Leading From the Middle: Lessons From the Classroom to Administration

Leadership doesn’t always begin with a promotion or a carefully planned career move. Sometimes, it begins when you are asked, midyear, to step forward, shift roles, and lead in unfamiliar ways.

Last year, I began the school year as a 7th grade math teacher, focused on lesson plans, student growth, and classroom routines. Halfway through the year, I was called to step into a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) role to support the administrative team at a public Title I middle school. This semester, I returned to the TOSA role no longer new to leadership, but grounded in the experience of having worked on both sides of the work.

That transition from classroom teacher to TOSA and back again gave me a front-row seat to the realities of school culture, trust, and the kind of leadership required to truly move a school forward.

Seeing the School Through Two Lenses

Moving between the classroom and administration reshaped how I view leadership. As a teacher, my focus was centered on my students and instruction. As a TOSA, my focus widened to include the entire campus to include attendance, behavior systems, communication, and staff morale. Holding both perspectives has been invaluable.

What became clear in both roles was this: no initiative, strategy, or policy can succeed without a healthy school culture.

Walking Into a Culture That Needed Repair

When I stepped into the TOSA role last year, I encountered a school environment marked by frustration, fatigue, and broken trust. The negativity was not rooted in a lack of dedication or talent, but in long-standing miscommunication and a sense that voices had gone unheard. Students felt it. The staff felt it. Families felt it.

Returning to this role this semester, I knew that sustainable change would not come from quick fixes, but rather it would come from rebuilding relationships.

Relationship-Building as the Foundation

As a TOSA, I do not lead from authority, I lead through connection. I made a deliberate effort to be visible, accessible, and present. I listened without judgment, validated concerns, and worked to ensure teachers felt supported rather than scrutinized. Students needed consistency and respect. Families needed reassurance that the school was committed to their children’s success.

Relationships create the conditions for growth. Without them, even the best plans fall short.

Cultivating Trust Through Action

Trust is not built through words alone. It is built through consistency. Following through on commitments, communicating transparently, and showing up when it mattered most helped rebuild credibility. I worked intentionally to model the behaviors we expect across campus: calm problem-solving, respectful communication, and a student-centered approach.

Leading by example became essential. When leadership holds itself accountable and responds with empathy, trust begins to take root.

Shifting From Toxicity to Positivity

Culture change is slow, intentional work. It does not happen overnight or through a single initiative. Over time, small but meaningful shifts began to appear. Conversations became more collaborative. Expectations grew clearer. Students responded positively to consistency and care. Staff began to reengage with a renewed sense of purpose and shared responsibility.

Returning to the TOSA role this semester reinforced a powerful truth: culture changes when people feel valued, heard, and supported.

Moving Forward With Purpose

Serving as a TOSA in a public Title I middle school has deepened my belief that leadership is rooted in service, presence, and partnership. Having experienced both the classroom and administrative roles, I am committed to bridging those perspectives: advocating for teachers, supporting students, and helping cultivate a culture grounded in trust, respect, and positivity.

Leadership lives where people feel seen, valued, and supported.