Taking Care of Your Staff (Appreciation)

By: Scott Stevens, Assistant Principal Cypress Woods Elementary

Everywhere in the media right now you can find articles, blog postings, and videos of experts talking about teacher shortages and burnout. I am not saying that we should ignore these truths, but instead I would rather focus on the staff members in front of me on my campus. I want to focus on taking care of the ones that I rely on every day to serve our students. So, I ask you, what are you doing to take care of your teachers and staff members?

I am fortunate to work with a principal that shares a vision of care for our teachers and staff members. Sometimes lost in the deadlines and overwhelming tasks are the simple gestures of appreciation that we all so often desire. Research­­ from the *University of Oxford tells us that 87% of those surveyed found that workplace wellbeing was an advantage for their place of employment. Their research also tells us that people who are happy at their workplace are more productive. Shawn Anchor in his book, The Happiness Advantage, states that happy employees will increase productivity by 31%. If your staff feels appreciated there is an increased likelihood that they will be all in for your students. At the end of the day, our work is for the students.

Showing your appreciation as a school leader comes in all shapes and sizes. You can send gratitude notes and e-mails to members of your staff. You can partner with your PTA to plan events that celebrate your staff. You can honor your teachers with the gift of time (cancel a meeting that really could’ve been an e-mail). You can provide a small snack that coincides with a national day (e.g. cupcakes on National Cupcake Day). There are plenty of social media sites, including Facebook groups and Instagram pages for Principal appreciation ideas. My mentor once told me, “We work too hard and sacrifice too much time to not have fun too.” Have you planned a fun event for your staff to show just how much you appreciate them?! Staff appreciation should not be a once-a-year calendared event. If not, I challenge you today to look at your calendar and plan some fun events, that show just how much you appreciate your staff. You can’t do this job alone; you need your staff right along with you moving your students forward!   

*Does Employee Happiness have an Impact on Productivity?

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Data_Integrity_Notice.cfm?abid=3470734

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

111 Points to an “A”: A Student Achievement Success Story Emphasizing When Student Learning is Prioritized, Results Come

Image
111 Points to an “A”: A Student Achievement Success Story Emphasizing When Student Learning is Prioritized, Results Come by Heidi L. Keegan, M. Ed Principal Charlotte County Public Schools The ultimate goal of any educational leader is to ensure that their students achieve academic success. To do so, they must prioritize student learning through leadership actions that build and support a learning organization focused on student achievement. Below are the steps taken by an elementary school principal—and her team of educators—that led to increasing the school’s letter grade to just 10 points shy of an “A”, despite being 100% Title I and the challenges of a pandemic. Step 1: Make Sure EVERYONE Knows the Goal(s) I mean EVERYONE. Exceptional educational leaders will analyze trend data, look at growth and proficiency, and acknowledge strengths and gaps in achievement. They will dissect details for subgroups, study cohorts, and collaborate with teacher leaders to set goals. None of this wil...
Read more

HAVE, DO, BE: A Shared Visioning Activity for School Leaders

Image
HAVE, DO, BE: A Shared Visioning Activity for School Leaders Have you been hired as the new principal? Are you thinking making an adjustment to your school’s vision and mission? This cooperative process can assist you in ensuring that all stakeholders have the opportunity to share in what they want your school to acquire, to accomplish, and to be acknowledged for. Four years ago, I stepped into a building that had just undergone the Differentiated Accountability (DA) process with the State and had lost approximately half the Staff, due to related stressors. With the new school letter grade designation of a “B” from the previous year’s “D”, it was time for our school to rebrand itself! I gathered the Staff to meet in our media center during the preservice week, with a goal of learning about how the staff felt about the school. The dedicated employees that remained, after the mass exodus, had much to say about how they were tired of being “looked down upon”, as they worked hard...
Read more

My Name Is Jessica, But I Could Be Any Student

Image
  My Name Is Jessica, But I Could Be Any Student By Myles Cooley, Ph.D., ABPP My name is Jessica, but it could be Raul, Dashieka, or Jonathan. I’m ten years old and in the fifth grade. I think I’m more than shy. I won’t raise my hand in class. I’m worried the teacher will call on me, so I don’t look at her. I hate it when I have to walk to the front of the class to give a report. Everyone’s looking at me. I hate to think what they’re thinking about me. When I give the report, my hands and voice are shaking. It seems like forever until I can go back to my seat. Actually, other kids seem to think I’m pretty smart. But when we go to lunch, recess, or PE, I don’t know what to say to them. They’re all joking around, and I’m totally quiet. When I think of something I could say, I think it might be stupid, so I don’t say anything. I wish my teachers understood how nervous I am. I wish they understood that my behavior means I might have social anxiety disorder. If they understood me, maybe...
Read more