second year, we realized we needed to make our values operational. I found myself telling new teachers, "We don't do that here," when they tried to kick a kid out without a conversation. These informal expectations needed to become something more concrete.
So we created our value statements collaboratively. Not generic platitudes, but specific commitments: We believe in separating the doer from the deed. We believe students don't care what you know until they know that you care. We believe in second chances.
But the real power came when we built systems around these values. For instance, our meeting schedule reflected our priorities. Once a month, we'd meet vertically as subject departments (all English teachers together, all math teachers together). But three times a month, we'd meet horizontally as grade-level teams.
I explained to my staff, "Kids don't need support year to year vertically. They need support throughout the day, horizontally." If Eliza's parents are going through a divorce and she comes to school crying, I don't need to tell her next year teacher. I need to tell her second period teacher: "Hey, she's having a rough day today."
Some teachers pushed back at first — they were used to vertical department time. But soon they saw how this system allowed us to support the whole child in real time. English teachers still got what they needed from other English teachers once a month, but students got what they needed every day.
Understanding What Teachers Need
We were fortunate to have a brilliant science teacher with three credentials — physics, biology, and chemistry. But she was constantly in my office, stressed about something and on the verge of quitting. She led professional development and had great systems in her classroom. But whenever a student didn't conform to her expectations, she'd tailspin.
During a particularly rough patch, the staff took the workplace language of appreciation survey so we could understand each other better. When I saw the science teacher's results, it clicked: quality time was her language. She needed to be seen and heard. So I scheduled 20 minutes every other week during her conference period — just to check in, no agenda. The transformation was immediate. All those trips to my office stopped. She just needed someone to listen.
Ron, a teacher who once told me, "I never hated teachers until I became one," was the same way. Quality time was his language, too. If I didn't make time for him, he'd struggle. If I did, he was at his best. Just like we understand that a hungry kid can't learn calculus, I recognized that teachers who don't feel valued can't teach effectively.
Finding Where Interests Converge
Despite our challenges, our school maintained high academic standards and strong graduation rates because we found where everyone's interests converged. That's the key right there — interest convergence.
The district needed good metrics — we delivered those. In return, we got more freedom to innovate. Teachers needed support and respect — they got that from me. In return, they gave their best to students. Students needed adults who were aligned and focused. They got that from all of us.
It wasn't luck or magic. I positioned myself strategically between district demands and teacher needs, providing cover fire in both directions. That's what principals do when they're effective. We own this space between district and classroom and become translators between district-speak and teacher-speak.
I remember watching one of my newer teachers handle a difficult student situation with extraordinary patience. Afterward, I asked her, "How did you stay so calm?" She smiled and said, "Because I know you have my back with administration, I can do what's right for that student instead of trying to protect myself."
That's the whole point. When teachers know you're providing cover fire, they can advance toward what really matters: helping kids learn and grow.
Leading From the Middle
As a principal, you can't shield your team from every mandate. But you can position yourself as a buffer and translator. And here's what's beautiful — when you provide that cover fire for your teachers, they start providing it for you, too. It becomes this mutual protection pact where everyone's looking out for each other.
My teachers would step up for me when district issues came up. I'd be there for them when they faced tough parent situations. We had each other's backs because we were all clear on our shared mission. That's how you build a real team. When people can work toward self-actualization — becoming their best selves — they naturally lift those around them.
Being a principal can feel lonely, but it doesn't have to be. Your teachers need you to speak up. Your students need you to stand firm. And you need your teachers to be in the trenches with you, fighting the good fight. That's how this works — it's never just you alone.
Find that balance and that mutual trust, and teachers stay in the profession longer. Students thrive in a supportive environment. And you rediscover why you took this impossible job in the first place: because when it works, there's nothing more rewarding than seeing an entire school community rally around a shared vision.
Ready to Lead Differently?
As a coach and consultant, I help education leaders clarify their values, build effective systems, and navigate the complex demands of school leadership. Whether you need a keynote speaker to inspire your staff, leadership coaching to strengthen your approach, or hands-on consultation to implement proven systems, I can help.
Let's talk about how to provide better cover fire for your teachers so they can focus on what matters most — your students. Connect with me to discuss speaking engagements, leadership coaching, or school transformation consulting.
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