How to Set your School Apart!

Marg Dodds
Mar 3, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Mar 18, 2022

Creating a Healthy, Happy and Thriving School requires strategy.

A school is just like any other organism. If one part is not healthy or in distress it affects the entire organism. The administrator has the challenge of keeping all parts healthy and well functioning in order to have a healthy, happy, and thriving school.

Clear Consistent Expectations

The best technique to achieve this is to have clear and consistent expectations of all the parts of a school organism, which includes all stake holders. (students, staff, parents, and all support staff)

Informational Handbooks Avoid Ambiguity

Providing both a staff handbook and a family handbook is a simple way to ensure everyone is getting the same message without any ambiguity.

Staff Handbooks

The staff handbook includes all the expectations you have of your teachers and educational assistants, lunch hour assistants right down to expecting them to meet and greet at the doors at every transition, as well as being present in the hallways at all dismissal times.

These specific details enable all staff to know clearly what you expect of them. This also includes a calendar with all meetings they are expected to attend, parent-teacher interviews, family dances, graduation night. A well-planned year gives your staff clear direction on the road map you have laid out.

Setting out these clear expectations, when individual infractions occur it makes it very easy for you the principal to go have a quiet conversation with the individual teacher who is not pulling their weight.

"I have had too many incidents, when the entire staff were being reminded on timeliness for yard duty, and yet everyone sitting there, save one staff, had always been on time." – Marg Dodds | School Principal

Family Handbooks

The family handbook clearly lays out the expectations you have for the students as well as all the dates you are hoping the parents will be able to attend activities at the school.

Behaviour expectations are clearly stated, and unfortunate consequences are included as well. This reinforces your commitment to be fair and consistent. The rules are set out for all.

Each classroom teacher is asked to review this handbook with their classes the first day of school before it is sent home.

All students hear the same message throughout the building.

Families find the handbook very helpful. It has information about the school, when to contact staff, a guide for keeping your child home if they are ill, fundraising plans, parent council meeting dates, and mush more!

Parents love and need to know what is happening at the school.

I have found this a very effective tool.

Bumps in the Road

There will be misunderstandings and conflicts will arise.

However, having the handbook to look at resolves almost all situations. It is a very practical tool for you to have as you traverse through your school year.

These tools are available for you right here on the website. I have a template for both handbooks and the school year calendar. They are completely interactive and may be used to tweak for your schools specific needs. All the best to you in leading tomorrow’s leaders!