Setting an Example by Taking Risks
September 17, 2024
Transformational Leadership: A Model for Effective Instructional Leadership in Schools
September 17, 2024
Ahuvah Heyman
School culture starts at the top and filters down from the administrative leaders to the staff, including teachers and others, and then to the students. Because of this, great emphasis should be placed on respecting and empowering staff. Schools and school leaders must work with intentionality to continuously improve all aspects of the organization, and cultivating your staff with professionalism and respect is part of this continuous improvement process. The greatest nachas a school can have is when a graduate comes back to the school and wants to be a teacher!
Cultivating greatness can come through small policies and processes set by school administrators. Although your school may not be able to do everything on this list, it will give you an idea of the focus that needs to be placed on championing your staff from the minute you meet them.
One – Process Makes Perfect
From the first interaction with a prospective staff member, ensure the process works. Respond to prospective staff members’ emails and phone calls within 48 hours. Set up a face-to-face or Zoom interview within the week if a position may be a good fit for the applicant. At the interview, focus on the applicant’s strengths and what job would enable them to shine. If you do not have a job for them, thank them for their time and advise them that you will keep them in mind. If you have an idea that may be a good fit, let them know that you will send an offer sheet within the next 48 hours.
Two – Written Offer Sheets
If you have a job that may be a good fit for the candidate, prepare and share an “offer sheet” that includes the following critical information: job title, work schedule, and compensation. Ask the candidate to return the offer sheet within one week.
Three – Onboarding
Have a comprehensive onboarding process in place so all new staff members can quickly and efficiently obtain (as needed) a school email address, a security and timeclock card or ID badge, payroll paperwork, and access to all handbooks and school policies.
Four – Create your Calendar with Clarity of Purpose
When sitting down to prepare the calendar for the upcoming year, put yourself in the shoes of your staff. Work hard to create a calendar that considers reality. If yom tov ends late, give your staff time to regroup the following morning. When there is a three-day yom tov, make sure prep time is realistic. Ensure that your yearly schedule maximizes the capabilities of your staff. An extra day off at the right time might enable your staff to be strong for another month. Plan each month carefully, ensuring that staff stamina is a priority.
Five – Practical Policies
Ensure your staff manual is clear, concise, and enforceable. Staff members should know how personal and vacation days work, how coming late or leaving early affects their pay, and how questions can be addressed.
Six – Applying Policy with Seichel
As vital as it is to have clear policies and to be able to turn to the policy when questions arise, having the discretion to apply a policy with seichel is critical. Suppose there is a policy that a staff member gets double-docked for missing school the day before vacation. In such a case, there is a clear difference between a staff member who travels to another country and misses that day and a staff member who is in the hospital and misses that day. The policy must be applied with seichel, and seichel requires clarity and intentionality.
Seven – Friendly Forms
Set up friendly forms for all staff needs, including forms for substitutes to get paid, staff members to get reimbursed for expending money on behalf of the school, paycheck changes or questions, maintenance requests, and purchasing and supplies requests. In addition to making your school a friendly place to work, using good forms in your workflow ensures that staff requests are met quickly and efficiently. When used correctly, this also helps your school stick to its monthly budget.
Eight – Pay On Time and Pay Fairly
Don’t expect greatness if you don’t show your staff you support them with every paycheck. Work tirelessly to raise the salaries of your staff members, so they look at your school as a place where they want to be, and can be, based on the salary and benefits you provide. Have a reasonable salary structure and be honest when employees ask if there is room for growth and salary increases.
Nine – Benefits Across the Board
In our school, staff members who work more than 16 hours per week qualify for certain benefits, including a tuition discount and a 403b match. This applies to ALL staff members, including office staff, assistants, daycare, and building staff. If the students are off, ALL staff members are off. Recognizing that ALL STAFF ROLES are essential in ensuring the school runs efficiently and effectively is critical.
Ten – Substitute Saga
Never expect a staff member to find a substitute. Have an internal substitute system in place that works for your school. Expecting sick, anxious, or stressed staff members to make frantic phone calls late at night or early in the morning to find a replacement is unfair and ineffective. Wish them or their family a refuah shelaima and respect that they need time out of school to return with strength and simcha.
Eleven – Gifts, Gifts, and More Gifts
Look for opportunities to reward your staff throughout the year. Ideas can be simple (10 lbs. of potatoes before a chag), over-the-top (free car cleaning before Pesach), or somewhere in the middle (the newest cookbook). While some members of your staff may not love every gift, every staff member feels appreciated when you give them gifts.
Twelve – Chodesh Tov “Toameha”
Every Rosh Chodesh, we prepare a special lunch for all staff members. On Rosh Chodesh morning, there are always texts from staff members asking me to disclose the menu! It’s not about the food; it’s about the thought – and the monthly celebration for and acknowledgment of our incredible staff.
Thirteen – PM Perks
End-of-day staff members are critical in ensuring that students end the day feeling appropriately supported. End-of-day staff members face different challenges from other staff members. These challenges must be recognized and supported in a variety of ways. Schools should recognize and reward staff members who stay past 3pm, which is the time that they may want to be home with their own children after school. This can be done by providing free aftercare, salary bonuses, additional time off, etc.
Fourteen – Spring Meetings
Meet with every staff member in the spring to discuss their current role, your plans for the upcoming year, and the school’s plans for salary increases. Give your staff members a voice to share ideas and perspectives at this juncture so you can keep improving. Thank them for being such an essential part of the school family and encourage them to be honest about how the year has gone. If they are not returning, ensure the thank you and final conversation is respectful and demonstrates hakaras hatov. If you are able to help a staff member find and transition to another job, do so with pleasure.
Fifteen – Keep Doing it Better
These past few years have taught us much about how to improve things. We must never lose sight of the fact that we cannot have great schools without great staff members. Bez”H, we will all keep looking for opportunities to reward, celebrate, and appreciate our staff members. Hatzlacha!
Ahuvah Heyman, EdD, is the School Director of Bnos Yisroel of Baltimore.