Mental Health Awareness Month
April 16, 2019
Suicide Prevention in Schools
August 28, 2019
By the end of last year, you should have made a list of improvements to address for the following year. This can be anything from addressing concerns from faculty and parents to focusing on new school programs. However, you may have forgotten to reflect on your own personal development.
To kick off the school year right, we’ve placed together a list of things all school and district leaders should stop doing.
To kick off the school year right, we’ve placed together a list of things all school and district leaders should stop doing.
1| Setting a Meeting Without Details
Have you ever called staff to your office without an explanation? This may seem harmless or trivial to you, but the person you’ve asked to come to your office without further details will become anxious the moment they receive the notice. Their minds will begin to swirl with possibilities of what the meeting is about. In most cases, people will overthink.Next time you send a meeting notice, include what you’d like to discuss with your staff. Clarity will help your staff come prepared to the meeting.
2| Playing the Blame Game
The old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” isn’t too far off from reality. It takes the entire school community—parents, teachers, staff, and administrators—to create a healthy and safe environment for students. Blaming teachers or parents for issues or conflicts is unnecessary. It is a partnership between the entire school community to help support student learning.3| Unnecessary Meetings
Holding faculty meetings for the sake of holding them is useless. Unless you have a specific purpose to bring your entire team together, consider passing on the meeting. Show teachers that you value their time.4| Not Sharing School Stories
You should be sharing your school’s stories. Telling meaningful stories isn’t just a tool or device you should use once in a while; it’s essential to communicate with the community. Proudly share all the awesome things happening in newsletters, local papers, social media, and more.Gather stories from staff or parents by asking questions like:
- “Tell me about a rewarding experience for a student in one of your latest classroom projects.”
- “Tell me about a specific event that helped you make your decision to work at this school?”
- “Have you ever received exceptional mentoring that felt truly memorable?”
- “Describe a time when you saw one of our school’s values in action.”
5| Lack of Family Involvement
Stop involving families only for special events. Create a school climate that supports family involvement by inviting parents to participate in discussions, school decisions, and student learning.Visit Education World’s article to learn more about Promoting Parent Involvement.
6| Professional Development as an Afterthought
Teachers need to have the opportunity to learn throughout the school year. Professional development can be anything from workshops and conferences to professional development led by colleagues.Professional development should also be available to school leaders like yourself. School leaders should be encouraged to go to conferences, EdCamps, take courses, watch webinars and so on. It’s important to stay current in the industry to bring what you learn to those you lead.
7| Ignoring School Relationships
Relationships influence everything that happens in a school. Your school needs to build a positive and healthy relationship with parents and families, local business owners, and other schools. Be sure to acknowledge the community around you to cultivate relations of trust, respect, and common vision!
