Chefs and School Leaders

When I tell people that I’m a school principal, they often comment on the fact that I’m so young (even if turning 30 brought me to the first “you’re getting (relatively) old” milestone). Of course, my age is pretty normal for school leaders in the high performing charter world of KIPP, Mastery, Uncommon, and Achievement First, but pretty abnormal when compared to principals in traditional district schools. I got to thinking about other jobs where relatively young people often have a great deal of responsibility. Some situations sort of fit, like sports coaches, where head coaches are routinely in their mid-30s, but coaches are also routinely much older and the youth of coaches is still noteworthy when they are first hired, Jon Gruden being a good example. Since I’m a foodie and love reading about chefs (our first reading in PD each year is an article on David Chang from the New Yorker), my mind turned to the comparison of being a chef at a top restaurant. Most chefs are in their late 20s or early 30s when they first hit it big and become noticed as a major talent. Thomas Keller was 32 when he first received glowing reviews and ran a successful kitchen. Mario Batali was 33. Daniel Boulud was 31. Emeril Lagasse was only 23. Morimoto was 25. Here in Philadelphia, Jose Garces was 31 and Marc Vetri was 30 when they first rose to prominence.

Running a kitchen is a job for a young person. The hours are back-breaking, the job is physically demanding and the stress is high. Chefs normally work at least 6 days a week, often starting their day as early as 9 or 10am and not ending service until midnight or later. Kitchens are hot, pots are heavy, and knives are sharp. One bad dish to a restaurant critic or influential diner and your reputation may never recover. Not to mention the constant competition from other restaurants and the slim profit margins. Being the school leader of a growing charter school is not too different. 80 hour weeks are pretty normal. Every decision can lead to angry parents or frustrated staff. Test scores, financial audits, and the livelihood of your students are weighing on your mind. Even when things are going well, you’re very aware that one staff illness or one parent complaint can quickly make your life incredibly difficult.

The similarities continue. Both jobs don’t have sick days and have an ethos of “come in to work unless you are literally dying”. Top chefs are perfectionists, constantly striving to make even the most successful dish just a little better. Great principals are always looking how to improve a procedure or structure just little bit more. Both jobs require the ability to interact successfully with a wide range of constituents. School leaders at charter schools need to be able to handle budgets, buses, plumbing issues, and 100 other duties, - while keeping focused on kids and student outcomes. Chefs have to coordinate with food vendors, hire staff, go on TV to do promotion – while keeping focused on the food since a restaurant is only judged by the most recent plate that leaves the pass. Chefs earn their reputation by being rock star line cooks and they are expected to be able to jump into any station on the line and fillet a fish or grill a steak better than anyone in the kitchen. In the same way, great school leaders get the job because they have been great teachers. They need to be able to walk into any classroom and command the respect of every single student and teach any lesson just as well as the best teacher on staff.

And just like many successful chefs are pulled to start new locations of their restaurants, be a judge on Top Chef, or hand the day-to-day cooking off to a younger sous-chef, successful school leaders are often pulled into new roles as Executive Directors or Chief Academic Officers or take on roles for city or state education departments. The challenge for charter schools across the country, as well as our region in Philadelphia is figuring out how to keep our school leaders in the proverbial “kitchen” longer and/or find enough talented sous-chefs to step up as we grow from 4 schools to 10 over the next few years. And not just to grow, but to get better as we grow. In some future post, we’ll revisit what chefs might have to teach us about this topic…