Here’s something wonderful and maddening about school leadership: just when you think you’ve seen everything something new comes along. Hello, COVID-19.
School doors have slammed shut like rows of falling dominos, and few, if any, will be opening before August. We coped with the first week of closures. We grappled with systems for delivering assignments and food to our students. Then after some of the dust had settled, we saw what worked and didn’t work and began to adjust our systems. Now, we are in for the long haul, a period of silent hallways and a deep transformation of practices and mindsets. It’s one thing to teach kids for a week or two when the kids are at home, but how are supposed to do it for months? And keep the staff members focused and in good spirits?
Here are five quick tips for school leaders in a school closure to keep morale high and to keep staffs united.
1. Maintain relationships. We say it’s important for teachers to maintain relationships with students in remote learning; it’s also important to school leaders to maintain relationships with staff members. Let them see your face in a video conference and hear your voice, even if it’s a quick message left in their voice mail.
2. Think of yourself as a leader and party host. Yes, you have to lead and oversee the staff, but don’t forget the power of raising everyone’s spirits in a pandemic through group video conferencing. Let your people see each other. Some teams are doing this already when they plan, but they might be cut off from other staff members. Expand the circle. Depending upon the size of the staff, do weekly group conferencing or grade level/department conferencing. Don’t forget about the support staff; it takes a team to run a school and it takes a leader to be inclusive. And don’t just talk about instruction. Let people share positive, fun examples of things they are doing at home.
3. Sustain their hope. Remind them we’ll all get through this period and the students will return to school one day in the not so distant future. Help them visualize the re-opening of their school. Start talking about the celebration you’ll have when teachers are together again and the students are back in class. It will be amazing. Let them see it in their minds. Let it sustain them. (Tip: If the students don’t return until next year, it might be a wise psychological move to have part of the first day back to be spent with this year’s teachers so everyone can check in and have some closure. Perhaps a school carnival or party to kick things off?)
4. Celebrate success stories. Create new remote learning awards or virtual badges for staff members. Have a weekly virtual staff meeting and “hand out” a Remote Teaching Excellence Award for a team that developed a great lesson or a Remote School Spirit Award for someone who goes above and beyond what is expected to help students and fellow staff members. Another great award could be the Remote Courage Award for someone who goes way outside his or her comfort zone to try something new. Be creative. Have fun with it.
5. Listen to your staff. This is perhaps the most important tip. Listen to what your staff members are saying. Gauge their spirit and their emotions. We are surrounded by creative, perceptive people. Adjust remote learning practices and create new ones with the help of staff members. We’re all in this together.
We are experiencing a difficult time in history. Let your staff members look back at this period and remember it as a time when they pulled together. Your leadership can make it happen.