Communication in the school setting is vital for the success of the school. We currently have a weekly staff newsletter that comes out. This helps us stay connected, but I think the newsletter could be enhanced. It would be helpful if the newsletter included days when staff members had scheduled the day to be out. This would help all staff members to keep an extra eye out to help the substitute, if needed. One of my former principals would include this in the weekly staff news and this was incredibly beneficial to keep everything running smoothly. I would also like to see the perspective student tours mentioned in our newsletter. This allows everyone to know that we have unfamiliar people in the building.
Our current principal does break it down for the individual days so that we know what is happening each day, if there is a change. She will also add upcoming events, like which groups have field trips scheduled. One of the biggest downfalls of the newsletter, is that several of the staff do not read it. You can tell they did not read it when several of us have information about an upcoming event and staff either did not know about it or are confused about it. I am not sure what the fix for that is.
Once upon a time, we had a comment and suggestion box for staff. I like the idea of having one, however, I also saw it used as a way to complain about everything. It allowed individuals to be anonymous so they could voice their opinions without worry that someone would ridicule or scoff at their idea or suggestion. As much as I would like to believe that everyone would be gracious of everyone's ideas, we know that this is not always the case. I think the comment/ suggestion box could work, if everyone is gently reminded that the suggestions should be positive or offer a solution to a current problem.
I feel our current principal strives to create positive relationships with all the staff. I think we do need to go a step further to help develop and foster a strong sense of belonging and community. We really need to find time to do team building as a staff. We do not always function as one unit. Instead, we are small groups of people who have limited contact with others in the building. We need to spend more of our faculty meeting time on team building.
Communication is vital for administrators and probably one of the most difficult. This may be one area that I am constantly revisiting to find the best approach that works for me.
Our current principal does break it down for the individual days so that we know what is happening each day, if there is a change. She will also add upcoming events, like which groups have field trips scheduled. One of the biggest downfalls of the newsletter, is that several of the staff do not read it. You can tell they did not read it when several of us have information about an upcoming event and staff either did not know about it or are confused about it. I am not sure what the fix for that is.
Once upon a time, we had a comment and suggestion box for staff. I like the idea of having one, however, I also saw it used as a way to complain about everything. It allowed individuals to be anonymous so they could voice their opinions without worry that someone would ridicule or scoff at their idea or suggestion. As much as I would like to believe that everyone would be gracious of everyone's ideas, we know that this is not always the case. I think the comment/ suggestion box could work, if everyone is gently reminded that the suggestions should be positive or offer a solution to a current problem.
I feel our current principal strives to create positive relationships with all the staff. I think we do need to go a step further to help develop and foster a strong sense of belonging and community. We really need to find time to do team building as a staff. We do not always function as one unit. Instead, we are small groups of people who have limited contact with others in the building. We need to spend more of our faculty meeting time on team building.
Communication is vital for administrators and probably one of the most difficult. This may be one area that I am constantly revisiting to find the best approach that works for me.