Dear Applicant: Thank you for your interest in becoming a teacher in our school. As you know, our school district is faced with some significant challenges in responding to the needs of students in the 21st century marketplace, but we are proud of our school’s achievements in recent years in these areas. Some of the components of the positive student-centered school culture that we promote include teacher accountability, individualized instruction wherever possible and an environment that is conducive to learning. Of course, all members of the school district share in promoting this culture, but the process begins at the top and it is the responsibility of educational leaders at all levels – including classroom teachers – to contribute to this student-centered school culture.

To this end, some of the functions, activities and leadership behaviors that shape our school’s culture include providing young learners with a “transformative intellectual experience” because when we put students front and center, remarkable things happen” (Chan & Main, 2012, p. 76). In addition, we have implemented uniform school policies concerning grading, assessment, tutoring and communications with parents, all of which place the interests of our students foremost (McLester, 2012). Moreover, we encourage all...

Finally, it is essential for educational leaders to “model the way” for their students and peers alike. In other words, it is far more effective to tell others to, “Follow me!” than it is to tell them to “Charge!” By serving as role models for our students and other teachers, we can set a high learning standard where expectations are known and the coursework is challenging but appropriate.
While circumstances change depending on students’ unique needs and the exigencies of the day, some ways that these functions, activities and leadership behaviors can be executed to support the school’s mission and vision to provide the best quality education for our students possible to prepare them for the rigors of later life include taking the initiative…