Gina,
I am in a similar situation. Here's what worked for me.
I went to the principal and stated how glad I am to be at this school and
how
excited I am about developing a strong, quality art program for them. He
responded that they were
glad to have me and that he too was looking forward to the development of
the program.
I then confided that I had had a number of requests to do projects outside
the scope of my
curriculum. I stated that I felt that it would seriously hamper my
attempts to
develop a quality program if I took time out to do all such requests. I
stated that I very much do desire to
be a team player and want to be helpful when possible but I needed his help.
When he asked how?
I asked if I could use this statement. "I would love to be able to comply
with your request but Mr.
_________ is taking the art dept. in a new direction and has requested that
I strictly follow an art curriculum that he has approved for our students.
He stated that he thought this was a great idea and I was welcome to use
this statement anytime.
Would your principal help you out in a similar way?
Sometimes at the end of the email, in a further attempt to be conciliatory I
will offer to give artistic advice if it would be helpful to the group or
teacher. I specify that I am available for this on my planning period or
after school ( I don't want them interrupting my classes).
So far it has worked for me......
Cindy in a new school too
