Speakers at the National Conference on School Leadership, hosted by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, highlighted the need to embrace positive mindsets and lean on sources of support, as reported in K-12 Dive.
When students leave the school building at the end of the day, they should recall one positive experience they had, leadership speaker and author Jon Gordon told attendees at the National Conference on School Leadership, as reported in K-12 Dive.
“Don’t listen to your negative voices,” Gordon says. “We need leaders who are leading with love, bringing unity and a message of hope.”
Three areas of discussion and advice were shared by speakers:
Hard conversations: Julie Kasper, principal of Century High School in Hillsboro, Oregon, says emotionally charged meetings can be difficult, but she views her position as a school manager who coaches people toward improvement.
When it comes to tough conversations, school leaders should share their objective for the meeting with the other person, offer data — such as test scores or emails — to back up their main points, and be ready to pivot if the conversation doesn’t go as planned. They also recommend touching base with the person at least 24 hours after the meeting to summarize the discussion and steps to be taken.
Leaders need to set aside time daily to provide positive feedback to staff. “I think we can’t forget how we talk, what we address, impacts the climate and culture of our buildings”
Mental wellness: Don’t carry the full weight of caring for staff and student wellness on your own. Encourage your communities to work collectively to find solutions customizable for your environment.
At Sherwood Forest Elementary in New Orleans, school faculty perform in a show for students at the end of the school year — a way for staff to thank students for their own performances throughout the school year.
Teachers at Monett Middle School in Missouri created a Sunshine Committee to recognize colleagues’ birthdays and weddings, as well as periods of grief. The school also has a calming room for students and is creating a calming room for staff.
Equity: Black male students are disproportionately disciplined and referred for special education, and Black male leaders lack supports and are underrepresented in education, says Chris Rogers, principal of Oak Point Elementary School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
What Black male students need is empathy, not tough love, he says. “Challenging behaviors do not equal special education,” Rogers says.
And Black male teachers need advocates who support equitable policies and practices, as well as allies who want to understand and identify implicit biases.
“It’s about talking through some uncomfortable conversations without running away from them. It’s about having an empathetic lens and approach to these conversations,” Rogers says.
K-12 Dive
