There’s no doubt that principals have a tough job on their hands.
Administration
3 Ways Principals Can Build Better Culture
There’s no doubt that principals have a tough job on their hands.
But in many cases, administration and policies often win out over building a better school culture, relationships, or positive environments for teachers. In a school setting, where children are developing and learning to be better people, it’s more important than ever for their situation to be uplifting, positive, and friendly. That kind of change has to come from the top.
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What can principals do to make their schools have better culture?
Plenty of options take a little time and leadership to kick-start. For these plans to succeed, principals and administration must be:
- Invested in changing the culture and improving it internally
- Willing to reinforce the positive as well as the negative
- Actively involved in building relationships with teachers and staff
Once those foundations are in place, we can start to make real changes in the culture of schools. Providing teachers with a better workplace and students with a better place to learn. Here are just three ways that principals actively promote and build a better culture:
Broadcast the positivity you want to see
According to Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell, an expert in leadership in education, one of the keys to improving a school’s culture is by broadcasting the messages and behavior you’d like to see in your facility. This could mean reinforcing a positive culture through your attitude in meetings and communications or focusing on positives and achievements when working with or talking to students.
By showing positive and on-message leadership, improving a school’s culture and attitudes is easier than you might think. Communication is key to this process, so principals shouldn’t be afraid to practice what they preach with other staff and the broader public. By setting a positive influence in leadership, it’s easy for others to follow in those footsteps and uplift your school’s culture.
Encourage achievement and appreciation
In many schools, the primary focus is on doing well in only one form. Standardized testing. While good grades are required and should be celebrated, looking at the wider picture can quickly show just how toxic only rewarding one form of achievement can be. For students, appreciation should be anything from achieving positive actions in the community to understanding a particularly tricky subject. By widening your scope for achievement, it’s possible to improve the culture of your school effortlessly.
But as a principal, it’s not just the students you should worry about. Encouraging and appreciating your teachers is vitally important to promoting a positive workplace. Whether it’s encouraging thinking outside the box for lesson planning or rewarding extra effort, stepping away from the statistics and focusing on less tangible achievements can be excellent for your school in the long run.
Enforce better policies and employee support
We know budgets are tight. But offering the bare minimum to your teachers, who perform on a stressful career day-in-day-out, isn’t enough to promote a positive culture. Whether it’s providing your hard-working educators with a gift card each month for coffee or excellent healthcare, going the extra mile can be a fantastic way to lift your culture. Knowing they are supported is the greatest gift for motivated, positive teachers.
It’s also important to note that mental health is a part of providing ample support. Burnout is a big deal for teachers, on par with nurses in the ER. Offering counseling, the opportunity for self-care, or even mental health days, if needed, can make all the difference. Better school culture is where your teachers feel you have their back when needed.
In what ways do you think your principal could help transform the culture in your school? If you liked this article, please share!
