SMILING SABOTAGE: THE HIDDEN COST OF PROTECTED TEACHING

I was hired by the superintendent to turn around a low-performing school. The vision was clear. The strategy was tight. And slowly, we began to climb. Our SPED students were on track. Our struggling readers were making gains. The instructional culture was shifting.

But one teacher teaching a core subject wasn’t moving her students. Not because they weren’t capable. Not because they didn’t have support. But because she was teaching on the surface. And her students, many of whom were already on grade level, were now plateauing when they should have been pulling the campus up to an A.

 In our 1:1 conference, we looked at the data together. We agreed on the students who needed to move. She nodded. She said yes.

But later, I learned she disliked teaching writing.So I didn’t complain. I created a writing course and invited her and several others to join. I modeled instruction. My assistant and I co-taught. I brought in outside support. When she was supported, her teaching improved. But when left on her own, it collapsed.

She smiled through observations, but behind the scenes, she spread rumors. She sabotaged the support. The new writing specialist became her target not her partner.Her behavior was quiet but corrosive. Passive-aggressive. And the results? Predictable.We didn’t make the gains we needed. 📉 We missed the A.

She asked for a transfer. The damage was done.

 I spoke with the superintendent and HR. They told me to document. They knew her. They went to church with her. The subtext was clear: « Handle it quietly. »So I documented. And I taught. And I watched.I watched a teacher protect her comfort. I watched leadership protect her image. I watched students pay the price—even the ones performing above grade level.

She said yes in meetings. But when it was time to teach students to think, she had nothing left to give.By the time it was visible to everyone else? It was too late.

« She said yes in meetings—but couldn’t say anything when it was time to think. » Dr. Gwendolyn Battle Lavert

 If you’re a principal reading this: ask yourself—

Are you protecting relationships… or producing results?Are you documenting loyalty… or delivering growth?

Because in every school, someone is smiling while students stay stuck—even the high performers.And silence is not leadership. Real leadership doesn’t look away. It intervenes. It supports. And when necessary—it acts.

Principals, your power isn’t just in policies. It’s in who you protect. The system may ask you to keep things calm. But students deserve better than calm. They deserve truth. They deserve courage. They deserve leaders who move systems, not just manage them.

The next time a teacher says yes, look deeper. The future of your school might depend on it.

 A Word on Grace and Guardrails

Some will say: “But people deserve another chance.” And they’re right. We should offer support. We must offer coaching. We can believe in growth.

But when that grace becomes a shield that delays accountability— When the system is more patient with adults than urgent for children— We’ve stopped leading. We’ve started protecting the wrong thing.

Giving another chance should not mean giving up another child.

Leaders must know when grace runs out. When second chances become cycles. When “handle it quietly” becomes “ignore it permanently.”

Real systems give chances and draw lines. Not out of punishment. But out of love—for students who can’t afford another year of “almost.”

Dr. Gwendolyn Lavert, PhD

Cognitive Literacy Strategist

Early Literacy & Numeracy Expert  Selected Bibliography

21 juin 2025

Leithwood, K., Seashore Louis, K., Anderson, S., & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). How Leadership Influences Student Learning. Wallace Foundation.

Grissom, J. A., Loeb, S., & Master, B. (2013). Effective Instructional Time Use for School Leaders. Educational Researcher.

Knight, J. (2007). Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction. Corwin Press.

TNTP. (2018). The Opportunity Myth. https://tntp.org/publications/view/student-experience/the-opportunity-myth

Elmore, R. F. (2000). Building a New Structure for School Leadership.

Bryk, A. S., Gomez, L. M., Grunow, A., & LeMahieu, P. G. (2015). Learning to Improve: How America’s Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better.

Reeves, D. B. (2004). Accountability for Learning: How Teachers and School Leaders Can Take Charge. ASCD.