Where should leadership reside?

The program I teach is facing a large increase in the number of students for the upcoming school year, yet our staff remains the same. Our principal is advocating for an increase in staff but we are not sure if this will come to fruition. I am never afraid to put in the work, so the numbers do not overwhelm me, rather the thought that serving this large number of children is not what is best for students nor the general education teachers who support our program. With that being said, I began to wonder....if the employees at the county office were housed at local schools instead of at a separate location, might they better understand the needs of the local schools? If they were to see 9 children with special needs including behavioral concerns in a class of 25 due to lack of personnel on a weekly basis, might they reassess their decisions?
As I was contemplating where I would like to land as an administrator, I knew I did not want to be away from the kids- they are, after all, why we all entered the field of education. It has been my experience that once a leader leaves the local school building, a disconnect often occurs and the needs of the local school is sometimes overlooked due to policy and procedures which could impact students for the worse. I know this is not always true, and many county level leaders are still very in tune with the needs of the local school but I think it is easy to lose sight of the kiddos, teacher and community needs when you don't see them on a daily basis. This led me to a thought....what if instead of county level officials being housed in a separate building, their offices were located in local schools. Or, what if they had offices in local schools where they were required to work from 2 or 3 days per week to keep them better aligned with local school needs and realities?
Recently in Gwinnett, our Superintendent addressed this concern of a disconnect and required everyone at the county office to substitute in a school once per semester. While I applaud this as it is a step in the right direction, it does not allow people to truly see what occurs on a daily basis.  I think we must reassess the connection between the county and local school level and find a creative way to ensure that leaders at the county level are connected, have ownership and are familiar with the schools they are charged with assisting in leading.
Do you see this disconnect within your county? If so, has there been any innovative ways in which it has been addressed?

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